Activia-maker Dannon forced to drop yogurt hype.

AOL acquires content marketing platform Pictela.

Apple grapples with "made in China" iPhones.

Baidu sees growth rate slowing in 2011.

Bloomberg to begin publishing editorials and opinion pieces.

BYD brings electric car fleet to Los Angeles.

Coors Light launches first Super Bowl XLV digital marketing.Continue reading...

Amazon girds for hacktivists attack today as WikiLeaks cyberwar rattles prospective targets.

Apple's iPad makes inroads with medical companies.

Borders’ bid for Barnes & Noble raises questions about future of book retailing.

Crayola expands from crayons to digital.

Dean Foods faces challenges to dairy empire.

Dr Pepper Snapple expands Sun Drop soda.

F1 moves to greener engines to gooses sponsorships.Continue reading...

You can't spell the brand "Yakult probiotic yogurt" without "yak." (above)

"Do you realize that toilet paper has not changed in my lifetime? It's just paper on a cardboard roll, that's it. And in ten thousand years, it will still be exactly the same because really, what else can they do?" George Costanza, meet the new tube-less Scott toilet paper.

Can branded content be funny? Is branded content just another name for product placement? Yes and yes.

Hermes and Yamaha unveil their $62,000 motorcycle (but does it come with Kelly Saddlebags?)

Expectations run high for slogans and signs at tomorrow's Stewart/Colbert rally in DC.Continue reading...

Airstream pitches younger, creative affluents on RV-ing.

Apple is wooing publishers to develop iPad versions of their titles.

ARM, a British semiconductor firm, holds a command position in the crucial technology of low-power chips.

Barnes & Noble’s takeover struggle centers on e-books.

BP finally seals the well in the Gulf of Mexico, but the effects of the disaster will linger for years.

California Pizza Kitchen tests technology that allows patrons to pay their tabs from their tables.Continue reading...

BP's final plug to seal Gulf well is delayed by weather as Italian Vogue's oil spill-inspired fashion shoot comes under fire.

Dell announced Streak, a $300 tablet that will go on sale on Wednesday, while HP's tablet will become available in the new year.

Disney posts better than expected quarterly earnings—except at staycation-hit theme parks—thanks to movies and ESPN.

Holiday Inn relaunch is driving revenue for Intercontinental Hotels.

IBM is optimistic about sales growth through the end of this year.

iPhone owners are a randy bunch, according to a dating website study.

JetBlue refuses to address Facebook queries about irate attendant Steven Slater, whose attorney said he quit and slid "because it was there."

James Bond fans raise hopes as MGM nears a deal with Spyglass Entertainment to run the movie studio after it restructures some $4 billion in debt.

Netflix $1 billion deal to stream movies (starting Sept. 1) with Epix premium channel in the US raises questions about Starz premium TV brand.

Research in Motion is sharing "some codes" for BlackBerry data with Saudi Arabia officials, Reuters hears.Continue reading...

Hotel groups are putting the power of branding to work, both to differentiate one hotel brand from another, and to distinguish each brand so that it has its own special, unique appeal.

No one knows that better than CEO Andrew Cosslett of InterContinental Hotels Group, owner of such leading hotel brands as InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and Hotel Indigo.

Cosslett says hotels recovering from the weakened worldwide economy now need to rely on "brand strength."Continue reading...

Blockbuster was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange as company scrambles to avoid bankruptcy.

BMW and Mercedes boost U.S. sales with "Ann Taylor shoppers" as BMW unveils electric car model.

The Guardian touts its value as News Corp. implements a paywall around The Times' websites today.

Disney bought Tapulous, a maker of music game apps.Continue reading...

Revamped Sesame Street counts highest ratings in years.

BP-owned Alaska pipeline closes post-spill (and Obama criticism of Gulf mess, though Brits are forgiving) as BP attempts "top kill" today.

Facebook today announces privacy rollback. Watch this space.

Unilever's €1.28 bln purchase of Sara Lee unit delayed on antitrust concerns.

P&G CEO Bob McDonald discusses "billion new customers in five years" plan.Continue reading...