What's in a name? Kraft Foods is about to find out, after announcing today that Mondelēz International is the moniker of the corporate global snack-foods unit that it will spin off by the end of this year, as announced last August.

"Mondelay," you say? Nay, nay! No need to dust off your high school French. The new name — pronounced "Mohn-dah-LEEZ" — is a Kraft-coined word that, the company explained in a press release, is intended to evoke the idea of "delicious world."

"Monde" derives from the Latin (and French) word for "world," the company explained, and "dēlez" is a "fanciful expression of 'delicious.'" And, of course, "International" captures "the global nature of the business."

Even though it won't be consumer-facing, pronunciation will be a challenge ("mon-de-lay," "mon-de-less," or "mon-de-leez"?) for the new name which was, as it turns out, employee-sourced.

Last fall, Kraft invited staffers around the world to suggest names and received suggestions from more than 1,000 employees. The winner was inspired by separate suggestions from two employees, one in North America and one in Europe.Continue reading...

AIG reports a profit.

Apple CEO Tim Cook says company has more money than it needs and moves to appease shareholders as Proview brings China iPad trademark spat to US.

Best Western launches Facebook hotel reservations.

BP Gulf spill settlement looms.

Burger King eyes India's fast food market.

Cadbury Dairy Milk promotes fair trade chocolate in UK campaign.

Chevy-Ford rivalry heats up via NASCAR.

Chrysler and Carhartt discuss clothing collaboration.

Clorox CEO targets healthcare brands for acquisition.Continue reading...

Apple, as ever, is all the talk in China:

• Company loses iPad trademark in China and faces $1.6 billion lawsuit, prompting question: "Why Haven’t the Apple Stores Been Shut Down?"

• Labor woes continue with The Economist weighing in on the "but these jobs are better than farming rice" argument.

• Is this a 7th generation iPod nano? With a camera?

• iPhone woes continue as Apple admits China Mobile SIM cards and iPhone 4S are not speaking the same language.

• Siri gets Rosetta Stone: Chinese.

But it's not all Apple in China:Continue reading...

Altria launches tobacco rights website.

Apple sees its devices dominate mobile ordering as brand plans books announcement and sets Red Friday sales event for Asia.

Avery Dennison sells office and consumer products business to 3M.

Axe woos young males with interactive comic book.

Bentley plans luxury SUV.

BMW sees 2012 premium growth.

BP sues Halliburton over Gulf spill, includes anti-BP protesters in new ad.

Bridgestone kicks off Super Bowl campaign at NHL Winter Classic.

Brisk ties into Star Wars 3D theatrical launch with mobile campaign.

Cadbury adopts vertical shelf-ready packaging.Continue reading...

Kraft Foods, the world’s second largest food producer, has announced the results of a survey mapping its total environmental footprint: the company’s effect on climate, land and water and its focus on sustainable agriculture.

"Experts say climate change, land and water use may be among the biggest challenges in feeding a world of 9 billion people in 2050,” explains Roger Zellner, Sustainability Director for Research, Development & Quality at Kraft Foods. "Having the 'big picture' of our total footprint — from farm to fork — validates the focus of our sustainability efforts, particularly advancing sustainable agriculture."

Serving 170 countries with highly visible and popular brands including Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oreo, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Tang and Trident, Kraft has stepped up its sustainability commitment in a footprint that spans and effects the globe. So how's it doing?Continue reading...

The world’s economy has been sluggish now for years, and all levels of the supply chain have been patiently waiting for the whole economic machine to begin churning in a consistently positive direction.

Kraft Foods Inc., makers of everything from Cadbury's chocolate to Oreo cookies, Cheese Nips to Tang, has decided to put a good investment toward India and “the Indian consumer's rising spending power as it firms up plans to become one of the top-five food companies in the country in the coming years,” Reuters reports.

"In India, in particular we have witnessed exceptional growth,” Kraft Chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld told reporters on Tuesday, according to Reuters. “Year-to-date we are up almost 40 percent in this country.”Continue reading...

British candy maker Cadbury has been wrapping up its chocolates in a particular purple wrapper for more than 100 years. It was originally meant as a way of honoring Queen Victoria. The company felt so attached to that shade of the color that it registered it as a trademark back in 2008.

When it was granted, one of its main competitors, Nestlé, decided to put up a fight, which has gone on now for three years before ending when the registrar at the UK Intellectual Property Office decided that the Kraft-owned Cadbury was within its rights to ask for Pantone 2865c to be exclusively theirs for chocolate products and drinks.

If the trademark had been lifted, the Birmingham News reports that it would have “opened the floodgates for rivals, including supermarkets, to use the color on their own-brand chocolate bars.” Sweetening the sting of the ruling, Time.com notes that Nestle (and anyone else) can still use Pantone 2865c on any other products that they’d like.Continue reading...

For the return of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Mountain Dew this week broke the new commercial, above. Directed by McG of Charlie's Angels big screen fame, it was created by BBDO NY with Activision and the former military advisors who consult on Call of Duty, with sound design by Music and Strategy. (Watch behind-the-scenes footage here).

Below, watch another audiocentric spot — HTC's new spot for Rezound, its smartphone with Beats Audio by Dr. Dre — and more.Continue reading...