* P&G, ahead of taking Olay global, names Carrie Underwood as the brand’s first celebrity ambassador.

* Nissan is partnering with Dongfeng Motors on Qi Chen, a new Chinese car brand.

* Oracle’s board rejects shareholder proposal calling for board-level accountability on sustainability.

* AOL taps former William Morris chairman Jim Wiatt as strategic advisor.

* Apple lost 20% of iPhone 4 sales due to “antennagate” (in Minneapolis), while the NYT’s David Pogue reviews 2010 iPods, finds “modest improvements, a risky new design and one home run in the new iPod Touch.”

* CNN makes it official: Piers Morgan will replace Larry King.[more]

* Lilly will invest up to $150 million in venture funds to speed drugs.

* Oracle new hire Mark Hurd is eligible for a $10 million bonus for 2011, on top of his $950,000 salary.

* Vogue.com tests a blend of advertising and editorial content.

New creative in the baby carrots branding push are, tongue in cheek, positioning baby carrots as an aphrodisiac, with three versions of femme fatales. Check out a cybersexy spot and a Lara Croft-like adventuress after the jump.[more]

To be sure, these spots are fun; but will this all boost sales? Weigh in with a comment below.

All those bouncing balls making up Google’s logo over the past couple of days? Turns out they were heralding the search engine giant’s latest advance: Google Instant, which improves its speed and precision with predictive, real-time search results that appear as soon as you type — or as Google puts it, “faster than the speed of type.”

Five years after Yahoo’s instant search launch, Google also released a series of videos (above and after the jump) demonstrating its zippier search capabilities, which the Washington Post’s Rob Pegoraro calls “the next logical extension of the search engine’s ‘auto-complete’ feature.” As for which brands surfaced by letter?[more]

Ad Age ran a test to see which brands popped up first by letter in a New York-based search (results vary geographically); our adds:

• A = AOL, Amazon, AIM (for AOL Instant Messenger), Apple
• B = Bank of America; Best Buy; Bing; Bed, Bath & Beyond
• C = Craigslist, Chase, CNN, Costco
• D = dictionary, Droid X, Dell, Drake (the musician)
• E = eBay, ESPN, Expedia, Eminem
• F = Facebook, FIFA, Fandango
• G = Gmail, Google Maps, Google.com, Glee 
• H = Hotmai, Hulu, Home Depot, Hopstop
• I = Ikea, iPhone, IMDB, Inception
• J = Jet Blue (and) Jetblue, JFK (airport), Jersey Shore
• K = Kmart, Kayak, Kohls, Katy Perry
• L = LIRR (Long Island Railroad), Lowes, Lost, LinkedIn
• M = Mapquest, MySpace, MSN, MTA
• N = Netflix, NJ Transit, New York Times, Nordstrom
• O = Orbitz, ooVoo, Old Navy, Optonline.net
• P = Pandora, Paypal, Petco, People
• Q = Quotes, QVC, Queens College, Quest Diagnostics
• R = realtor, Rite Aid, Run (game), Radio Shack
• S = Staples, Sears, Skype, Sprint
• T = Target, Twitter, TD Bank, Ticketmaster
• U = UPS, USPS, Utube, Univision
• V = Verizon, Verizon Wireless, “Victoria Secret”, VLC
• W = Weather, Walmart, White Pages, Wikipedia
• X = Xbox, XM Radio, Xe, XKCD
• Y = Yahoo, YouTube, Yahoo Mail, Yelp
• Z = Z100 (radio station), Zappos, Zillow

And here is Mashable’s Google Instant Search demo for mobile, demonstrated on a Droid 2:

The BP oil disaster may have done serious damage to the profitability of both BP and the Gulf Coast. But one brand profited handsomely from the ordeal: Google.

From Ad Age: “In two months, BP went from spending very little on search advertising — about $57,000 a month — to becoming one of Google’s top advertisers, dropping nearly $3.6 million in the month of June alone… This is a significant outlay, even for BP, which spent $94 million on advertising in 2009, and $78.7 million in the first six months of 2010.”

BP’s Google AdWords spree launched the brand into the ranks of online advertisers that rely on search for a living, including Expedia, Amazon, eBay and Hotels.com. Ad Age combed this information from an internal Google document. So who were the other big Google ad-spending brands?[more]

The publication admits that “the search-spending document obtained by Advertising Age is not a complete list of advertisers on Google.” The documents show that other large brands without a new product launch or a PR crisis (e.g., Walt Disney, Kodak, GM and BMW) spent about $500,000 on search in the same period. During the same period, while BP was spending $3.6 million on it, Exxon Mobil laid out just $43,000 on search.

This data show an incredible reliance on Google search spending when it comes to product launches (AT&T), rebrands (ADT Security), Internet sales and services (Expedia) and brand crisis management.

As for BP, Ad Age comments, “In the wake of the spill, Google was a natural first stop for people seeking information, and BP bought up dozens of keywords associated with the disaster such as ‘oil spill,’ ‘leak,’ ‘top kill’ and ‘live feed’ as it vied for clicks with news stories, images of oiled wildlife and plaintiff attorneys trolling for clients.”

It raises other questions, however. Does major search spending have a greater use in long-term sustained brand building? Or is all that money being sopped up by social media?

As if price-conscious shoppers needed more convincing, a new study published in the October issue of Consumer Reports magazine states “store brand products can compete with their name-brand counterparts and save shoppers more than a thousand dollars a year on grocery bills.” According to Tod Marks, senior projects editor for the magazine, “The study reaffirms that store brands are worth a try.”

Five supermarket chains were evaluated and prices for private-label or store-brand vs name-brand items were compared for 30 everyday items. Consumer Reports found the average savings with store brands was 30%, while its researchers found nutrition similar for most of the tested products.

Yet, shoppers need coaxing to trust some store brands — many, ironically, created by big name brands.[more]

“Although they’ll snap up store-brand paper goods and plastics, at least half of our survey respondents rarely or never buy store-brand wine, pet food, soda, or soup,” Consumer Reports noted. “That may be especially true when the category includes a name-brand superstar such as Coca-Cola or Campbell’s.”

Store brands have grown in popularity during the recent recession. Some 84% of U.S. shoppers bought store brands in the past year, and 93 percent of those who purchased store brands said they would keep buying them even after the economy recovers. Nationally, almost one in four products sold in supermarkets are store brands, accounting for a record $55.5 billion in sales last year, according to Consumer Reports.

As for taste, national brands still edged out store brands, but not by much. Consumer Reports tested 21 brands in head-to-head taste match-ups. The national brands won seven times, the store brand beat out the national brand three times, and the remaining eleven tests resulted in ties. Hellmann’s mayonnaise topped Jewel, Land O’ Lakes butter beat Wegman’s, and Bumble Bee tuna trounced Target’s Market Pantry. But Food Lion’s Lotsa Noodles soup was preferred over Campbell’s Chicken Noodle, Publix Premium orange juice bested Tropicana, and A&P brand America’s Choice hot dogs beat out Oscar Meyer.

Consumer Reports noted that some store brands are actually manufactured by companies that also make nationally-recognized brands, accounting for similar quality. The magazine also said that the price difference between store brands and national brands may be narrowing because national brands have found it necessary to lower their prices or make promotional offers to remain competitive.

Based on its survey, CR concludes that “there’s no reason store brands shouldn’t hold their own against the big boys. After all, some of the same companies manufacture both. Among the big names that also make store-brand products: Sara Lee (baked goods), Reynolds (wraps, storage containers), 4C (bread crumbs, iced tea, soup mixes), McCormick (seasonings, extracts, sauces, gravies), Feit (lightbulbs), Manischewitz (frozen appetizers, soup mixes, side dishes), Joy Cone (ice cream cones), Stonewall Kitchen (gourmet condiments, specialty foods), and Royal Oak (charcoal).”

Interestingly, two examples of a different type of store brand—”second tier” brands, which may cost even less—fared worse in CR test, and indicate one category that may not stick with price-conscious consumers: the second-tier Kroger Value Sandwich Singles Imitation Pasteurized Process Cheese Food and Albertsons-purchased Shoppers Value creamy peanut butter.

Timberland’s latest campaign extends its Earthkeepers eco-friendly collection, which last year partnered with Wyclef Jean as the brand’s designated “Earthkeeper hero” for his Haiti relief efforts, even collaborating on a limited collection to celebrate the partnership.

The popular footwear brand is hoping others will want to be Earthkeeper heroes, too, and make a lighter carbon footprint by adopting its eco-friendly products and ethos.[more]

Its new “Lost Bottle” TV commercial above, augments Earthkeepers’ eco values, which have been fostered via an online community, a “Virtual Forest” Facebook app encouraging users to create personal heroic moments, and a related microsite with 3D technology. Visitors can freeze-frame moments on-screen at a 360-degree angle, and create a forest or join a friend’s. For each use, Timberland vowed to plant trees in Haiti to supplement its reforestation project.

As part of its Nature Needs Heroes Earthkeepers brand extension this fall, select Timberland store windows in the U.S. are adding interactive, oversize graphics which come-to-life with 3D glasses dispensed to customers in-store.

In-store POS displays also X-ray a 2.0 Earthkeeper boot to show recycled contents. Every pair of Earthkeepers boots includes recycled rubber and recycled PET, with one and a half plastic bottles used in each pair.

According to Mintel, more than 35% of American consumers say they are willing to pay a higher price for environmentally-friendly products.

“We’re finding that consumers are being drawn to the styling and performance of the new Earthkeepers collection, but it’s also the most environmentally-innovative collection of products we’ve ever launched,” said Jim Davey, Timberland’s VP, global marketing. “Great products that happen to be more sustainable makes for a great story.”

Creative director Mads Holst added, “The Nature Needs Heroes campaign is the first time a major brand blends this combination of leading-edge technologies to challenge the way audiences can experience a story.”

The big question: do consumers want to be challenged and become “heroes,” and consume more (even if they are eco-friendly) products in order to change?

Back in January, we asked if Domino’s was being “too honest” when it launched its Pizza Turnaround campaign, which essentially admitted to America that the brand had been making crummy pizza.

Our readers offered opinions ranging from “Frankly, the product could not possibly have been so bad to merit an ‘all the chips on the table’ bet like this,” to “Honesty and openness is the precursor to better brand relationships in the age of consumer control.” Others said that the proof would be in the, um, pudding pizza.

By March, the campaign had been deemed a success, as sales had doubled. Domino’s doubled down on its “honesty” campaign, launching a series of “be real” ads calling out other pizza brands for using staged product photos.

But now, the brand appears caught in a vicious cycle, as it’s once again going back to flagellating itself over its brand’s poor showing.[more]

When it was the quality of the overall product, people could be invested in the rebrand. Consumers wanted a better Domino’s, and Domino’s wanted to be a better brand. The pizza-maker’s honestly fit perfectly with the consumer demand (and was handsomely rewarded).

However, Domino’s appears to be trying too hard to “be honest” in an attempt to keep its campaign going.

In its latest commercial (above), when Domino’s CEO Patrick Doyle says of a customer-submitted photo of a Domino’s pizza, “But this… this really gets me upset,” does anyone believe him? Worse, does anyone care?

Domino’s is admitting that it has given up some of its focus on the taste of the product (the original drive behind the rebrand) and has become obsessed, ironically, on image.

Worse yet, the transition to sell message here makes little sense. Domino’s is extending its pricing deal on pizzas because they want to get better at making pizzas that make for good photos? Wait, what?

Domino’s rebrand was one of the major branding success stories of 2010. But will the brand beat its winning campaign into the ground?

With school back in session across most of America this week, food service brands are under more pressure than ever to make a difference in how U.S. schoolchildren eat, and they’re breaking out new menus and positioning in the effort.

The Big Three of educational foodservice – Aramark, Compass Group’s Chartwells division, and Sodexo – are patently aware of how Michelle Obama has fingered childhood obesity as Public Enemy No. 1. And while the chains have dedicated a lot of resources over the last several years to formulating, distributing and marketing more healthful fare to their school clients, there’s nothing like attention by the First Lady to get them to apply even more.

So Rye, N.Y.-based Chartwells, for instance, has launched a program called, “Be a Flexitarian.” Originally rolled out last spring in celebration of Earth Day, the program is being intensified this fall, offering kids more chances for meatless meals that feature ingredients like black beans and brown rice.[more]

Sodexo, based in Gaithersburg, Md., is adding more local and fresh foods to its school menus, among other measures. And Philadelphia-based Aramark is, among other things, rolling out two new food-court-style concepts: Tortilla and the Green Street Deli.

Obviously school-lunch fare has come a long way from the ubiquitous “pigs in a blanket” and “goulash” that many now-adult Americans grew up on. And the major providers continue to push the envelope with healthier fare.

So if American kids just keep getting fatter, don’t blame it on the school-lunch lady.

While some brands may be stymied by Chinese consumers, others are moving full steam ahead into the Chinese market. Take Lipton Tea, for example, which is already on its third campaign for Lipton milk tea. All three campaigns feature renowned actor Takeshi Kaneshiro.

On September 1, Lipton released its “Sunshine Steam” commercial (watch after the jump) in 22 cities throughout China, and “Royal Moment” will launch on September 15. Both ads feature special effects and highlight the brand as a “world tea expert.” DDB Shanghai, the agency responsible for the Lipton milk tea campaign, says the ads use “travel, imagination and fantasy to conceptualize the key creative concept of ‘transformation.’”[more]

Lipton China began marketing its Lipton milk tea using a “steam” icon in early 2010 with a campaign that leveraged the Chinese New Year. Part of that campaign included a unique viral component, in which a consumer could insert his or her own face into a  video and send it as a greeting to a friend. When the friend virtually “blows” on a cup of Lipton milk tea to cool it, steam with a customized message is revealed wafting up from the cup. Then the personalized video greeting is launched as a gift celebrating the New Year.

The unusual viral campaign reportedly engaged over 100 million consumers. The Lipton brand is owned by Unilever, a major international consumer goods conglomerate representing some 400 brands, including Dove, Knorr, and Wall’s.

Lipton also worked with DDB Hong Kong to create brand guidelines “that are actually fun and engaging.”

In order to create what DDB calls “the most engaging brand guidelines ever,” a metal suitcase was sent to every Lipton brand manager across Asia Pacific. Inside, they found “a stack of cash and an iPod Touch, pre-loaded with ‘Lipton Millionaire’ — a fun, interactive app that challenges their knowledge of the Lipton brand.”

The opportunity: Lipton’s Asia-Pacific brand managers could win a million dollars in virtual sales to show that they truly understand the brand. “Of course, the better they know the brand, the better their chances,” notes DDB HK. “So we also included an interactive version of the ‘Lipton Voice’ Guidelines to help them brush up on their knowledge — giving them the best chance possible of becoming a virtual millionaire.”

As a result of the exercise, DDB HK says “knowledge of the Lipton brand is at an all-time high” in the region, “with their position as the world’s no.1 tea brand reinforced with a single voice. More importantly, the way that brand guidelines are presented has changed forever.”

One of the world’s largest personal paper products companies has launched an eco-friendly product for smarter flushing.

Kimberly-Clark just launched a giveaway campaign with 750,000 Scott Naturals Smart Flush bags — toilet-tank inserts that can save an average family of four 2,000 gallons of water annually. The inserts will be attached to eight-and twelve-count packs of Scott Naturals toilet paper through October, available at Walmart, Target and other U.S. retailers.

Doug Daniels, Scott’s brand manager of strategy and innovation, told Ad Age he considers it a “first-of-its-kind innovation” for the category. In line with the company’s green-focused Naturals line, the new insert can last ten years immersed in a toilet tank.[more]

According to Kimberly-Clark’s press release, “the Scott Naturals Smart Flush bag… when placed in the toilet tank, the material in the bag absorbs water and expands, reducing the amount of water consumed in each flush by up to one liter.” The release also states that “the U.S. Governmental Accountability Office projects water shortages in 36 of 50 U.S. states over the next five years.”

One-quarter of all household water consumption is used in flushing. SmartFlush “helps drive awareness of the Scott brand, but more importantly, about what we feel is the next looming resource threat,” said Daniels to Ad Age.

“The toilet is the area of the home where water is used most,” he added. “It’s an opportunity to save our planet’s water and our consumer’s money one flush at a time.” 

The folk wisdom of putting a brick in the tank is partly a good idea. It does help save water, but bricks can disintegrate over time, and being porous they sink to the bottom and can cause costly plumbing damage. Some European utilities are now dispensing Save-A-Flush sachets that replace tank water.

SmartFlush “works on the same principle as the brick, but it’s actually better for the toilet,” said Daniels, and it hangs from the top of the tank.

The campaign was developed by Tris3ct, Chicago, and WPP Shopper Marketing, including videos shelf ads from News Corp.’s SmartSource, plus TV, print, newspaper coupon inserts and in-store ads.

Hoping to follow in the very lucrative recent footsteps of its corporate sibling, Kia is aiming to establish a solid brand identity in the U.S. market, where it has been lacking one so far.

The company plans to unveil its new approach soon, partly in a new marketing campaign around its 2011 Optima sedan. Already, it has busted out new TV ads for its Sportage SUV (above).

American consumers still associate Kia mainly with “econobox” vehicles that it imported under its own brand once the South Korean industrial conglomerate established its own U.S. auto-dealer network in 1994, after years of supplying fuel sippers that Ford re-badged as its own.[more]

And frankly, even lately, Kia hasn’t done much to alter that image, even with its recent memorable TV advertisements in the U.S. market.

There was that spot in the most recent Super Bowl for the Kia Sorrento crossover in which kids’ stuffed animals came to life; it was cute, but it didn’t tell you much about the vehicle, or about Kia.

More recently, Kia has earned plaudits and caught the attention of twentysomethings with ads for its Soul subcompact featuring hip-hop hamsters, creating a new cool vibe for the brand.

That’s all well and good, but Kia marketers now say they want to alter their brand image more fundamentally. All they have to do is look at what has been accomplished lately in terms of product image and market share in the U.S. by the Hyundai brand, which is owned by the same chaebol that acquired Kia 13 years ago.

So far, Kia has wowed industry insiders and some consumers with the unveiling of the new, sleekly styled Optima at the New York International Auto Show earlier this year. But that’s only a small start. The future of the brand is still very much in the offing.

The German carmaker, now number three, has set its sights on becoming the world leader by 2018, according to a report in USA Today. But VW’s bold plan to triple US sales as part of that strategy has some analysts wondering if someone is smoking funny cigarettes in the manufacturer’s Wolfsburg, Germany headquarters.

“No. They can’t do it,” says Rebecca Lindland, an auto industry expert and analyst at IHS Global Insight. “If you’re going to grow, somebody’s going to lose. Where is this volume going to come from?” Jeff Schuster, J. D. Power and Associates’ executive director of automotive forecasting, adds, “It’ll be very challenging.”[more]

As if to confirm the analysts’ remarks, Volkswagen’s U.S. sales slumped nearly 8% in August versus a year earlier. But that hasn’t stopped the company from building an aggressive plan that calls for 1 million Volkswagen and Audi models to be sold in the U.S. in 2018. Mark Barnes, COO of Volkswagen of America, claims the company can sell 500,000 cars annually without adding dealers.

But a lot of things have to go right, including its digital marketing strategy (such as its iPad app, above). First and foremost, Barnes admits that the brand’s quality has to improve over the results of the most recent J. D. Power survey, which ranked VW 34th out of 36 brands, below Audi at number 26. Volkswagen also owns the Bentley, Bugatti, and Lamborghini brands.

In addition to quality, new models have to appeal to American consumers. Volkswagen is replacing its Passat, a midsize sedan, next year, and it is bringing an updated New Beetle to market as well. In 2012 or 2013, VW will launch a small sedan called Polo. By 2013 or 2014, it expects to introduce a small all-electric vehicle, E-Up.

The company says it also may try to bring back the ill-fated Phaeton, an $85,000 luxury vehicle that did not catch on in the US. Volkswagen remains acutely aware that it must maintain the look and feel of the German-engineered cars that sets its line apart.

Competitive quality will also be a major challenge, since Japanese and Korean brands have had increasingly strong success in the US, and Chinese cars will soon enter the market. American automakers are seeing a rebound in sales as well; they continue to improve quality and introduce smaller, more fuel-efficient models.

Volkswagen has managed to maintain profitability, but rising to the top of the heap could be no more than a pipe dream. “Much of what VW plans echoes things it has tried before in recent decades,” says USA Today, so  the real question becomes, What will Volkswagen do differently — or, ideally, better — to make its dream a reality?

* Oracle’s Larry Ellison will fight HP’s lawsuit over Mark Hurd’s hiring.

* BP assumes partial blame for the Gulf disaster, citing a series of factors in its just-released report.

* Oprah Winfrey uses clout to launch syndicated talk show featuring her designer, Nate Berkus.

* Vodafone sold its China Mobile stake for $6.6 billion.

* Samsung’s Galaxy S phone will be offered by China’s three mobile carriers.

* Anheuser-Busch scored a “partial victory” in legal battle with an Illinois distributor.[more]

* Disney’s ABC TV arm will maintain low-cost news approach in the wake of departing chief David Westin.

* Foster’s shares soar after rejecting $2.5 billion bid for wine business.

* Good Housekeeping sets up shop in the Mall of America.

* Google settled a class action suit related to February’s launch of Google Buzz.

* Kellogg’s and Food Network strike an integrated advertising pact.

* Mercedes-Benz sees sales surge in India.

* NBC’s Chuck-branded Web series launches on theWB.com, fan sites and will migrate to the Xbox.

* Nike releases Nike+ GPS app.

* YouTube’s UK-organized inaugural ad of the year judging panel adds UK founder of Mumsnet.

* Time Out hires former BBC exec to focus on brand partnerships and global growth.

* Unilever embraces algae for oil to replace controversial palm oil in foods and other products.

* WHSmith bought the Gadget Shop chain in the UK.

* Microsoft hires Samsung marketer as its UK CMO.

* US FDA chastises Lipton’s and Canada Dry for green tea claims.

* Bristol-Myers acquires ZymoGenetics brand.

* Former Channel 4 CEO and Unilever marketer Andy Duncan joins British luxury auto retailer HR Owen.

* Conde Nast’s Glamour expands presence on social media and digital to boost brand.

* “Obamacare” will suffer politically as some US health insurers including Aetna and some Blue Cross Blue Shield plans hike premiums for individuals and small businesses.

* HP sued former CEO Mark Hurd after Oracle hired him. GigaOm’s Mathew Ingram notes why: non-competes are unenforceable in California, but protection of trade secrets is allowed.

* AOL hopes new partnership with Ellen DeGeneres will drive traffic across its network of sites.

* Google TV will launch this year, confirms CEO Eric Schmidt, while today’s discombobulated logo baffles Web searchers.

* GM’s OnStar is offering free services to combat Ford’s Sync system.

* Amazon is pushing manufacturers to make their packages easier to open, hoping to reduce consumer “wrap rage.”

* BP pins hopes on “Future BP” positioning.[more]

* HSBC’s chairman exit (to become UK’s trade minister) leaves a void at the global bank.

* J&J seeks damages from Merck over Remicade partnership.

* JetBlue’s infamous (and former) flight attendant Steven Slater is negotiating a plea deal.

* Nokia is getting ready to unveil its new E7 smartphone.

* Ryanair’s CEO isn’t giving up on his pay toilet idea.

* Samsung reveals low-power chip, implies that Apple’s iPad is driving down chip prices.

* Terra Firma filed suit in New York, claiming it was tricked into buying the EMI music label by Citigroup.

Labor Day weekend’s movie box office tally saw Machete and Going the Distance, both films featuring Apple products, trumped for the #1 spot by the Europe-set moody hit man film The American. Movie-goers may be surprised to learn that the producers of the retro cool flick struck a prominent product placement deal with designer discounter Gilt Group for the brands featured in the film, including Samsonite luggage and Clooneh’s Zegna suit.

The big product placement story this week, however, was that Going the Distance marks an important turning point for Apple product placement. For years, Apple’s “I’m a Mac” spokesman, actor Justin Long, appeared in films that were also rife with Apple products (i.e., Live Free of Die Hard, He’s Just Not that Into You, Funny People, Accepted, and Drag Me to Hell). But while his most recent film, Going the Distance, features some Apple product placements, Long’s character very prominently uses a Dell. Dude! Is there a clever message being sent here?

Visit Brandcameo for a product placement analysis of The American, and how Clooney’s ode to Italia upsets the Apple cart that’s been dominating our movie brand-tracker this year. (We also adjusted our rankings to reflect The Takers overtaking last weekend’s box office tally.)

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in the US, as Hyundai just reminded us — and asked us to flag the brand’s corporate (and local, via its network of 800+ dealers) commitment to fundraising for the cause through its Hyundai Hope on Wheels initiative. (Gladly!) Hyundai is raising national awareness about pediatric cancer and donating $6.8 million to children’s hospitals, medical researchers and other non-profit organizations across the country, building on a commitment started by its New England dealers in 1998.

Last week we mentioned Xerox’s new “Ready for Real Business” brand campaign campaign, which takes advantage of its clients’ brand halos to burnish its own. We now have some examples:

Above, a couple of bellmen at Marriott Hotels & Resorts (for which Xerox handles 11 million invoices annually) provide a lighthearted look at how they couldn’t finish the company’s monthly invoices because they’re so focused on guests.

After the jump, spots featuring the New York Mets and Ducati.[more]

Continuing on our Japan theme today, we’re interested to see the nation’s supermarkets becoming more like Super Wal-Marts or “hypermarkets,” which combine traditional grocery stores with general merchandise offerings.

Clothing is a big part of the selling equation — and these days, Japanese supermarkets are battling against “fast-fashion” retailers like H&M who combine value with trendiness. Now the Japanese markets are trying their own hand at fashion, stocking their shelves with original, private-label clothing designs.[more]

Aeon, Asia’s largest retailer and owner of the JUSCO supermarket chain, already features such products as food and household items under its Topvalu brand.

Now, Aeon is launching the “Topvalu Collection” of clothing which will “provide functional clothes of solid quality at the lowest prices to people looking for a simple yet spiritually rich way of living,” says Aeon Retail Company president Shohei Murai to Asahi. Aeon will sell the Topvalu Collection primarily in JUSCO and Saty supermarkets, via in-store specialty boutiques.

Aeon is not the only Japanese supermarket coming out with a clothing line. Ito-Yokado Company, Aeon’s primary competitor with about 175 supermarkets in Japan, is planning to launch a women’s clothing brand this month. Seiyu, another operator of supermarkets, just launched EcoHeat, a new brand of thermal underwear, to compete with the HeatTech brand sold by Fast Retailing’s Uniqlo chain, and Aeon’s Topvalu-distributed HeatFact clothing collection.

Fast Retailing is one of the companies that has been undermining supermarket clothing sales in Japan. The company operates 789 Uniqlo casual clothing stores in Japan. It added 40 stores in the past year alone. In addition to expanding smaller Uniqlo stores, Fast Retailing is opening Uniqlo outlets inside department stores and shopping malls, where supermarkets are typically located. The company is recognized for its ability to offer trendy, functional fashion at low prices.

One of the key challenges for Japanese supermarkets is whether their private label clothing brands can compete with Uniqlo, H&M, Forever 21, and other fast-fashion retailers who have continued to expand in Japan. Competing effectively is paramount, since clothing is a high profit margin product for Japanese supermarkets.

This trend, by the way, isn’t unique to Japan. In Canada, for instance, Loblaw’s sells its Joe Fresh Style all-ages clothing brand (developed by a former Club Monaco executive) at more than 335 grocery stores across the country. But like everything in Japan, the development is more pronounced and closely watched.

As regular brandchannel readers know, we’re fascinated by Japan’s tech innovations when it comes to evolving brands and advertising. The latest experiment that caught our notice: a pair of vending machines recently unveiled at Tokyo’s Shinagawa train station.

Japan has over 5.2 million vending machines — that’s one for every two dozen people — but these particular vending machines sense and interact with customers according to their age and gender. Reactions, naturally, are mixed.[more]

The JR East Water Business Co. developed the machines with Omron and Fuji Electric Retail Systems, with one simple goal: increase sales through more sophisticated targeted advertising. Although the 47-inch touch panel display looks like soft drink choices, it actually houses several automatic modes, recognizes sex and age with 75% accuracy, and recommends purchases accordingly.

Customers can zoom in on a product for more information. While 50% of Japanese machines sell drinks, the rest sell a wide variety of goods, from utilitarian to kinky: books, ramen noodles, liquor, underwear (new and used), iPods, porn, live lobsters, fresh meat, eggs and potted plants. 

When potential customers are not in the immediate vicinity, the machines switch to an advertising mode that reflects the season, time of day, and temperature. A message such as “I’m thirsty!” may pop up with big, beckoning eyes.

The machines use WiMax high-speed Internet to display real-time news, and are also programmed for “empathy” — for instance, if a natural disaster such as an earthquake strikes, it will dispense beverages free of charge.

JR East Water Business plans to install 500 of the high-tech vending machines, about 5% of the company’s total of 9,400 vending machines, in railroad stations throughout Tokyo and nearby cities within the next two years. 

As we’ve noted, Japan has pioneered billboards and vending machines as electronic marketing tools to target specific consumers. Panasonic, Samsung and NEC are all developing facial-recognition technology which translates into quantitative data for advertisers.

“From a sponsor’s perspective, you don’t want to pay for something without knowing that people are going to see it,” explained NEC’s group manager of digital signage, Tomoyuki Osaka, to the Wall Street Journal.

Last year, Japan’s brands and manufacturers saw $62 billion in sales just from vending machines, according to figures from the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers’ Association.

The nation’s high-tech screens are also appearing on storefronts and shopping-mall maps. Electronic displays contain QR codes, those increasingly ubiquitous black and white pixilated images, which when photographed, can direct users to websites, such as movie billboards directing mobile users to movie-related URLs, or shopping-mall maps that lure shoppers via coupons to stores for redemption.

According to DisplaySearch, in 2009 North America accounted for 41% of all public display shipments; Europe, the Middle East and Africa about 33%; and Japan about 8%. 2010 projections are that the Japanese market will grow by more than 50% this year, oupacing the estimated 17% growth for North America and 28% for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Privacy advocates are concerned. Yasuhiko Tajima, a professor at Tokyo’s Sophia University who heads the country’s Campaign Against  Surveillance Society, commented to the Wall Street Journal that “The problem is that there’s no clear regulation that  prohibits those signage systems from storing images. As the WSJ added, this leaves the issue “on the conscience of each company  that builds these signage systems.”

Interactive, smart kiosks certainly represent a bonanza for marketers to target their brands, a more sophisticated (and relevant) utility for consumers — and a growing concern for privacy advocates already outraged by marketers’ increasing ability to track and target private citizens. Tell us what you think in the comments below.

As promised, Absolut vodka today released the Ali Larter-starring retro camp short film, Lemon Drop, that it’s been teasing all summer. It clocks in at almost 11 minutes; let us know what you think with a comment below.

Samsung taped consumers’ reactions to its new Galaxy S smartphone at the X Games 16 (July 29 to Aug. 1 in Los Angeles). We’ll give Samsung the benefit of the doubt that these aren’t models, but they certainly picked a good looking, well spoken bunch of youthful, enthusiastic endorsers. (Any Samsung marketers reading this, set the record straight!) More cute kudos after the jump.[more]

Procter & Gamble, arguably the world’s most adept branding organization, is simply not content with the status quo.

As we’ve reported, P&G has lofty ambitions to grow its business internationally, beyond its traditionally strong roots in the U.S.and Europe. In fact, P&G is eying developing countries such as Brazil and China for future sales revenue.

Add brand acquisitions to P&G’s wish list. “I’d love to buy more global brands,” P&G CEO Bob McDonald tells Bloomberg. “The climate for acquisitions is good, the climate for mergers is good,” McDonald said.[more]

One reason for McDonald’s interest in global brands is it can be an easy route to extend its current business. For example, P&G bought Ambi Pur, an air freshener brand, from Sara Lee Corp. this year. As a result, P&G was able to expand its Febreze line of air freshener products, growing its penetration from 15 to 85 countries.

While most of P&G’s brands are home-grown, it has made some significant brand acquisitions to fuel its growth. The most stunning in recent years was the company’s purchase of Gillette for $57 billion in 2005. The acquisition brought P&G such well-known brands as Braun, Duracell and Oral-B, as well as Gillette’s signature razor line.

It’s unlikely P&G will make another acquisition of that size in the near future, but with over $16 billion in cash generated last year, the company has a lot of flexibility. Still, P&G has been hurt by a recession in which consumers who had been loyal to such brands as Tide, Crest, and Olay were forced to consider less expensive generic products to save money.

P&G hopes the combination of global expansion (the company now generates 60% of its revenue from outside the US) and acquiring brands that have international appeal will keep their branding machine churning out worldwide sales.

Tim Allen is the new voice of Campbell Soup — and of Chevrolet, which is something of a coup (not coupe) for GM.

Following on the heels of Robert Downey Jr.’s deal to become the new voice of Nissan, Allen’s sonic branding of Chevrolet is a natural fit for the veteran actor and comedian.

Beginning with advertising voiceover work for the launch of the new Chevy Cruze small car this fall, the likeable, recognizable Allen is a bona fide automotive enthusiast, which attracted the new stewards of the Chevy brand to tap him for a vocal marketing campaign worthy of some of their hot new vehicles.[more]

Not only is Allen a Detroit-area native with a true appreciation of cars in his DNA, but the star of TV’s Home Improvement and of movies such as The Santa Clause series has a 1996 LT5 Impala SS in his personal collection.

“Tim Allen brings the right combination of a recognizable voice with the credibility, likeability and humor that will connect with viewers,” said Joel Ewanick, GM’s CMO. “His passion for all things cars makes him the perfect match for the Chevrolet brand.”

Allen also has become recognized especially in Michigan, and throughout the Midwest, as the voice of the “Yes Michigan!” state-tourism advertising campaign. But his voice in that role has dimmed lately, forced by spending cutbacks.

Ewanick apparently intends to utilize Allen beyond the Cruze campaign but hasn’t made it clear yet how. GM’s closely watched new CMO has yet to divulge his grand overall brand-sharpening strategy for Chevrolet, although he has promised it will be evident to all when Chevy advertises once again in the Super Bowl in February — in the company’s first appearance in the game in three years.

“Tim Allen will be the voice in our Cruze advertising,” Ewanick said, “but the car will be the star.” In that case, at least Cruze will be in the company of another star.

Swipe your smartphone across the 2D bar code on a box of Special K cereal in the US, and you may be surprised to see Lucky magazine editor-at-large Elise Loehnen pop up in a video with tips about finding figure-flattering jeans. It’s a, well, fitting and organic partnership from the cereal whose mantra is how to feel better in your jeans, and a magazine featuring the latest jeans and other styles.[more]

The Conde Nast-owned Lucky has been leveraging digital platforms to spread its pro-shopping and fashion messages: a popular website extends its monthly print magazine with daily content, it’s got a popular iPhone app, and now bar codes that link to styling videos from another old-fashioned printed matter: cereal boxes.

For Kellogg, it’s one more catchy way to push its Special K Challenge weight-loss campaign. Microsoft’s Tag 2D bar codes will appear on 20 million Special K cereal boxes and related items.

“We started doing bar codes in February and Special K took notice of it,” comments Lucky’s online director, Mary Gail Pezzimenti, to Brandweek. “They wanted to do something for their Special K Challenge and were interested in using Microsoft bar codes, and they wanted to use our videos…It’s incredible brand awareness.”

It’s an old-school barter deal — no money exchanged hands — combined with a new-fangled delivery mechanism to power both brands. All that’s needed is the milk.

A whopping two billion videos a day are watched on YouTube — and if you’ve ever watched one, you probably wondered, “How the heck does YouTube make money showing free videos?”

It’s a valid question that five-year-old video portal has itself asked since its founding in February 2005. It’s the question its owner, Google, has wrestled with for the last 18 months, when Google started to really focus on YouTube’s revenue.

Now, it seems, the answer is essentially the same answer you’d get when you ask how Google itself makes money — it’s all about the ads.[more]

Over 90% of Google’s revenue comes from AdWords, so it comes as no surprise that YouTube is making money the same way, by offering ads; specifically, “display ads on its home page and on the video pages, ads that promotes videos and ads that run in the video stream or pop up on the bottom of a video,” according to the New York Times. That ad revenue is shared with content partners.

YouTube has also managed to work around the knotty issue of copyrights. More than one-third of the videos on YouTube are uploaded by users without the copyright owner’s permission. Using a system called Content ID, YouTube can identify this material. But often the copyright owners look the other way — because the videos get wide exposure and also generate revenue for the copyright owners from the ads accompanying them. It’s a win for everybody, even though intellectual property is technically being shared without authorization.

YouTube’s video business is estimated to be about $450 million for 2010 and the Google unit expects to be profitable. YouTube says revenue has “more than doubled each year for the last three years.” Content partners are also benefiting from YouTube’s growth; “hundreds of these partners make more than $100,000 a year,” reports the Times.

YouTube has been a vanguard in the massification of video streaming technology, and now it’s reaping the rewards. In addition to video views via computer, video streaming via mobile phones and televisions is becoming commonplace. YouTube has seen its mobile views triple this year, with 160 million views daily. YouTube expects be a player in the emerging Internet-enabled television market when Google TV is introduced towards the end of this year.

For its part, Google is anticipating that its $1.65 billion investment in YouTube in 2006 will finally start to pay off.

Campbell Soup Company today launched “It’s Amazing What Soup Can Do,” its first-ever umbrella advertising campaign to support its U.S. soup brands. The first spot, “Happier Place” (above), highlights all Campbell’s branded soups and is one of 15 television ads planned. The scale of the $100 million-plus integrated campaign, which includes TV, print, radio, online, social media, along with in-store activation and sales promotion, is “significantly larger” than any previous Campbell campaign.[more]

According to the press release, the campaign’s goal is to “reposition Campbell’s soups in the simple meals category and drive sales and category growth.” Campbell developed the campaign over an 18-month period, marking the first time the company has used a unifying advertising theme to promote all of its major soup brands.

Also from the press release:

“We reviewed 60 years worth of advertising to better understand what had worked and why,” stated Andrew Brennan, Campbell’s VP and General Manager, U.S. Soup. “Historically, our advertising worked best when it showcased Campbell’s soup as an indispensable food for any occasion. Soup is great for lunch, dinner or as a snack. It can be paired with a variety of foods or poured over meat, pasta or rice as a sauce, or used as an ingredient in a great tasting recipe. Our new campaign gets back to highlighting the versatility and variety of our soups and reminding people of all the amazing things soup can do.”

Campbell’s research and consumer insights indicated that in the “post-Warhol period” of the 1970s and 80s, the company’s advertising had become too focused on the iconic can and few top selling varieties, rather than celebrating the quality ingredients, variety and great taste of its soups.

Now, the “It’s Amazing What Soup Can Do” advertising is designed to contemporize the Campbell’s brand and drive revenue growth for Campbell’s U.S. soup business by showing consumers how soup can help people eat better and enjoy every stage of life. The ads present an array of images and positive emotions, such as outdoor activities, energy and happiness.

The campaign presents the many varieties of Campbell’s soups within a common creative framework. All of the television spots include the same music, cinematography, voice-overs and tagline. Actor Tim Allen provides the voice over and each commercial concludes with a graphic and audio tagline: “It’s Amazing What Soup Can Do.”

Campbell’s long-time advertising agencies, BBDO-New York and Y&R-New York, co-created the “It’s Amazing What Soup Can Do” campaign. Campbell has worked with BBDO for nearly 50 years and with Y&R for nearly 20 years.

“We’re in the unique position of having two long-standing partnerships with two great agencies who know our company and brands very well,” said Maureen Linder, Campbell’s VP-Global Advertising and Design. “We were able to tap into the collective knowledge base that Y&R and BBDO have of our brands and some of the best creative minds in the country across both agencies to develop this campaign.”

Both agencies collaborated on the overall brand strategy and look and feel of the campaign with Y&R creating ads for Campbell’s Chunky soup and Campbell’s Healthy Request, while BBDO took the lead on Campbell’s condensed soups and Campbell’s Select Harvest soups.

Campbell has long been an advertising innovator. Campbell’s soups were first advertised with the help of the classic Campbell Kids characters on trolley boards in New York City in 1904. For many years, the company was the leading print advertiser in magazines like Saturday Evening Post, Colliers, Life and Look, where Page 2 was often referred to as the “Campbell’s page” within the advertising community of the day. In the 1930s Campbell began advertising on radio and the “M’m! M’m! Good!” jingle was first heard. In the 1950s Campbell made television the centerpiece of its advertising effort, including its long-running sponsorship of the classic “Lassie” series.

Coca-Cola today launches its Open Happiness campaign in the UK, releasing the much-anticipated sequel to its Internet sensation — the Coca-Cola Happiness Machine. The viral video, which was created in-house and won CLIO’s 2010 Gold Interactive Award, attracted one million views in the first week of its US launch in January. Happiness was also a theme of the brand’s FIFA World Cup sponsorship this year.

* AIG sets a date for its AIA unit IPO.

* Amazon poached Microsoft’s head of game platform strategy, Andre Vrignaud.

* Barclays promoted Bob Diamond, an American turned high-profile British banker, as its next CEO.

* BlackBerry-maker RIM acquired mobile startup DataViz for $50 million.

* Christian Dior’s “Shanghai Dreams” ad campaign in China deemed racist by some critics.

* Coors Light launches aluminum bottles in time for NFL season.[more]

* Campbell Soup pursues stressed shoppers with value-based promotions.

* Craigslist shut down its adult services listings in response to US attorney generals’ complaints.

* Disney confirmed that David Westin, head of news for its ABC TV network, is stepping down.

* Experian, State Farm and other brands rediscover the jingle.

* JPMorgan Chase is paying $300 million for naming rights to Madison Square Garden.

* Kirkland & Ellis, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, Latham & Watkins, and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom earn “Fearsome Foursome” moniker for US law firms.

* LG’s Optimus Windows Phone 7 smartphone, av. in Oct., can send photos to TVs.

* NFL Network hired football legend Joe Theismann as a commentator.

* Oracle hired former rival, ousted HP CEO Mark Hurd, as co-president.

* P&G’s North American powdered laundry detergent brands (Tide, Gain, Cheer, Dreft, and Ivory Snow) are changing to a greener compacted formula.

* P&G is also working with Accenture to leverage digital platforms for innovation.

* Petronas, the Malaysian energy giant valued at $2 billion, filed for an IPO.

* Sodexo, Aramark and Compass roll out childhood-obesity campaigns as millions of American children return to school this week.

* Volvo, H&M and MTV lead brands advertising in virtual worlds by sponsoring virtual goods.

* 7Up, Sprite and Sierra Mist see consumer interest rise in lemon-lime soft drinks.

* Less than half of Americans feel owning a TV set is a necessity, according to new research from Pew.

Continuing on the fashion theme, Starbucks continues its partnership with the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week with the fall collection-themed Frappuccino Coffee Drink Fashion Patrol.

Through September 16th the Fashion Squad will be on the streets of New York, Chicago, and Seattle looking for the “best fashion statements. If we spot you, you could win fashionable prizes including gift cards to your favorite stores or even tickets to Mercedes Benz Fashion Week.” After the jump, the Frapinistas weigh in on skinny jeans.[more]

This coming Friday sees the return of Fashion’s Night Out, raising awareness of fashion labels and retailers.

What started last year as a New York-based promotion (sponsored by Vogue and the Council of Fashion Designers of America) during New York’s Fashion Week will this year see thousands of stores around the world (”from Brooklyn to Brazil” and beyond) stay open late for “the single largest shopping event of the year.”

Celebrities, models, designers and other VIPs will help lure shoppers and fashion brand enthusiasts into stores with promotions and discounts. For more information visit fashionsnightout.com, the FNO Facebook page or Twitter.com/FNOnyc (and follow the #FNO hashtag).

American Apparel, the embattled US clothing brand struggling for its existence, is fighting back with its first back-to-school commercial, featuring a mock version of classic US game show The Price is Right hosted by an all-American TV personality Drew Carey — a surprising choice that indicates founder Dov Charney isn’t kidding about shedding AA’s hipster roots and rebranding its image and clothing to become preppier and more wholesome. Do you think consumers, literally, will buy it?

The above video struck us as appropriate for Labor Day: Sweden’s Kanon organic vodka has been out in the Hamptons this summer, wooing New Yorkers with music and good times at a rental house. New York indie band The Rapture’s “House of Jealous Lovers” is the inspiration for a related cocktail, while Kanon also recently commissioned Casey Neistat of the Neistat Brothers filmmaking duo to shoot a midsummer image spot in the brand’s homeland, after the jump.[more]

Absolut Vodka debuts Lemon Drop, its original short film starring Heroes actress Ali Larter, tomorrow on its Facebook page. A spoof of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies, the plot is classic B-movie: “When her beloved kittens are mysteriously taken from her, this sweet girl next door will turn sour doing whatever it takes to track them down. With Lemon Drop on the case, sweet never hurt so good.” Take a sneak peek above.

Microsoft UK teased its Windows Phone 7 with a Lawrence of Arabia-themed trailer at a screening of David Lean’s 1962 classic this past weekend in London. Microsoft’s Windows Phone is the corporate sponsor of Secret Cinema, a monthly series of screenings that brings movies to life for British cinephiles.

The National Rifle Association campaign “Trigger the Vote” releases a Kenny Powers-like video that seems to mock itself. Is this satirical advertising gone horribly, horribly wrong? See it done right by K-Swiss after the jump, along with other quirky branding news.[more]

A cautionary tale to brands about trifling with Google’s rankings. It will send you to “Internet siberia.”

Cleveland Cliffs brand ingeniously mocks Cleveland-abandoner LeBron James.

Murakami joins Macy’s for Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Move over BMW art car … here’s the Jeff Koons Aston Martin.

Art director inspiration: Trains!

More than you ever wanted to know about the design of “his” and “hers” washroom signage.

Will Apple’s Prop 8 censorship create a gay consumer backlash similar to Target?

Reinventing the Mousetrap Award of the week: Tuned Pale Ale

The fictional business cards of fictional film brands. Paper Street Soap Company to Vandelay Industries.

“Yes We Cannabis.” California’s marijuana legalization drive, Proposition 19, gets itself a clever slogan.

This made us paws: a new brand of mouthwash… for dogs.

A humble proposal: Sell sponsorship on US bank notes to raise $700 billion.

Belgium rebrands its post office from La Poste to bpost NV.

Ever wondered if advertisers could make canned ravioli both fascinating and a little creepy? The answer is yes (below).

Adidas Originals has been busy in Brazil with Destroy and Create, a cultural brand promotion in Sao Paolo that fuses art and design with skateboard culture (spreading the word on Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter). Also whetting the interest of that hipster subculture: the brand’s latest Star Wars kicks.

Fox News show host and “Restoring Honor” organizer Glenn Beck has never been more high profile than he is now. His personal brand is at an apex. Wildly popular, commanding the ear of the media and millions of fans, it’s Beck’s time to leverage that brand.

His gig as a spokesman for Goldline is certainly lucrative. But the association does nothing to expand his brand. Brandchannel offers five brand extensions or licenses Glenn Beck  could take advantage of immediately, including some inspiration.[more]

Extension: The Glenn Beck Haberdashery
Beck is by far one of the nattier dressers on the talking heads circuit. Well manicured suits are paired with fashion-forward ensembles such as clashing patterns and hot-right-now skinny ties. A line of Glenn Beck suits (Made in America of course) might attract the patriot who knows that even Benjamin Franklin was a spiffy dresser.
Inspiration: Donald Trump’s Signature Collection

Extension: Glenn Beck Fine Dining
Or, give Beck’s character, maybe just “Humble Dining.” A Beck-inspired restaurant might not be a huge moneymaker, but it certainly would expand his profile. Menu items could include favorite dishes of Beck’s heroes. For example, George Washington loved string beans with mushrooms and his favorite food was corn cakes drizzled with butter and honey. Beck’s place would be a kind of Founding Father theme restaurant.
Inspiration: Brett Favre’s Steakhouse

Extension: Glenn Beck Cruise
More than anything, Glenn Beck’s brand stands for a community of like-minded people. And while many enjoy vacations that take them out of the their comfort zones and challenge them with new ideas, many others enjoy the comfort of being amongst those just like them. A Glenn Beck-branded cruise would allow Beck fans to commiserate with one another about the sad state of America. Additionally, a personal appearance by Beck would energize his strongest advocates.
Inspiration: Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion Cruises

Extension: Glenn Beck’s Home Brew
Energetic, Glenn Beck races through his monologues like a wired jackrabbit. How does he maintain his pace and alertness? Why, Glenn Beck’s special roast of course. Plus, since Beck is a recovering alcoholic, a brand of wine is out.
Inspiration: Marley Coffee (”Stir it Up”)

Extension: Glenn Beck’s Pets
There is nothing more American than announcing one’s political or social beliefs through one’s pet. Those who fear the scrutiny of announcing oneself as a Beck believer amongst mixed company can quietly put the pooch to work. What better place for Beck’s nuggets of wisdom than a dog bowl? The line could feature collars with Founding Father pronouncements and constitutional declarations. A bolder extension of Glenn Beck pets would include a pooper scooper emblazoned with Obama’s image.
Inspiration: Martha Stewart Pets

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) — Back in June, the Obama administration declared that a "summer of recovery" was at hand, as some construction projects funded by the stimulus bill passed 19 months before finally got underway. He ended the summer on a darker note, in a prime-time address from the Oval Office that used some grim rhetoric to describe the state of the economy.

When Brandcameo went to press on Monday morning, the number one film in the U.S. was The Last Exorcism. The box office numbers have since been revised and Takers ended up, appropriately, taking the weekend by a mere $100,000.

This development doesn’t change our analysis of the curious low brand count of the horror genre. It will however change the overall brand count. This means Range Rover (above) will move up a few positions in our 2010 tracker of the big screen’s branded product placements and Ford’s tie with Apple will, at least temporarily, be in limbo.

Brandcameo numbers and tracking will be revised after this coming Labor Day weekend’s new number one film. Will a number one Machete result in another Apple product placement? Or will Going the Distance live up to its name and add a different Apple product placement to our tally?