AOL staffers brace for more cuts.

AT&T promotes "4G" with iPhone iOS upgrade.

BBC rumored to be working on a digital download store.

DirecTV protests Dish Network's "TV Everywhere" trademark.

Facebook approved for $8 billion credit line ahead of IPO, while site debuts Twitter-like interest lists.

Fiat's Charlie Sheen commercial is winning.

Google pushes Google Wallet on developers.

Joseph Kony online protest goes viral.

Netflix enables Apple TV subscriptions.

Nike partners with Path to socialize runs.

P&G wins advertiser of the year honors at Middle East/Africa awards.Continue reading...

With conference tournaments dominating this week in men's college basketball, it means that official March Madness is just around the corner. And when the NCAA men's tournament begins next week, brands are going to be more ready than ever to take advantage. That's because March Madness has become a multifaceted, extended marketing "season" much as the NFL Super Bowl represents earlier each year.

In fact, in some ways, March Madness arguably has become an even more effective tentpole marketing platform than the Super Bowl.Continue reading...

The world is not tiring of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin. And why should it? 

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last month, you are likely aware that the 23-year-old Harvard grad, who happens to be the first American-born NBA player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent, surprisingly led the New York Knicks on a seven-game winning streak and has scored 17 0r more in nine out of the 11 games he’s started. His play has lifted the hopes of Knicks fans that their team can find some triumphs this season as well as in the playoffs.

With his success on the court has come a lot of off-the-court love and attention, of course, particularly from folks who’d like to stick his name on their products. Nike, not surprisingly, has stepped in to give him his own shoe deal. And now Ben & Jerry’s has released a limited-edition ice cream, according to the Boston Globe.

The new flavor, “Taste the Lin-Sanity,” is only being served at Ben & Jerry's Harvard Square "scoop shop" in Cambridge, Mass., which makes sense as Lin is an alum — although it would be a surefire hit in the NYC market, too. It was intended to be a fun tribute, although it proved uncool to a few who felt the ingredients were insulting. OK, racist.Continue reading...

As it has done for the past three Academy Award ceremonies, jcpenney will hit the Oscars red carpet by promoting its recent "brand refresh," showing off that it's had a little work done (new logo, single-monikered lowercase name) and is making a comeback in true Hollywood fashion.

New brand face Ellen DeGeneres will be featured in five 30-second commercials (watch "Changing Room" above and a sneak peek at others set in the Wild West, Victorian England and ancient Rome, below) that will air in North America during ABC's telecast on Sunday night.

Other brands debuting new campaigns at the 84th annual Academy Awards include Hyundai's new Wes Anderson commercials, and a glamorous spot for the sixth-generation SL roadster by Mercedes-Benz.Continue reading...

Tesco is still committed to its Greener Living sustainability commitment — "helping our customers make greener choices" — despite having just scrapped its pledge to add carbon-footprint labels to thousands of its products and reduce its own carbon footprint. The retailer has announced a new green partnership to raise millions of pounds to protect vulnerable rainforests and associated communities around the world.

At the same time, Unilever enhanced its "ambitious" (as the Guardian puts it) long-term sustainability commitment with the news that it plans to make its Magnum brand the world's first ice cream to source 100 percent of its global cocoa supply from sustainable sources, by 2015.Continue reading...

Strange bedfellows, but sweet promise from DBG, Mindshare Entertainment, and Unilever’s I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! brand.

Toast to the Red Carpet LIVE! is billed as a first-of-its-kind web show that will stream live during the Oscars ceremony on Sunday, February 26th on UsWeekly.com, and the brand's Facebook page starting at 6:00pm EST.

Celebrity panelists include a quartet of TV personalities — dancer/model Brooke Burke, model/actress Molly Sims, fashion commentator (and former Queer Eye for the Straight Guy) Carson Kressley and cookbook author Katie Lee — all dishing on celebrity fashion and up-to-the-minute red carpet coverage.Continue reading...

Frozen yogurt? It's all Greek to Ben & Jerry's, evidently, as the Unilever-owned brand is jumping on the Greek Yogurt craze with a line of frozen Greek yogurt.

The Junk Food Guy blog got the scoop by sampling B&J's new Strawberry Shortcake Greek frozen yogurt flavor after spotting it at his local supermarket. His verdict: "very soft, fluffy, CREAMY, and not super sweet. The strawberry flavor was present but not overwhelming, and the little bits of strawberries added an accent here and there."

The description on the package, which features the brand's iconic jersey cow wearing a Greek laurel wreath and Greek yogurt as the second listed ingredient:

Sweet Eureka! It's our most epic Fro Yo yet & it's uniquely Greek! Made with real Greek Yogurt, it's all the creamy richness of Greek yogurt, and Ben & Jerrily loaded with all the flavor boldness and fun chunks you expect. We think it's really Greekin' good & it'll pretty much rock your acropolis. 

According to the On Second Scoop blog, the brand's updated Fro Yo line launches next week. Besides Strawberry Shortcake, other flavors apparently include Raspberry Fudge Chunk, Blackberry Vanilla Graham Cracker, and Banana Peanut Butter.

Take a closer look at the packaging, as photographed by the Junk Food Guy, below.Continue reading...

In honor of Valentine's Day, London's Victoria Station is hosting an interactive billboard (which it's calling a ‘tweet screen’) to engage the public through February 19th. Over the seven-day run of the interactive campaign, Dove will post a question on the JCDecaux large-format Transvision screen in the path of 350,000 commuters daily.

The public is invited to respond via tweets using the #DOVELOVE hashtag or by SMS DOVELOVE to 60002 or via the Dove Facebook page at Facebook.com/dove.

On Monday, the question was, "What makes you feel beautiful?" with responses sent via Twitter or SMS posted on the screen. Today, on Valentine's Day, the question is: "What do you love about your Valentine?" with Dove brand ambassadors handing out white tulips.Continue reading...