It’s one of those shapes as iconic as a stop sign, communicating a message as primordial to our minds as the winged symbol for a hurricane or the smiley face. It’s the toothpaste nurdle.

That’s right, “nurdle” – which, if you didn’t know, is the word for a small amount of toothpaste akin to what consumers might normally squirt on a toothbrush. It's a shape that everyone recognizes, and an outline that has graced many a toothpaste package from time immemorial.

Except that’s where the agreement ends about the wave-shaped blob of toothpaste. As often happens with a symbol so powerful, folks get possessive about it. Including the world's two biggest toothpaste-makers.Continue reading...

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer tells analysts the company's "job one urgency" is developing a tablet to compete with the iPad.

The battle of Colgate vs Aquafresh is unfolding in a New York courtroom over the right to use a "nurdle" (toothpaste squirt) on their toothpaste packaging.

Disney is selling Miramax Films for $660 miilion to an investor group that didn't include founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein.

Citigroup will pay $75 million to the SEC to settle charges that it failed to disclose subprime exposure to investors in 2007.Continue reading...

Pharmaceutical companies are becoming highly recognized today by adding their names to generic drugs.

While a branded generic medicine may seem counterintuitive, it’s actually a revolutionary new approach that is keeping the bottom line high for many drug companies.

In order to understand this strategy, it’s important to remember why generic brands are able to offer products at a low cost in the first place. It’s not because associating a name adds to the expense, it’s all of the other marketing and advertising that go along with it. Pharmaceutical companies can spend millions of dollars every year promoting their brands – which ends up getting passed along to consumers and their wallets. But simply putting a company name on a drug – without all of the hype – can go a long way towards increasing consumer confidence and company revenue.Continue reading...

Kraft purchases Cadbury for a sweet $19.5 billion. [AP]

New Ford Taurus receives high scores. [NYT]

Socially responsible GlaxoSmithKline to offer free malaria cures. [Guardian]

Weight Watchers sues Jenny Craig. [BrandWeek]

Before the recession went global, all the buzz regarding the future of branding centered on emerging markets. China has 1.3 billion people. India has 1.1 billion. Other nations such as Brazil and Russia offered the dazzling prospect of billions in revenue for savvy brands.

Today, nothing has changed. Just ask Coca-Cola, and food/pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

Coca-Cola is successful for many reasons, but one of them is the Atlanta-based megabrand's ability to identify untapped marketplaces and win over consumers not only by aggressively pursuing them, but also by wanting to know them. Now, Coke is reaching out to bottom-of-pyramid (BOP) consumers in India with Vitingo, a new drink aimed at low-income consumers.Continue reading...

If a pharmaceutical company appears in a film, it’s usually the bad guy, so it might be surprising that pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is financing a movie and ceding creative control to the filmmakers.

But GSK is apparently dissatisfied with its previous efforts to market its weight-loss drug, Alli -- a once-promising brand that hasn’t lived up to its high hopes -- and is trying a more indirect route to promote the product. The Times reports that GSK will announce on January 25, at the Sundance Film Festival, which “Academy Award-winning director” it hired for a documentary on obesity.Continue reading...

On 80th anniversary of 1929 crash, US recession ends. [Guardian]

Volvo deal advances as Ford indicates preference for Geely's bid. [FT]

Google shakes up GPS industry by offering free service. [NY Times]

Google signs MySpace deal to include music in search. [Brand Republic]

Slowing Wii sales cause falling profits for Nintendo. [WSJ]

Regulation fears scotch National Express merger with Stagecoach. [Times of London]

(More headlines: GM, Motorola Droid, YSL.)Continue reading...