As the Summer Olympics gets underway in London, Twitter — rebounding for a pre-Olympics wobble on Thursday — has launched its London 2012 Olympics hub, driving its user base to jump on the #Olympics hashtag. 

NBC has partnered with Twitter to produce the Olympics Hub, highlighting noteworthy tweets from across the Games and beyond NBC's wall-to-wall Olympics coverage, without U.S. bias, even though a U.S.-based team in Boulder, CO, will curate tweets 20 hours a day for the hub. 

The goal is to centralize and surface tweets and conversations around the Games in a service for users and companies alike, with brands such as GE and P&G already promoting their Olympian marketing efforts via the hub.Continue reading...

"The new campaign is not conservative, it's a wink to the past as we move to talking more about what we do on the INSIDE of Go Daddy." That's the pitch from GoDaddy.com — never a brand to shy away from suggestive marketing. Below, check out the trio of commercials that will be running during NBC's wall-to-wall coverage of the London 2012 Olympics, starting with a "Leave It to Otter"-esque spot:Continue reading...

Always a bonanza for marketers (as the New York Times' Stuart Elliott notes), campaigns pegged to the Olympics are often overly serious and attempt to be tearjerkers, as P&G knows all too well. Still, its Old Spice brand is retickling its Old Spice Guy funny bone by partnering again with W+K on an Olympics commercial. "I Will Live Forever," above, stars a skinny hero who listens to a self-help tape and somehow manages to win a slew of medals and a ton of hearts while smelling good all along the way.Continue reading...

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Kodak risks grow after loss of patent fight.

Samsung passes 10M sales benchmark for Galaxy S3 but iPhone prevails.

Bentley plans SUV.

Cnooc stakes $15B for Canada's Nexen. 

DreamWorks buys Classic Media.

Facebook pace of revenue growth closely watched.Continue reading...

Nationwide Insurance doesn't think it gets enough credit from customers and other consumers for being "on your side" in auto-insurance matters. Cue a new branding campaign tied to the biggest sports event on the calendar and to one of America's best-liked actresses to make the point.

On Friday July 27th, during the prime-time telecast of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics on NBC, Nationwide will debut new TV campaign featuring the distinctive voice of actress Julia Roberts, whose Lancôme campaign for L'Oréal was banned in the U.K. last year for airbrushing.

"'Nationwide Is On Your Side' is a familiar tagline and jingle, but not many people understand exactly what it means," Matt Jauchius, Nationwide's chief marketing and strategy officer, said in a press release about the new "Join the Nation" campaign. "Our goal wth this campaign is to tell the story of who we are as a company and what our On Your Side promise truly stands for — doing what's right for our members and protecting the things and the people they hold dear."Continue reading...

"Digital is one of the most crucial things for a modern brand manager to get right, so the pressure is on for (social media/digital strategist) Siobhan to explain her strategy. Twitter, Facebook, Mashable and even MySpace all have their part to play in creating the digital legacy for the Games."

BBC Two's Twenty Twelve comedy series (already a must-see) nails the overzealously social nature of the London 2012 Summer Olympics in the video above. All kidding aside, teams of social media strategists at the BBC and indeed around the world have been working almost as vigorously as the athletes, organizers and sponsors on how to make this the most interactive Olympic Games yet.

Since the previous Olympics in Beijing, tech advancements including Super Hi-Vision, live 3D TV and live broadcasting via smartphones have moved center-stage. Now the advent of social apps, social TV and social everything will be threaded through this Olympics, and — brace yourselves — all Olympics to come.Continue reading...

Airbus and Boeing walk fine line about global airliner demands.

Apple finds some iPhone users souring on Siri as it may be gearing up to producer smaller iPad.

Audi opens first digital showrooms.

Barclays apologizes in new campaign for Libor scandal.

BSkyB prepares to launch Now TV.

Clorox targets Hispanics with Fraganzia line of cleaning products.

Digg founder revisits missteps that led to company's fall.

Ford funds parties featuring Escape to combat hunger.Continue reading...

Airbus designs new way to build planes and scraps sales target for A380.

Amazon tests a smartphone.

American Airlines opens door to merger with U.S. Airways.

Apple pulls game with Japanese Ninjas invading island chain.

Barclays former CEO Bob Diamon hits back at U.K. lawmakers over interest-rate scandal.

Drew Brees nears becoming highest-paid player in NFL history.

Expedia features real travelers' experiences in new campaign.

John Varvatos taps British musician Paul Weller as new face.Continue reading...