Starbucks kicks off two campaigns, for Via instant coffee and retooled Frappucino line (above).

Lexus SUV "don't buy" rating by Consumer Reports has been lifted.

BP hopes to have oil spill contained by Monday, seeks shared responsibility.

J&J investigation into children's medicine begins in US; reviews global branding for baby products.Continue reading...

The wisdom of the crowd will shape version 2.0 of Current TV, Al Gore’s multiplatform company known for its combination of user-generated content and original productions.

The former Vice President, with then business partner Joel Hyatt, launched Current in August of 2005 in a bid to "democratize" the media business, putting more power in the hands of viewers to produce and distribute their own content.

It was a heady time when user-generated content and video was in the air, YouTube having just launched a few months earlier in its own bid to tap into the growing UGC phenomenon and revolutionize media.

But that vision of "if you built it, they will upload" didn't quite pay off. The recession resulted last year in a deep round of layoffs, the departure of co-founder Hyatt and a 10% stake sold to cable operator Comcast. Now, Gore is now setting his sights on taking his almost five-year-old channel back to its stated mission to incorporate and reflect viewers' concerns.Continue reading...