Brand Integration Gone Wrong: Celeb Chef Blasts Cadillac, Travel Channel

Speaking of brand integration gone horribly wrong, celeb chef Anthony Bourdain, wants to make it clear he doesn't drive a Cadillac in real life. Really, really, REALLY clear. No matter what kind of deal his former employer, Travel Channel, might cook up next. Check out these tweets @Bourdain unleashed last week and then read the blog he posted yesterday to finally explain the fit of rage (below...

Manchester United Cashes In On Global Strategy With 30% Sponsorship Growth

Thanks to ten new sponsorship deals in the last quarter, Manchester United today reported sponsorship revenue is up over 32% from the previous year. In addition to the club's record $559 million shirt sponsorship with U.S. automaker, GM (Chevrolet), the club signed partnerships with Bwin, Toshiba Medical Systems, Yanmar (global); Kagome (regional); Santander, Shinsei Bank and MBNA (financial se...

Macy's Sticks By Donald Trump Partnership

Macy's has been urged by a "Dump Trump" petition containing more than 580,000 signatures to discontinue its partnership with the Donald Trump Signature Collection it carries in retail stores. Today, the CEO of Macy's Terry Lundgren issued a response reaffirming the famous department store chain's relationship with Trump and explaining the company's perspective on the partnership. According ...

Soft Drink Giant Signals Growing Interest In Music, Tech With Latest Investment

As had been rumored for about a month, the New York Times is this evening confirming that Coca-Cola has tacked on a $10 million investment to its existing marketing partnership with fast growing streaming music service, Spotify. The move signals the soft drink's intent to make serious investments in both music and social media as its battle with Pepsi rapidly expands to new venues beyond the gr...

Beermaker Launches Free Volleyball App -- With A Clever Catch

Longtime beach volleyball sponsor, Corona, has come up with a new way to play the game -- whether you're at the beach or in your local bar. Unlike the real thing though, you have to have a Corona in hand to play the new 3D game. In order to download Corona Beach Volleyball your phone must detect a bottle of Corona nearby, according to Kotaku.com. The free advergame available in the UK from Coro...

Sweden's Hottest Exports Expand Music Partnership

Absolut Vodka and the electronic dance sensation, Swedish House Mafia, have announced plans to expand their relationship in 2013. Absolut will sponsor Swedish House Mafia's "One Last Tour", running from November 2012 to March 2013. The sponsorship is an extension of a relationship that began last Spring, when the two parties worked together to create a music video that received more than twenty...

Ben & Jerry's Crowdsources Ad Creative With Instagram

Asking fans to upload their ice cream instagram photos with the hashtag #captureeuphoria, Ben & Jerry's is running a new promotion that will use real fan photos for local marketing campaigns. Fans who share the photo with the hashtag are automatically entered and could see their photo turn up in local print, bus station, and billboard ads near the fan's home, according to PCMag. #acti...

Switzerland Promotes Tourism With Brilliant Ice Block Campaign

As if we needed one, the folks in charge of Switzerland Tourism have come up with a brilliant way to remind us that everyone could use a Swiss ski getaway this holiday season. They've been dropping ice blocks around London that when melted allow curious onlookers to redeem swiss-themed prizes like chocolate, skiing equipment, flights on Swiss Air, and vacation packages. The experiential campai...

Sporting Goods Retailer 'Not Even Going To Think About' Possibility of An SEC-Less Championship

Since 2005, sporting goods retailers in the Southeast have been big beneficiaries of the SEC's football dominance. Perhaps, none more so than fast growing Birmingham-based, Hibbett Sports, which operates 848 stores throughout mostly small to mid-sized markets throughout the South, mid-Atlantic and lower Midwest. So it's probably not a surprise that Hibbett, and retailers like it, account for th...

[VIDEO] Rihanna's Sponsored Party Plane Descends Into Utter Pandemonium

A 777 filled with journalists, musicians and crazy Rihanna fans jetting around the world for 7 concerts in 7 countries over 7 days ... what could go wrong with that right?? Apparently a lot. Judging from this Fuse video it's devolved into a streaker party plane. Even worse for the tour's Apple-rival sponsors, HTC and Microsoft, it looks to be an iPhone-filled streaker party plane! While, Mi...