Brand Bites: Ho-Ho-Hot Holiday Edition

• Hot on the heels of its turkey inferno Thanksgiving safety video, State Farm warms up Christmas with a slightly more mellow holiday blaze (above).

• Photos emerge of Ford's 2012 Mustang Cobra Jet. Vrooom!

• The barefoot running movement may be a threat to Nike. Or not.

• R.I.P. Karen Sortito. A branding pioneer who spearheaded one of the most successful product placements ever: BMW Z3 in James Bond Goldeneye.

• Facebook intern Paul Butler maps the world, as seen by Facebook.

• Retail disguised as fun uses text messaging to sell artists' wares.

• Nineteen girls, one Smart Car.

• Urban Outfitters continues to be bad at fonts.

• The most overused profile terms (to avoid) on LinkedIn: "Dynamic." "Team player."

• Chevrolet Sonic will rebrand as the Aveo in 2012.

• Texas Rangers asks fans if they feel the team's brand is "being real".

• Sigh. Here's your Four Loko holiday gift guide.

• And finally, an honest fitness ad (via Copyranter):