Above, Beijing t-shirt maker Plastered releases its 草泥马老板 ("Grass Mud Horse" Boss) shirt. 

China is the second largest economy in the world and every significant brand's future is impacted by its growth (or collapse)—but who's got the time?! Here's the week's reads that will make you look like a keen China observer in case you find yourself immersed in a cultural conversation.

This week: Beckham's Adidias/Nike problem... McDonald's closes iconic location... bashing Apple... Steve Jobs manga... what your brand of car says about your sex life... Walmart... Nongfu... more infant formula scandals... Jackie Chan... Vera Wang... bye bye black Audis... and much more.Continue reading...

New York politicians are making life difficult for anybody who sells sugared beverages, but it doesn't stop there. Recently, Dunkin’ Donuts came under fire from state comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, who doesn't usually deal with what restaurants serve to their customers.

The state’s pension fund owns 51,400 shares of Dunkin’ Brands Group (worth around $2 million) and DiNapoli has been working toward getting any companies the fund invests in to be more involved in sustainable practices, the New York Times reports. As a result of DiNapoli's work, Dunkin’ said Thursday that it would announce in the second quarter a timetable for obtaining the palm oil it uses in its products from sustainable sources.

“Consumers may not realize that many of the foods and cosmetics they eat and use contain palm oil that has been harvested in ways that are severely detrimental to the environment,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “Shareholder value is enhanced when companies take steps to address the risks associated with environmental practices that promote climate change.”

Meanwhile, Dunkin’ and other coffee vendors in New York City are preparing for the difficult task ahead of informing its customers about which of its drinks have more sugar than the new Mayor Bloomberg-pushed, American Beverage Association-opposed, NYC sugary drinks ban allows. According to the Times, Dunkin’ Donuts is handing out fliers to inform its customers while Starbucks is waiting until the rule goes into effect Tuesday before taking any action.Continue reading...

Critics feeling that Michelle Obama has been overexposed lately, from presenting at the Oscars to mom-dancing with Jimmy Fallon, will have a hard time critiquing her latest move. The First Lady is expanding Let's Move, her three-year-old initiative to get kids moving and combat childhood obesity, and she's tapping one of the world's leading brands in the "get moving" space—Nike. 

NIKE, Inc. President & CEO Mark Parker joined First Lady Michelle Obama and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan in Chicago to announce Nike’s $50 million, five-year commitment to help launch a new Let's Move program for schools, an extension of the brand's involvement in the organization's Designed to Move study that found that only one in three American kids are active daily.Continue reading...

While Hollywood royalty gathered in the Dolby Theater for the 85th Academy Awards, officially rebranded as "The Oscars," the rest of us watched on TV, Twitter and Facebook.

Not only was there a name change for the revered Awards, an image refresh with production values more reminiscent of the Tonys and lesser-known host MacFarlane, but the integration of social media and television found a new rhythm paving the way for social TV as "the screen"—mirroring and integrating broadcast and digital.

In all, there were more than 8.9 million tweets about the show.

Rookie host Seth MacFarlane lived up to his reputation as a provocative ‘outsider’ bringing fresh verve to an old gig while two brands, Samsung and Honda, seized the horns of the newest category—Best use of Social TV.

Samsung’s massive prosumer marketing message around its Galaxy products leveraged TV spots featuring director Tim Burton and the “upcoming” Unicorn Apocalypse film set, where viewers can follow game developers in real-time as they create the video game. 

With four and a half minutes of air time during the Oscars, the six spots extended the Unicorn Apocalypse theme introduced earlier by 72andSunny, underscoring Samsung Galaxy products as useful for work and play. The overall message: Galaxy products are the next big thing in business.Continue reading...

The White House is celebrating the third anniversary of the Let's Move healthy kids challenge with an old friend: Big Bird.

The beloved Sesame Street character became a talking point during the last presidential election debates regarding PBS funding. Now he's been a VIP at the White House to help First Lady Michelle Obama engage kids in her national anti-obesity program with a new PSA above (see another spot here).

Another powerhouse kids entertainment franchise is lending one of its stars to a government effort. Disney is leveraging its Princess power by hiring out Cinderella for a new spot for the Ad Council, promoting safer car seats in a new public awareness campaign you can watch below.Continue reading...

President Obama's "Four more years" victory tweet has become the most retweeted tweet in the history of tweets (sorry, Bieber). Attached to Obama's historic tweet, a photo of the First Lady, arms thrown around the president, who wears rolled-up sleeves and a wristwatch. But what watch?Continue reading...

Despite our objections over the poor grammar, Barack Obama's campaign is promoting "Gotta Vote" as its voter registration slogan with GottaVote.com and new spots released today featuring Barack and Michelle Obama.

With all the talk of "Walmart moms" in the US election cycle, the Obama re-election team today released a direct appeal to that demographic.

The video above, distributed on the Walmart Community YouTube channel, features the First Walmart Mom, Michelle Obama, who helped launch Walmart's healthy food platform. She talks about how she and Barack started married life in debt from student loans, and points to BarackObama.com/plans and, of course, vote.barackobama.com.

And in the interests of balance if not equal time, the Walmart channel also posted an appeal for the Romney campaign by Ann Romney, whose video clocks in at 5:25 vs 3:10 for Michelle:Continue reading...