* Burger King introduces The King in the UK.

* Ford plans to get Lincoln dealers fired up about the brand.

* GE and PepsiCo are among firms recognized for global sustainability efforts by the U.S. government.

* Google and Adobe applaud Apple’s relaxation of restrictions on apps development.

* Honda's CR-Z is coming to a 3D billboard in Times Square.

* Kimberly-Clark UK releases slimline Kleenex Pockets for men.Continue reading...

* Oracle's Larry Ellison will fight HP's lawsuit over Mark Hurd's hiring.

* BP assumes partial blame for the Gulf disaster, citing a series of factors in its just-released report.

* Oprah Winfrey uses clout to launch syndicated talk show featuring her designer, Nate Berkus.

* Vodafone sold its China Mobile stake for $6.6 billion.

* Samsung's Galaxy S phone will be offered by China's three mobile carriers.

* Anheuser-Busch scored a "partial victory" in legal battle with an Illinois distributor.Continue reading...

* Apple's plan to offer 99-cent TV-show rentals is "getting limited support from media companies," reports the Wall Street Journal. Amazon cut the price of some TV show downloads to 99 cents in response, while Apple's partnership with Netflix is seen as a sign the DVD rental company may weather a shift to Web video that is challenging others. Sony is also launching a digital-music service to compete with iTunes.

* Allergan settles Botox allegations with the federal government for $600 million. 

* Burger King may need a new brand strategy rather than just another new owner, as suitors start to circle.

* Chrysler posts August sales gain, but every other major automaker sees sales slide in comparison with last year’s robust “cash-for-clunkers” campaign.

* Discovery Channel gunman James Lee told NBC mid-hostage-taking that he picked up pointers from Mythbusters.

* General Motors, which is making the Chevrolet Volt, is trying to trademark the expression "range anxiety."Continue reading...

The Quaker Oats Company has been around for more than 130 years — and its owner, Pepsico, wants to make sure it's still here a hundred years from now.

The problem for Quaker isn't brand awareness. That illustration of the benevolent Colonial Quaker with his flowing white hair is universally recognized. Rather, it's the fact that the brand has been battered by a recession in which consumers have selected less expensive breakfast alternatives. As a result, Quaker's hot and cold cereal sales have dropped.

That's why the company is launching a new "Amazing Mornings" marketing campaign in the U.S. beginning Sept. 1 with the theme, "Does Your Breakfast Make You Amazing?"Continue reading...

With today's launch of original Web series FCU: Fact Checkers Unit, NBC is making good on its growing commitment to the world of sponsored, digital shortform branded entertainment.

The Samsung-sponsored series debuts with three episodes on NBC.com and SyFy.com, on iTunes and "all major" cable operators' video-on-demand lineups and mobile platforms in the U.S. Internationally, it's available on the digital platforms of Syfy in the U.K., Syfy Universal throughout Asia/Pacific and The Sci Fi Channel in Australia.

The first trio of Webisodes features 90210 star Luke Perry, Donald Faison of Scrubs and model Karolina Kurkova in a comic spoof of life at Dictum, a fictional magazine. The series is also wooing viewers across NBCU's media properties, and on Facebook and Twitter.

• Add India and Germany (but not Oman) to the list of countries giving Research in Motion a hard time about BlackBerry security, as RIM reportedly reaches an agreement with the government of Saudi Arabia.

• H-P's slide on the New York Stock Exchange today was its worst in six years, as Oracle chief Larry Ellison denounced Hurd's ouster, which is being questioned on Wall Street. Reuters asks: What does this mean for "The HP Way"?

• Google and Verizon's net neutrality proposal today is parsed in Salon, Wired, NYT, TechCrunch, AllThingsD, and beyond, while the Wall Street Journal examines Google's seven-page internal memo "agonizing" over privacy and advertising.

• LeBron James' Miami Heat debut isn't generating a rush for tickets due to team's real-time sales.

• Lowe's settles a class action suit over defective drywall with $6.5 million in customer gift cards.Continue reading...

“Jazz Packing,” you say. Hmmm. Tell us more.

"We've said that the Honda Jazz fits anything you can imagine and now we want to prove it." So begins the ad copy for Honda's campaign to promote its "Jazz" model in Australia. Known as the Honda Fit in the US market, this sporty compact model seems to be all about packing stuff in.

Honda's series of Jazz Packing ads feature the Honda Jazz's roominess promoted by packing in a wide range of characters. Or maybe they are better defined as caricatures. Ninjas, hipsters and "rap" are some of the categories that get Jazz Packed. After the jump, two ads:Continue reading...

You might call it a lesson in stick-to-itiveness. The 3M Post-it Note brand is turning 30 this year, but it wouldn't even be a product if not for the company's resilience. Find out how the brand is celebrating after the jump.Continue reading...