Charlie Ergen's Dish Network offers to buy Sprint for $25.5 billion in a bid to one up SoftBank.

ConAgra, Heinz and Nestle lead frozen food battle to reverse negative image.

Nike seeks to regain its edge with fewer ads following Tiger Woods stumble.

Dannon uses Greek-style to leapfrog Yoplait to top of U.S. yogurt business.

Apple clearly enters post-Jobs era.

Justin Bieber sparks controversy with Anne Frank comment.

Boeing sees new inspection order on its 737s.Continue reading...

Deutsche Telekom raises bid for MetroPCS.

The Masters begins at Augusta National today with Tiger Woods again among the favorites.

Toyota and other Japanese automakers recall 3.4 million vehicles over Takata airbag.

Applebee's led first-quarter social media engagement by restaurants.

Barnes & Noble rebrands self-publishing platform PubIt! as Nook Press as it continues to invest in future of Nook brand.

Justin Bieber backs a debit card for teens, from parents.

ConocoPhillips suspends Arctic drilling plan.

Daimler says worsening Europe puts its 2013 profit outlook in doubt.

Dell plans to double sales outlets in China.Continue reading...

Running is about to change forever. Well, that’s what the marketing minds at Adidas want you to think about their new running shoes, the Adidas Boost trainers, which will make their debut Wednesday.

To prove the point, Adidas has released a teaser video (below) that shows off three metal balls being dropped from the top of the frame onto the base material for Boost, EVA (or ethylene vinyl acetate, which is often used in running shoes), and concrete. Guess which ball bounces the highest by far? Spoiler alert: Boost it is.

The Adidas Running website and Facebook page are also teasing the big reveal at a global press event in New York, while promoting the #boost hashtag to stir Twitter conversations.Continue reading...

Justin Bieber is in damage control mode as his personal brand reels following photos of the baby-faced Canadian teen idol smoking cannabis at a party (for which he duly apologized to his millions of Twitter followers with the "trying to be better" message posted on January 5th).

A lot is riding on the bankability of the singer, who's a bonafide mogul at the tender age of 18, with a higher Klout "influence" score than Barack Obama or The Dalai Lama. Having garnered more than 3 billion views on YouTube, 48 million Facebook fans and more than 30 million Twitter followers, Bieber’s appeal and reach are incomparable in the underage cohort.

So besides music, perfume, merchandise and concert tickets to sell, Team Bieber is also counting on a growing revenue stream: extending Bieber's name to other brands through endorsement deals.Continue reading...

One of the last big things that Joel Ewanick did before he was bounced as General Motors' CMO last summer was to declare that the giant automaker was going to sit out TV advertising in Super Bowl XLVII on February 3. But don't be surprised that GM is trying to find every other way it can to attach itself to the Big Game.

One of the latest reports is that Chevrolet plans to place its all-new 2014 Corvette on the 50-yard-line during the halftime show and present it to this year's celebrity performer (and Pepsi partner), Beyonce. But GM hasn't budged an inch in terms of its decision to sit out actual advertising during the Super Bowl telecast on CBS, even though Chevy could probably make real good use this year of its traditionally strong presence in the game, with a new 2014 Silverado pick-up truck comnig out and its overall brand message remaining muddled.

Speaking of Beyonce, PepsiCo now plans to put 50 contest winners onstage with her during the halftime show. The online contest invites entrants to post photos of themselves in Beyonce-style positions that could be used in ads promoting her performance.

In other Super Bowl advertising news, M&Ms has announced that it will return to the game with an all-new 30-second commercial during the first quarter. Last year, M&Ms introduced the world to its "Ms. Brown" character that was a hit with viewers. All that Mars Chocolate North America will say about its plans for this Super Bowl is that it will "tap our colorful characters" once again.Continue reading...

K-pop phenom Psy's "Gangam Style" video beats Justin Bieber record to become YouTube's most-viewed video ever, with 805 million views on Friday (knocking on 824 million views now) to Bieber's 803 million for "Baby." Bieber, meanwhile, insults fellow Canadians by wearing overalls to pick up award from Prime Minister.

GM considers Buick logo change and bets it can make the 54-year-old Chevy Impala a head-turner again.

Black Friday in-store sales undercut by Thanksgiving early bird shoppers, mobile and e-commerce shoppers.

GSK and other pharma anger critics by paying for studies.

Hostess Brands eyed by Flower Foods.

Mango replaces Kate Moss with Miranda Kerr.

McDonald's testing Egg White McMuffin and variations on Quarter Pounder.

Mercedes-Benz taps Kate Upton for Super Bowl.

Nintendo's revamped Wii takes aim at a changed game world.Continue reading...

Back in February, Adidas announced that it's planning to target “teenage girls more influenced by music and fashion than sports” and expand its three-year-old NEO sub-brand and start “exploiting social-media platforms including Facebook and Twitter.” Today the 60th Best Global Brand made good on all those promises by announcing Justin Bieber as the new face of NEO in a two-year partnership, including a Find My Gold Shoes contest on Facebook and serving as a style icon to pull together looks each season.

BP sells Gulf of Mexico oil fields for $5.5 billion to help pay for spill settlement while Petrobras seeks partner for development of its Gulf sites.

HP expands workforce reduction to 29,000 positions.

AIG will see U.S. slash its stake to become minority shareholder with $18 billion sell-off.

Apple cuts reliance on Samsung for iPhone chips as iPhone 5 mania and rumor mill heat up.

Audi threatens BMW's seven-year luxury auto crown.

Google charges retailers in growing competition with Amazon, as Google Fiber launch site takes off and Google Glasses hit the runway at New York Fashion Week.

NBC faces Paralympic TV deal scrutiny while the UK celebrates the end of the summer of the Olympics with London 2012 parade.Continue reading...