In an effort at transparency, Frito-Lay is laying its chips on the square — New York’s Times Square, that is.

The ubiquitous chip-maker today launched its Flavor Kitchen interactive experience some 22 stories high in the Big Apple’s heart, broadcasting from jumbo screens on the Thomson Reuters Building across from the Hard Rock Cafe.Continue reading...

The above video has drawn 1.2 million views on YouTube — and a lot of skepticism from viewers, who doubted it was (a) real and (b) amateur. Turns out their suspicions were correct.

As the New York Times notes today, it's actually a viral marketing stunt to promote the movie Limitless, which can be spotted starting at the 1:30 mark with the red balloon in front a screen showing its trailer.Continue reading...

Sony Pictures is just chugging right along this year, with loads of Sony products (such as Vaio) placed in blockbuster films like The Roommate and Battle: Los Angeles. This trend of studios promoting their own corporate cousins is one we've looked at before.

As we consider all things blue today, check out the new trailer (above) for Sony's upcoming summer release, The Smurfs, and below, the marketing for The Priest — not one film, alas, as our headline might imply.Continue reading...

Last month the Big Apple's strumming ambassador The Naked Cowboy rebranded his six-string guitar and slung it, his hat and his tighty whities Times Square to Leicester Square to extol the New York Bakery Co's launch in London.

Now the street singer (actual name: Robert Burck) is suing CBS, which he claims has stolen his likeness and defamed his personal brand with a lookalike character depicted in The Bold and the Beautiful. The soap's production company, Bell-Phillip Television, was also named in the suit.

No wonder Gothamist calls him "the litigious cowboy" — in 2008 the former NYC mayoral candidate also sued M&M's for $4 million for violating his likeness, which resulted in a mixed court ruling.

The brand born to be a pop-up shop has pulled the plug.

Kellogg's has quietly shuttered Pop-Tarts World, its first "branded experience" and retail outlet, which offered "Pop-Tarts Sushi" and "Ice Cream Sammys" in mid-town Manhattan. AP described it (above) as "an alternate breakfast pastry-filled universe" when it opened last August.

The NYC shop folded on Dec. 31 (missed opportunity to feed ravenous New Year's revellers?), likely because it wasn't in a high-traffic area and attracting many tourists. Its 42nd Street location was closer to Bryant Park and on the edge of Times Square — typically a mecca for marketers — which may have contributed to its demise.Continue reading...

AOL acquires About.me social profile site (that's K'naan's splash page, above) a mere four days after going live and a year post start-up.

Apple spurs iAds for the iPad with new tools.

Cricket aims to turn music pirates into paying customers.

FCC's "strong" net neutrality rules criticized on all sides.Continue reading...

Microsoft's highly-anticipated Kinect for Xbox 360 finally goes on sale in North America today, attracting a crowd to its official launch event in New York's Times Square at midnight, where Ne-Yo performed and dancers took over the area last night in front of Toys R Us, which stayed open late to accommodate eager buyers who'd been lining up since Monday.

Microsoft hopes to reposition its Xbox 360 (with an Xbox Live subscription) as a lifestyle and entertainment system with Kinect.

It's confident that the device will connect with consumers, building buzz with a reported $500 million global marketing budget and promotional tie-ins including Toys R Us, Burger King and Best Buy, which also stayed opened past midnight last night for U.S. shoppers eager to try out the Kinect's motion control, facial and voice recognition features.Continue reading...

Microsoft is targeting gamers of all ages with a $500 million global launch campaign for Kinect, its motion-sensitive controller system for the Xbox 360 which goes on sale at midnight tonight in North America, with the rest of the planet to follow. Fans started lining up on Monday in Times Square, where Toys R Us is hosting the official launch party in the U.S.

It's giving the first 3,000 people to line up and purchase Kinect at its Times Square flagship a free copy of two games ("Kinect Sports" and "Kinect Joy Ride") along with a one-year Xbox LIVE Gold subscription. Burger King is also giving away Kinect prize packs in a promotion that kicked off Monday.