Before pro golfer Tiger Woods had a bizarre car accident outside of his Florida home late in 2009 and it was discovered that he had a slew of mistresses, which led to his divorce (and him handing over $750 million and custody of his kids to his ex-wife), he used to make quite a few bucks just smiling for the camera as well as using or wearing various products.

Woods made about $90 million annually through such corporate sponsorships as AT&T and Gillette and a major chunk of that disappeared when the sordid facts of his various affairs began to leak out. Since then, of course, Woods hasn’t won a big tournament and has fallen out of the top 50 golfers worldwide list for the first time since 2006. 

But his corporate-sponsor comeback is now underway. Sure, he signed a deal to represent a Japanese muscle-rub company earlier this year, but now the big names are starting to come out. Well, OK, one big name: Woods has just signed on to rep Rolex, marking the return of the luxury watchmaker and A-list brands to Team Tiger.Continue reading...

Microsoft eyes Yahoo bid, Reuters hears.

Apple red-faced as new Siri feature sounds like 'buttocks' in Japanese.

British Airways ramps up London 2012 sponsorship.

Ford joins Boxtops for Education.

Groupe Aeroplan changes name to Aimia.

Pantene signs Liv Tyler for new campaign.

Tiger Woods brand rebounds with Rolex sponsorship.

Wheaties selects a new NASCAR driver to sponsor.

Yum! Brands charts turnaround for Taco Bell.

Daimler decided a few years back that it wanted to push its products in the golf world. So since 2008, one of its brands, Mercedes-Benz, has sponsored three of the sport’s major events, including the one that's now underway, the British Open, where it's a prominent luxury brand along with the likes of Rolex.

Now, Merdedes “has its sights” on the fourth one of those, the U.S. Open, once the deal Lexus has with that event is finished in 2015, according to the New York Times.Continue reading...

Allstate to buy eSurance.

Audi plans to add 10,000 jobs globally.

BP finds some investors relieved by collapse of its Russian deal.

Carrefour aims to boost sales in key European markets.

Dell profits from refocus on higher-margin products.

FOX touts media integration.

Gap CEO looks overseas for growth, but wants more North American sales consistency.Continue reading...

On the surface, Beijing's recent municipal rule banning all use of the term "luxury" in advertising seems to throw a spanner in the works for upmarketers promoting their wares in China.

But in fact, the new regulations provide a superb environment for branding to do its job — especially for brands that don't need to bother with the term.Continue reading...

Interbrand has released its 2010 ranking of the world's best global brands. The 11th annual assessment of the world's most successful brands for the first time doesn't include BP, which lost billions of dollars of value, and brand equity, due to the Gulf Oil spill.

"BP's environmental disaster and inability to make good on its brand promise of 'Beyond Petroleum' led to its falling off the list and helped competitor Shell emerge as an industry leader," Interbrand (the parent company of brandchannel) stated. As a result of BP's fall from grace, Shell is now ranked 81—up from 92 last year—in this year's standings.

Toyota, which also had a tough year in the wake of recall-related consumer mistrust, lost 16% of its brand value and fell out of the top 10, dropping from 8 to 11 as "its long-standing reputation for reliability, efficiency and innovation helped it weather the crisis better than expected.

Goldman Sachs, "once the envy of Wall Street," increased one position (from 38 to 37) and saw its brand valuation rise 1%. The financial services giant "faces the dichotomy of strong economic results and an angry public that will continue to lash out until the company begins to demonstrate that it is making sincere efforts to better align its ethics with its brand."

HP cracked into the top 10, making #10 "despite a challenging year" and for "smart additions to its product portfolio." Other tech brands, meanwhile, dominated the top five fastest gaining brands.Continue reading...

Last month, we reported on 2009 being a dismal year for Swiss watch brands, posting the biggest drop in sales since the Great Depression. Luxury watch-makers including Rolex, which depends on the U.S. for about one-third of its sales, were particularly battered. But there is a glimmer of hope for the world's most prominent watchmakers, as this year is already off to a more positive start.

Exports in January rose almost 3 percent compared with a year ago. February was even stronger, clocking a more than 14 percent increase in exports versus last year, as noted in the Financial Times. It was enough of a boost for watchmakers like Swatch Group, owner of such brands as Hamilton, Longines, Omega, and Tissot, to breathe a sigh of relief.

Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek is bullish on the year ahead, predicting that "2010 would bring record sales and earnings" for the company. Richemont, a company with luxury brands like Cartier, Piaget, IWC, and Montblanc in its portfolio, is being more cautiously optimistic.Continue reading...

The news media and blogosphere are exploding today with takes on Phil Mickelson’s third victory at The Masters golf tournament yesterday, just one short of the four green jackets held by the ignominious Tiger Woods.

Indeed, it makes for compelling drama. There’s a White Hat golfer (though he wore black yesterday, actually) whose wife and mother are suffering from breast cancer. And stirringly, he overcame, among others, the ultimate Black Hat whose estranged spouse – understandably – didn’t show up at the tournament to support her man.

But the bigger question for Mickelson, Woods and brand sponsors today is this: Does Mickelson’s continued ascension and Woods’ self-imposed morass suggest it’s time for brand marketers to take a closer look at the former as they continue to evaluate prospects for revival of the latter? Will Mickelson rise further if Tiger continues to fade? The two always have been rivals to some extent, but Woods has never really had to look over his shoulder at any single competitor.Continue reading...