Want to have your face on a Pepsi can? Well, first you need to sell more than a 100 million albums around the globe and win 16 Grammy awards. At least, that’s what it took for Beyonce to get her face etched into aluminum.

As already announced, Bey is starring in the Pepsi-sponsored Super Bowl XLVII halftime show in February as part of the brand's multimillion-dollar return to the Big Game after pulling out in 2010 to reallocate its funds for the social Pepsi Refresh crowdsourced philanthropy platform. Now

Now PepsiCo is expanding its Super Bowl deal with the performer beyond the half-time show into a full-blown partnership in a $50 million deal that will burnish the Pepsi brand and Brand Beyonce, including marketing support for her new album that's dropping next year.Continue reading...

Pepsi’s marketing gurus have been appealing to consumers through music seemingly for eons. Much of that perception is due to the success the soda maker has had in tying its name to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. Even after the guy’s been laid to rest for more than three years, and earning more than ever, Pepsi is still celebrating its legendary association with the performer.

Back in May, Pepsi announced its deal with the Michael Jackson estate and Sony Music to an exclusive global marketing partnership that included featuring the Gloved One on a billion limited edition Pepsi cans released around the world, starting in China.

As part of its music-based global "Live for Now" platform, the Pepsi brand is reminding consumers that it's been 25 years since Jackson's iconic Bad album was released — an anniversary that director Spike Lee is marking with a documentary, and which Pepsi celebrated in late August in a concert with Billboard and singer Ne-Yo, who performed such hits as Closer from the album, which was released on Aug. 31, 1987.Continue reading...

New Yorkers were girding for a showdown Wednesday between Mayor Bloomberg and the opponents to his proposed ban on 16-ounce or bigger soft drinks. A mid-afternoon public hearing was scheduled to debate the measure, which still needs approval by the city Board of Health — appointed by the mayor — to take effect.

The ban's opponents could always sue or appeal to the state legislature (or not, judging by Gov. Andrew Cuomo's recent remarks), but the "hundreds" of people who gathered on the steps of City Hall on Monday to oppose the ban, organized by a American Beverage Association coalition called New Yorkers for Beverage Choices, would rather put a stop to Bloomberg's legislation before it goes into effect.Continue reading...

Many small businesses steer clear of anything controversial or political so as not to offend any potential customers. After all, the customer is always right, even if they are saying exactly the opposite thing from what the last customer said.

Brooklyn Industries, a 14-store outfit that's based in (where else?) Brooklyn, NY, and sells hipster-licious clothing, bags, and small household goods, is not afraid. Its store windows are provoking conversations about subjects that not everybody wants to talk about, necessarily, when all they want is to grab a t-shirt.

The retailer explained the thinking behind its thought-provoking window displays: "Inspired by Spike Lee's film Jungle Fever, we wanted to take a closer look at race in Brooklyn. We asked local residents about their lives and experiences growing up here."Continue reading...

Over the weekend, all of those 9/11 commemorative campaigns we anticipated a couple of weeks ago came to pass.

One of the ads we noted was State Farm's. As it turns out, State Farm's moody, tear-jerking ad fired on all cylinders and ruled the day. Other brands' tributes? We'll let you decide who won and who lost.Continue reading...

US basketball fans watching the five Christmas day games scheduled on ESPN and ABC will get another treat: a pair of new T-Mobile 4G ads directed by NBA uber-fan Spike Lee.

Featuring Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade and Charles Barkley, the ads include cameos by Steve Nash and the director. Check out Wade's spot above and Barkley's commercial after the jump.Continue reading...

Something is brewing in the borough of Brooklyn. Or rather, has been for a while, and we’re all just catching on.

In the last few years, a wealth of food and lifestyle products have been streaming across the river from Manhattan, buoyed by the essence of “cool” that the borough seems to intrinsically bestow upon them. Brooklyn-named brands abound, covering Brooklyn Ale, Brooklyn pickles, Brooklyn chocolate, Brooklyn soap, Brooklyn hipster wear, Brooklyn maternity — even cigarettes.

It’s no longer just an address; it’s a brand and a rapidly developing one at that. The only glitch seems to be that despite adoring the area, few people actually seem to visit it.Continue reading...

Facebook is growing fastest in Asia, reportedly developing smartphones for AT&T, while CEO Mark Zuckerberg is donating $100 million to improve schools in Newark, NJ, which he will announce on Oprah Winfrey's show tomorrow.

Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy this morning, says its 3,000 US stores will remain open.

Chanel cracks down on how its name is used.

Wal-Mart tries to unmask corporate foes that have slowed its growth in groceries.

Abbott recalls some Similac formula over potentially tainted packaging. 

Adidas targets growth in Russia.

Apple's iPhone 4 finally goes on sale in China on Saturday.Continue reading...