Carnival Cruise Lines sees brand perceptions drop to all-time low.

J.C. Penney losses snowball as boost in ad spending can't reverse sales declline.

Facebook inks deal to show ads based on shopping habits.

AC/DC rocks their own signature brand of beer.

American Express pushes e-commerce to TV commerce.

Apple preaches patience.

Boeing apologizes for Dreamliner fiasco.

Caesars looks to web gambling for financial help.

Flowers Foods set to buy Wonder, other Hostess brands for $390 million.Continue reading...

TD takes top spot on Interbrand's new Best Canadian Brands ranking.

JCPenney continues claw-back of new business model, plans to use term "sale" again.

Sara Lee renames North American business Hillshire Brands and narrows focus to meat.

Apple uses more celebrities in marketing; what does that say about new products?

Justin Bieber debuts another fragrance concept called Girlfriend.

Burger King expands in Russia.

Clear Channel shifts royalty deal for music artists including Taylor Swift's label.Continue reading...

Molson Coors makes almost all of its sales in Canada, the U.S., and Great Britain, so it's no surprise that the brewer is looking to expand internationally. The Chicago-based company is also developing new products to entice those new markets.

Case in point: an iced tea brew called Coors Light Iced T, which it unveiled in a presentation on Tuesday to analysts. "The citrus-like, iced tea-flavored beer will have roughly 4% alcohol content but no caffeine," the Wall Street Journal notes. The drive to innovate and develop new products is simple. "Someone else is eating our lunch in the alcohol space," Molson Coors CEO Peter Swinburn told analysts.

The tea brewski will be found in Molson's homeland of Canada first, according to Reuters, “where consumers are interested in flavored beers,” and could end up appearing on U.S. shelves in time as well. Reuters reports that Molson Coors will also introduce the citrus-flavored Carling Zest, which will be sold for a limited time, as well as an autumn-inspired Leinenkugels beer.Continue reading...

Amazon's original programming plans draws speculation.

Apple prepares for iPad (HD?) reveal frenzy today while new device also could be boon for Verizon Wireless; and company receives key patent for iWallet.

Arby's uses holistic approach to social media to boost Klout score.

Bank of America is bullish on girl power.

Bentley's 'ugly' SUV the talk of the Geneva Motor Show.

Boeing forms alliance with Chinese jet maker.

Carbonite sees stock price drop after withdrawing advertising from Rush Limbaugh, as radio host sees 30+ advertisers leave, including Netflix.

Chevron faces criticism after gas-rig fire off Nigeria.

Cosmopolitan reaches 100K paid digital subscriptions.Continue reading...

HP hires former eBay CEO (and "prolific deal maker") Meg Whitman to replace an unaware Leo Apotheker and turn around the company.

AT&T seeks trial to challenge Dept. of Justice opposition to T-Mobile merger.

Yum! Brands unloads A&W and Long John Silver's chains to separate buyers.

American Express sees top spenders curb luxury purchases.

Dish Network and Blockbuster are ready to unveil Netflix streaming competitor.

Google TV apps leak.

Molson Coors unveils corporate citizenship initiative.Continue reading...

Molson Coors’ announcement that it will launch Animée, a new “bloat-resistant” beer aimed at women, in the UK this fall has not exactly been welcomed with squeals of joy and air kisses by female commentators.

Many seem to view the new campaign as a cosmetic condescension that will likely do little to make up for decades of sexist marketing that have driven women away from beer in the first place.

As Melissa Cole puts on the sarcasm: “It's called Animee, because girls are drawn to anime and the name Aimee. It's pretty! It tastes like 'light, sparkling, finely filtered beer' (also known as Zima).”

Ouch. Kim Conte at The Stir is even more blunt: “Just because I'm female doesn't mean I like to drink crappy beer.”

The message? Try a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T ... it might be more effective than frou-frou marketing in enticing women to embrace beer.Continue reading...

Air New Zealand's Rico is back, this time with David Hasselhoff, who was down under last month to promote...Continue reading...

Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, Chicago and Tokyo make final pitches for 2016 Summer Games before International Olympic Committee. [NY Times] UPDATE: Chicago and Tokyo are eliminated first, Rio is picked.

Starbucks asks consumers to realign expectations with Via. [WSJ]

Do iPhone complaints, network problems, hurt AT&T's brand? [CNET]

Will revelations about CBS Late Night host David Letterman's affair, extortion help or hinder ratings, brand? [NY Times]

In bid for NBC Universal, Comcast strives to become media empire. [NY Times]

In a surprise move, the London Evening Standard goes free of charge. [Telegraph]

(More headlines: WaPo and Bloomberg, Joop! loses trademark ruling.)Continue reading...