Ikea introduces a nursery… for men. Australian men. We're jealous.

Below, don't miss Tata's "car chase to end all car chases" spot (and more campaigns).Continue reading...

Best Buy faces investor skepticism of its big-box strategy amid stiffening online competition.

BP may avoid gross negligence conviction in Gulf Oil spill.

CBS drops What's Trending web TV series after Steve Jobs flub.

Cisco sets more conservative growth target.

ConocoPhillips tries to fuel more natural-gas use.

Dell sets $5-billion share buyback.

Dreamworks masters YouTube and Zynga marketing.

Facebook chases Google+ with "smart lists" feature.Continue reading...

Alibaba takes on Baidu for dominance in China.

Android rises to #2 smartphone platform in Europe.

Apple ponders disposition of its cash horde.

California Pizza Kitchen plans brand revival.

Cochlear recalls line of ear implants.

Deutsche Bank launches Autobahn App Market.

Ford unveils new three-cylinder EcoBoost engine at Frankfurt auto show.

GameStop to sell branded gaming tablet.Continue reading...

U.S. auto sales for August, reported today, were about flat with those in July and up about 8 percent from a year earlier, with GM (boosted by Camaro fans), Ford and Chrysler posting double-digit sales gains. That was welcome news considering how American consumers were assaulted with obstacles for the entire month, from the debt-ceiling battle in Washington to wildly swinging stock markets to Hurricane Irene.

But Toyota brand executives are in even a little brighter mood than the half-smiles being enjoyed by their rivals today, because things finally appear to be looking up for the brand in the U.S. market after nearly two incredibly rough years.

Yes, August sales for Toyota also were about the same last month as in July, and were down a rough 13 percent compared with a year ago. But most of the year-to-year drop can still be attributed to the continued inability of Toyota and its dealers to get exactly the vehicles its customers want, because of leftover supply problems from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March.Continue reading...

Usually these days when talk turns to "product placement," it means a focus on the commercial dollars-for-exposure trade that's grown to overtake the term. But "product placement" isn't always about money. Sometimes, he placement of a product is as much a character development vehicle as a piece of dialogue, especially when that product is a vehicle.

Our Idiot Brother, a heartwarming comedy about a optimistic maroon and his sisters, uses product placement perfectly. On a number of the posters (as well as in the film itself) Our Idiot Brother casts the title charter in a pair of radioactively orange Crocs. This instantly says something about the character, as well as something about the product's brand.Continue reading...

Toyota is often the follower that finally gets it right in its industry, so it’s interesting to see the Japanese auto brand staking out a pioneering position in a digital marketing method that is new to automakers.

With its new ToyoTag, a logo inside a ring powered by SpyderLynk's SnapTag technology, Toyota says that consumers can snap the image with their mobile phones (whether or not they’re smart phones) and access a whole array of brand and vehicle communications, from product brochures to safety tips.

Toyota joins a handful of other trailblazing brands in these SnapTag applications, including Coors Light, Coke, Bud Light and the Marines.Continue reading...

Amazon results beat Wall Street estimates as ad-supported Kindle tops e-reader sales.

American Apparel partners with eBay.

Comcast and NBC launch TV's "holy grail" — dynamic VOD advertising.

Dunkin' Brands prices IPO at $19/share for $2.4 billion valuation; but can it grow coffee biz?

Facebook launches new portal to help brands better target their marketing.

FOX narrows window on free streaming of network programming, with Dish Network first to sign on.

Google targets small business ad market, while interest in Hulu raises speculation.

Kraft begins global pitch for Trident.Continue reading...

One web wag summed it up better than we ever could: "Did TGI Friday's Pay The Entire Production Cost of 'Zookeeper'?"

Not the entire budget. But did T.G.I. Friday's shell out? Certainly. And what's the brand getting in return? For a starter, comparisons to McDonald's Mac & Me finale as the worst product placement of all time. But there's a main course too — a giant griefburger for Zookeeper.Continue reading...