[Spirits] "Canadian Club has incredible distribution, high awareness and quite a bit of latent brand equity," says a company spokesperson. "These are all reasons why Beam Global sees CC as a key global brand in the portfolio." The effort targets men 30-40 "who are looking for a masculine, classic cocktail, something that their dads embraced when they were cool and stylish back in the 1960s and 1970s." ...Read the whole story

[Retail] Says a hardware consultant, "While Craftsman became the dominant brand with its no-question replacement policy, a lot of the other brands have caught up. There are now almost 4,000 home improvement warehouses in the U.S., and they have very broad-based tool departments, carrying both national brands as well as their own private labels." ...Read the whole story

[Telecommunications] Acquisitions, successful marketing, record wireless revenue and the iPhone deal were behind the company's great showing. Not that long ago consumers considered AT&T a tired brand. Then it threw off the Cingular name, replacing it with AT&T Wireless. Says one analyst: "They've done a great job of repositioning the AT&T brand to stand for a high-quality wireless service." ...Read the whole story

[Retail] The company is focusing on its expanded grocery sections. As Citibank Smith Barney analyst Deborah Weinswig said in a recent research note, Target's increased assortment of prepared foods, recipes for quick meals and wine "should help boost Target's image as a food destination." ...Read the whole story

[Research] As far as advertising goes, Dodge Caliber's "Too Tough Fairy" spot and Budweiser's "Ladies' Night" spot, which both employ gay stereotypes for humor in an exaggerated, over-the-top way, scored 5.9 and 5.7, respectively, on a scale of 1 to 10. In contrast, Holiday Inn's "Hot Tub" commercial, which tries to play homophobia for laughs, scored 4.4. Lesson: Exercise caution when using gay themes in humorous creative. ...Read the whole story

[Restaurants] On Tuesday, Papa John's began airing a new commercial spot highlighting the new pizza promotion. The ad features footage from the Sony Pictures Home Entertainment movie and showcases the larger pie promotion. ...Read the whole story

[Retail] The integrated push features the players during candid moments, working as a team, teaching kids how to behave as a team, and talking on the subject interview style. But the rich-media focus is online, with 11 video episodes housed at adidasbasketball.com. ...Read the whole story