For a series of Batman movies that takes itself so seriously, it's a surprise to see it right there so prominent as one of only five menu items on the official The Dark Knight Rises website: "Imported From Gotham City."

The Dark Knight Rises has a number of other official partners. There is Nokia (remember them?) and No Fear (remember them?) and Mountain Dew, which features at the core of its tie-in "Sad Batman." But none of these brands even get a mention on the film's official website, let alone being featured on the site navigation.

It seems that the heavyweight "Imported from Detroit" campaign, which debuted with Eminem at the 2011 Super Bowl and was reborn with Clint Eastwood at the 2012 Super Bowl, is now so ingrained in the American psyche that it's worth lampooning. But the first rule of auto product placement is "be serious." Be so, so serious.Continue reading...

There will be a few cracking a smug smile at today's news that the "2 the max" XXX XTreme brand No Fear has filed for bankruptcy protection.

The lifestyle clothing brand, which has 41 stores and is headquartered in Carlsbad, CA, cited the poor economy for its filing. Yes, the brand that once sold a t-shirt reading "Does not play well with others" is now going to be forced to play well with others… or at least, its creditors.

Launched in 1989 as a simple apparel company. The brand extended into energy drinks with PepsiCo's SoBe brand, "extreme" sport sponsorships, and, recently, trucks. No Fear infected the 1990s, coming to define a certain lifestyle of the decade, which is why, like many such brands, it came to have a healthy number of detractors.Continue reading...