Old Navy's latest Black Friday-themed campaign "The Gobble" (above) is fresh, fun, and a massive improvement over those talking mannequins. In fact, it's so fun that Old Navy employees are actually "doing the gobble" in stores. Videos after the jump.Continue reading...

It’s certainly nothing new to think of people—and even celebrity couples—as brands these days. But the engagement/wedding of Britain’s Prince William and his fiancé Kate Middleton is becoming a brand that is celebrity couple and event all rolled into one big fairy-tale package — and it’s expected to help out the lackluster British economy.

As soon as the engagement was announced last week, the race was on to produce goods like copies of the royal blue Issa wrap-dress Middleton wore when the engagement was announced and the ring given to her by Prince William (which formerly belonged to his mother, Princess Diana).

Both have already been lampooned, with Anne Hathaway wearing reproductions of the ring and dress on Saturday Night Live this past weekend.Continue reading...

The underground guerilla marketing campaign has worked. Betty White will host Saturday Night Live on May 8, the Mother’s Day episode. White never asked for the gig, and in fact, turned it down three times previously. But White, who describes herself as "not New York at all," is changing her mind after a surprising and rousing show of support on social media platforms.
 
White’s appearance in a Snickers Super Bowl commercial (above), in which she's tackled by a football player, topped USA TODAY's Ad Meter poll. The spot prompted a Facebook campaign, where a "Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!" group attracted almost half a million members.Continue reading...

Microsoft's Bing search engine will appear on Motorola smartphones. [AP]

Apple will launch a multi-tasking platform for the iPhone by this summer. [Big Money]

Disney would rather stick with established characters than create new ones. [WSJ]

The latest innovation in caffeine and chocolate is inhalable. [Boston Herald]

Geico employees groove to Warren Buffett in a new commercial. [BrandFreak]

Video game sales were down by 15 percent in the U.S. last month. [LA Times]Continue reading...

The ads were funnier than the show. But can the four 15-second spots Starbucks ran during Saturday Night Live's season premiere drive customers back into stores (and lift ailing stock prices)?

The delightfully nonsensical spots show taste tests conducted with town hall protesters, a jockey, a priest and a rabbi, and people who look like their dogs -- all agreeing that they can't taste the difference between Starbucks drip coffee and Starbucks Via.

Is Starbucks cannibalizing itself by positioning Via against their own product? Yes and no.Continue reading...