It used to be that the celebrity endorsement game was mainly played in an arena wired with TV, radio and print. Now, with Facebook and Twitter at brands' and celebrities' fingertips alike, the rules of that game have changed. Witness the uproar over paid tweets, as CNN highlights above.

It's a tricky area, which has created an opportunity for firms such as Ad.ly to help brands and celebs navigate the choppy seas of celebrity endorsement in a highly social, visible and transparent era.Continue reading...

In October 1993, a television ad with the tag line "got milk?" first appeared. It was part of a campaign to increase milk consumption by making the drink appear "cool."

Previous ads conveyed the nutritional value of milk — but this and subsequent ads demonstrated that milk was the perfect sidekick to cookies, chocolate cake, and other "junk food." As the campaign matured, a series of "milk mustache" ads also appeared, showing celebrities and VIPs sporting an upper lip adorned by the white stuff.

Well, sometimes in the branding world, the more things change the more they stay the same. Not only is "got milk?" and the ubiquitous celebrity milk mustache campaign still around, it's spreading beyond ads to social media and the public, via a national tour that's traveling to 75 U.S. cities through September.Continue reading...