"Acting!" That's the NRA's much anticipated response to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" ad featuring a gun owner who admits to supporting comprehensive background checks for gun purchases.

The NRA claims that because the organization will not give out the name of the ad's star, he must be an actor. Also, because he's mishandling the gun in the ad—something no real pro-gun owner would ever, ever do—he must be a plant. Now one blog is offering a bounty on the actor's identity to prove the NRA correct.

It's the latest turn in the increasingly petty back and forth between gun rights and gun control advocates.Continue reading...

AB InBev reached a tentative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice over its disputed $20.1 billion acquisition of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo, which faces inquiry over Mexico worker deaths.

GE to buy Lufkin for $3 billion in oil-and-gas-industry play.

PepsiCo seeks to patent novel high-protein nutrition beverages.

Adidas stops controversial sale of t-shirts around injured Louisville player Kevin Ware.

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong to be honored for pro-women Makers series.

Apple's former advisor to Steve Jobs admits brand screwed up iPhone naming system.Continue reading...

Oprah Winfrey remains a force of nature, but as she struggles to right her eponymous network, readies launch of an organic brand (also eponymous) on her Maui farm and prepares to address a comparatively small (for her) audience as the speaker at Harvard's 362nd commencement, her latest foe is the CRTC.

Canada’s TV watchdog has put OWN and Corus Entertainment (Canadian licensee) on notice for not fulfilling its educational mandate and has issued a mandatory order to ensure OWN in Canada "complies with its nature of service definition."

"Oprah Winfrey may have taught millions of followers the importance of self-esteem and the value of a good book, but the Canadian broadcasting regulator ruled on Friday that her fireside chats with other celebrities don’t qualify as educational programming, spelling the end of the Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada) as it currently exists," notes The Globe and Mail.Continue reading...

Beyoncé is beyond busy. Following her Pepsi-sponsored Super Bowl halftime show, she presented an award at the Grammys with Ellen Degeneres, she's the cover girl for the March issue of Vogue, she did an interview with Oprah Winfrey and her documentary aired on HBO, not to mention that her "Mrs. Carter World Tour" is almost upon us, kicking off in Belgrade in April and reaching the U.S. in late June. 

The star posted a Warhol-inspired ad to her Facebook page (which has over 43 million likes!) and can be seen striking three poses, highlighting her much-talked about new bleached blonde hair. The caption, in a nod to her soda sponsor's "Live for Now" tagline and the 60's inspiration: "Pop Art inspires me to Live for NOW."

In another made-for-social promo image, Pepsi's $50 million girl channels Monroe and Bardot, clad in a pair of teeny shorts and a tight-fitting white turtleneck. The ads, which promote her upcoming Pepsi-sponsored tour have come under some fire for portraying the vocal star with a visibly fairer complexion.Continue reading...

Pepsi promoted new artists like Hunter Hayes as part of its presence on the Grammy Awards last night, but most of its music marketing budget remains devoted to one very established diva: Beyonce.

Beyonce is demonstrating her personal-brand firepower these days like no time in recent years. Using her Pepsi-sponsored Super Bowl halftime show as a launching pad, she also gave an award at the Grammys with Ellen Degeneres, made time to serve as the cover girl for the March issue of Vogue, taped an interview with Oprah Winfrey scheduled to run on Saturday and, of course, is awaiting reaction to the documentary about her that HBO plans to run on Sunday.

That's all by way of ramping up fan fever for her new "Mrs. Carter World Tour," which kicks off in Belgrade in April and finally reaches the United States in late June. MasterCard is holding a ticket presale event.Continue reading...

In addition to new campaigns for Ford's "Hello Again" music project for the Lincoln brand and Kraft's "We are the World"-like music video for its Miracle Whip dressing during the Grammy Awards telecast on CBS, a host of other brands used the post-Super Bowl platform to make some noise.

Anheuser Busch InBev's Bud Light Platinum debuted its new new campaign by its new "creative director," Justin Timberlake, while Target also used the Grammys to kick off its tie-in with the singer's new album and promote its tie-ins with singer Pink and fashion designer Prabal Gurung:Continue reading...

As Lance Armstrong’s personal brand and fortune hits the skids, Oprah Winfrey’s OWN and partner Discovery Communications are reaping the benefits.

The question is to what extent the interview with the disgraced cyclist will serve as a turning point for her eponymous network, which launched on Jan. 1, 2011.

Discovery has invested more than $400 million in OWN, and says the channel will turn a profit for the first time in the second half of 2013.

OWN is turning a corner on per-subscriber fees from some of the biggest U.S. cable and satellite operators, with a reach of 83 million homes and the contractual ability to boost those subscriber fees two years post-launch now kicking in.

So is OWN finally ready for prime time, and will the Armstrong exclusive enhance the network's performance?Continue reading...

Oprah Winfrey and Discovery's OWN TV channel sets ad premium Lance Armstrong TV confession while his personal brand redemption bid is seen as falling short.

AT&T takes $10 billion pension charge against earnings.

Amazon launches music store for Apple devices.

Ameriprise Financial taps Tommy Lee Jones for encore.

Aston-Martin seeks development partner to build high-end engines.

Boeing grounding of Dreamliner forces airlines to scramble.

Chrysler nears deal to restart in-house financing.Continue reading...