Coca-Cola appoints SVP of integrated marketing Wendy Clark (right) to new role as SVP of its newly created a Global Sparkling Brand Center, combining its global brand and integrated marketing teams under her leadership.

AccuWeather named Jim Candor as chief strategy officer, Steven Smith as chief digital officer, and John Dokes as chief marketing officer.

Conde Nast promoted CMO Louis Cona to president and chief revenue officer of the media group. 

Crocs hired Andy Sackmann as CMO.

Dockers hired Adrienne Lofton Shaw as vice president and CMO.Continue reading...

AOL faces crossroads with shareholders at annual meeting.

Airbus may take eight weeks for A380 wing fix.

Apple rumor mill churns ahead of WWDC announcements this week as it beats Google for loyalty of app developers.

BBC hires marketing chief from Diageo.

BMW and Audi post record sales as China boom continues.

CNN reportedly close to acquiring Mashable.

Domino's overseas business now beats U.S.

Facebook already appears past days of wild user growth.Continue reading...

Weight Watchers has been bucking the tide in the weight-loss business during the year since introducing a huge wrinkle in its long-used diet-evaluation system, called Points Plus. And now, the company wants to apply its new success formula to male dieters.

Even though January is the seasonal high tide for Weight Watchers, Jenny (Craig), Nutrisystem and other dieting brands, overall the weight-loss business has been getting leaner these days. Recessionary times and consumers taking a dollar-saving, individualized approach to weight loss have been largely to blame for a lagging industry performance that gained only 2 percent last year compared with a traditional 6-percent year-on-year improvement.

That's one big reason Nutrisystem has increased its focus on men.Continue reading...

Watch the big diet companies and you might think they're playing a game of who can snag the most high-profile celebrity spokesperson. The latest VIP dieters for hire: Charles Barkley, the NBA pro turned TV sportscaster, who tried Weight Watchers on his own and will now be featured in the company's "Lose Like a Man" campaign which starts the day after Christmas, according to the New York Times. Janet Jackson, meanwhile, was revealed today as the new face of Nutrisystem.Continue reading...

It's almost the time of year again for weight-loss brands to make hay while the sun shines. And Jenny Craig is stepping up in a big way.

The leading diet brand is overhauling its approach for the post-holidays weight-loss season, adopting a new, more holistic positioning that goes beyond simple dieting. The brand has begun a relationship with the American Heart Association, supporting local efforts and reaching out to moms over their concerns about childhood obesity.

Jenny Craig has dropped its surname, to go with just "Jenny," and has recruited a slimmed-down Mariah Carey to serve as Jenny's brand icon and celebrity spokesperson.

"'Jenny' has a greater vision," CEO Dana Fiser told brandchannel. "We can do good work. Overweight is, of course, a huge part of the population. And we're concerned about children. We really think with this new brand platform and the American Heart Association that we can help modify behaviors with mothers and also influence the behaviors of children."Continue reading...

Maria Shriver (who recently hinted she's in transition) and Arnold Schwarzenegger prepare to divorce as he announces movie comeback and their son Patrick responds on Twitter.

Bristol Palin lands reality show on History Channel's BIO cable channel.

Facebook asks to be exempt from US political advertising rules.

Audi launches roadside assistance app.

Australian advertisers face opposition on self-regulation and children's marketing.

BMW launches eBay store in the UK.Continue reading...

It just wasn’t enough for Weight Watchers International to overhaul its entire calorie-counting scheme earlier this year with the introduction of the Points Plus system.

And, apparently, it wasn’t enough for Weight Watchers management to see brand ambassador Jennifer Hudson heap high praise on the brand and its approach. “Now I’ve lost weight, my voice is getting back to a [better] state,” she said.

So now, Weight Watchers is really turning its weight-loss positioning in a new direction — by going after men.Continue reading...

In some countries, like the United States, being overweight is such a major concern that noted celebrities, including Michelle Obama (who today marked the first anniversary of her Let's Move program with a new advertising campaign) and Sesame Street's Elmo, are publicly campaigning against childhood obesity.

Part of the problem is, simply, overeating. In the U.S., for example, the propensity to consume too much is fueled by gargantuan portions at restaurants and a diet that, for many people, features a high percentage of fats, carbs, and sugars. Interestingly, Americans and others who overeat are about to get help from the same food manufacturers who make the stuff that may be bad for them.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Nestle researchers are currently working on "new types of foods that, essentially, seek to trick the gut brain," also known as the enteric nervous system, which controls the human body's feeling of being hungry or being full.Continue reading...