Social media mavens gathered in New York City Monday night for the 5th annual Shorty Awards, which honors the best short form content across Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, YouTube, Foursquare and more. 

Considered the Oscars for Twitter, the of-the-moment awards ceremony garnered more than 1.8 million tweet nominations during this year's voting process. With acceptance speeches limited to 140 characters, the awards capture the brightest spots on social, from the most viral memes to the most shared social campaigns. 

Started in 2008 by tech startup Sawhorse Media, the first Shorty Awards catered to a small audience of 300, but since then, the importance of social media campaigns have grown exponentially.Continue reading...

A warning by the FDA over anti-aging claims is causing a furrowed brow at L'Oreal and its competitors.

Beauty creams, especially those that target the effects of aging on the skin, are the cream of the crop when it comes to getting consumers to . In 2011, the market for these typically expensive premium skin care products grew by 15 percent vs. just 1 percent for mass market products, according to research firm Euromonitor International.

Now one of the leaders in the market, L'Oreal's Lancome brand, is getting its manicured hand slapped by America's Food and Drug Administration over product claims the agency says have gone too far. The products are sold under the Genifique, Absolue, and Renergie brand names.Continue reading...

New York Giants Super Bowl champion Victor Cruz cut the ribbon today in a kick-off event for New York's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, now gearing up to debut Fall 2012 collections starting Thursday morning at Lincoln Center.

There's also a whirlwind of virtual activity in what the HighLow blog calls "the most egalitarian" New York Fashion Week yet, including a Facebook invitation to RSVP to live-streams of the runway shows and join the conversation on Twitter via the #liverunway hashtag.

YouTube and Maybelline will once again sponsor a real-time YouTube channel that will bring 30 of the Fall 2012 runway shows to the world. The runway videos will also be archived at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week YouTube channel.

Cover Girl is partnering with Polyvore and the Fashion Institute of Technology on Polyvore.com/Live, which will see four FIT grads debut their collections to an audience of fashion insiders and bloggers: Lauren Bagliore, Vengsarkar “Ven” Budhu, Sergio Guadarrama, and Dana-Maxx Pomerantz.Continue reading...

With four more days of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, Maybelline touts its sponsorship of YouTube's live streaming coverage of the runway shows from Lincoln Center with roving reporter (and model/designer) Erin Wasson, who talks to designer Rebecca Taylor (and, oddly, Bravo "real housewife" Ramona Singer).

Today's  #NYFW spring/summer 2012 runway shows include Carolina Herrera, Donna Karan New York, Rebecca Minkoff, Betsey Johnson, and Perry Ellis. All except for DKNY are streaming on YouTube; DKNY's show will be streaming live on the brand's Facebook page at 2pm ET.

And in another interesting use of digital this fashion week, the Oscar de la Renta show will stream live on Tumblr tomorrow (9/13 at 6pm ET), with a user-generated stream of content tagged with #odlrlive already leading up to the livestream in a first for Tumblr — which is eager to stay in style with fashion brands and fashionistas via its real-time NYFW coverage, especially following a pre-Fashion Week pratfall on its own runway.

Amazon results beat Wall Street estimates as ad-supported Kindle tops e-reader sales.

American Apparel partners with eBay.

Comcast and NBC launch TV's "holy grail" — dynamic VOD advertising.

Dunkin' Brands prices IPO at $19/share for $2.4 billion valuation; but can it grow coffee biz?

Facebook launches new portal to help brands better target their marketing.

FOX narrows window on free streaming of network programming, with Dish Network first to sign on.

Google targets small business ad market, while interest in Hulu raises speculation.

Kraft begins global pitch for Trident.Continue reading...

The media landscape has abruptly changed. Magazines have shuttered, newspaper circulation has dwindled and viewers have tuned out broadcast television. Where are brands to turn now that the established advertising channels have dried up?

To the Internet, of course, where they’re creating their own content to advertise around: web series.

Web series – online shorts created for advertisers, also known as webisodes and branded entertainment – are having a great year. Brands like Ikea, American Family Insurance, Sara Lee, Hidden Valley Ranch and Maybelline have flocked to the trend, reaping positive results.

The notion is not completely new, harkening back to the early days of entertainment and radio and television shows sponsored by a sole brand. Today, what has changed is the extent to which brands are involved in the creative process.Continue reading...