With the Year of the Snake dawning, Nike's zodiac cycle is complete: The approaching Chinese New Year will bring what Nike claims is a 12th version of its special edition zodiac animal-themed shoes.

In 2001, Nike had just one zodiac offering, the Air Force 1 Low 3M "Snake." In the ensuing years, some Nike zodiac shoes were better than others. (Air Max 1 Year of the Ox, anyone? Nike Dunk High pigs?).  This year, with a better creature to work with, and as it had with last year's Year of the Dragon, Nike —along with its Jordan brand — has introduced a collection of serpentine shoes.

Nike isn't alone: Shelves of shoe stores in China are about to be filled with scaly offerings that would make Indiana Jones shudder. Continue reading...

(RED) has announced (RED)Music, a place to buy exclusive tickets and packages from top artists and a centerpiece of the organization's inaugural (RED) Rush to Zero campaign, running June 1-10 to raise funding and awareness to deliver an AIDS Free Generation by 2015.

“The virtual elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV is part of the eight Millennium Development Goals, which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS by the target date of 2015,” said the press release.Continue reading...

After launching a bikini babes, donuts and milk spot, Scion thought better and pulled it. It lives on though. (via)

Blondes in bikinis and Helen Keller. Of course it's Nike. Continue reading...

QVC is selling Titanic-branded merchandise for sinking centenary next month. "Legacy 1912 –Titanicä" perfume, anyone?

H&M is rumored to have a high-end luxury fashion line in the works, while its Conscious Collection lands on April 14th.

Converse Chuck Taylor Premium line recasts iconic high-top sneaker in luxe leather.

Move over, Ralph Lauren's Big Pony and Lacoste's Big Croc — Benetton is joining the big logo brigade:Continue reading...

Having just released its Gorillaz co-branded Chuck Taylor sneaker collection, Converse today released the official music video for its latest "Three  Artists. One Song" music collaboration series, a song called "DoYaThing," which features Gorillaz with Andre 3000 and former LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy. Watch it below.Continue reading...

Converse is continuing its "Three Artists. One Song" musical collaborations with a new single being released Friday: DoYaThing, a "robo-funk" (as NME calls it) track featuring Blur spinoff Gorillaz with guests Andre 3000 of Outkast fame and musician/producer James Murphy in his post-LCD Soundsystem guise.

The track is promoting the brand's limited edition Gorillaz-themed line of sneakers, which includes camouflage Chuck Taylor high top sneakers, designed by comic book artist Jamie Hewlett, who was best known for Tank Girl before he designed the Gorillaz characters.

The co-branded collection/single/video launch is being promoted with a Twitter hashtag and teaser videos, which you can check out below.Continue reading...

And now for something completely different: in honor of Chinese New Year (Kung Hei Fat Choi!) this week's Brand Bites round-up is all China, all the time:

• Coach is targeting mainland consumers with limited edition Spring Festival e-card collaboration with artist Zhang Lan. And some nifty Year of the Dragon themed accessories, above.Continue reading...

Tough guy Mickey Rourke laughing at himself in Snickers ad is great, though it's no Steven Seagal for Mountain Dew commercial. (via)

Get the "real story" behind Apple's "Think Different" ad campaign.

Google is being lobbied to quit a lobbying group: the US Chamber of Commerce. To find out more, Google: "Google + quit + US Chamber of Commerce."

Parental SEO alert, from "12 Harsh Truths About the Internet": "If you want your kid to be Googleable, you'll have to give them a weird-ass name."Continue reading...