Community & Southern Bank's ad agency talks in its brand advertising campaign about how, the bigger the bank, the worse the customer service for the hoi polloi. The metro Atlanta bank worked with Bigelow Advertising. Thomas Bigelow answers questions at the link.

Can regular people see through the smoke, mirrors and (possible) mendacity behind complicated financial products? The U.K. Financial Services Authority thinks probably not. The regulatory organization intends to ban the marketing of complex investment products, or Unregulated Collective Investment Schemes, involving assets such as wine, crops and timber to retail consumers. The regulator found “high levels of unsuitable advice” and the “potential for customer detriment.” 

A former Abbott Laboratories saleswoman, Amy Bergman, has filed a federal lawsuit against the company, accusing it of illegally promoting its cholesterol drug TriCor for uses not approved by regulators, including the prevention of cardiac health risks in patients with diabetes. The suit, filed in 2009, had been confidential under whistle-blower protection laws.

Sanjay Gupta will be CMO at Allstate, replacing Mark LaNeve, who resigned in February. LaNeve went to Ford Motor's U.S. agency conglomerate, Team One. Gupta joins Allstate from Ally Financial Inc., where he had served as chief marketing officer since 2008. There he was involved in rebranding the company after its $17 billion bailout. Detroit-based Ally had been GMAC, the former in-house financing arm for General Motors Co.

It has been around for over 20 years but Infiniti still hasn't hammered down a clear image in the luxury world. But with the Nissan-owned brand having moved its headquarters from Japan to Hong Kong and brought in former Audi executive Johan de Nysschen as it new global chief executive, that may change. He says his challenge is not unlike what he faced at Audi. "My goal is to unlock the potential of this brand," de Nysschen told TheDetroitBureau.com during an interview in Pebble Beach, Calif. prior to the annual Concours d'Elegance. "One of the things I bring to the …

Microsoft invested $300 million in Barnes & Noble's Nook business. But production problems, slowing ebook sales and other factors are causing headaches. Despite the launch of the front-lit Nook e-reader in April 2012, Nook business revenues are flat compared to this time last year.

Is the Zuck sacrificing his vision for the Street? The social media company is now doing what it calls "Logged Out" ads, the garden variety that Facebook, now trading at around $19, was never supposed to have. Contributor Paul Sloan argues that the solution is simple: go ahead and advertise. "Why stop at splashy ads on the logout page? Why not the home page? Facebook could expand beyond those tiny ads on the right side of your screen that force advertisers to use static graphics with separate text."

The Center for Digital Democracy and 13 other children's health, privacy and consumer advocacy organizations, filed five separate complaints this week with the Federal Trade Commission against six child-targeted websites that ask young visitors to "tell a friend" or "refer a friend." McDonald's HappyMeal.com; General Mills' ReesesPuff.com and TrixWorld.com; Doctor's Associates' SubwayKids.com; Viacom's Nick.com; and Turner Broadcasting's CartoonNetwork.com ask children to share their experience with friends by providing their email addresses.

Volvo has launched a Facebook app called You Inside that lets fans post images of the things they keep inside their cars along with info about their vehicles and lifestyles. Volvo will analyze the information and deliver a personality profile, with users able to look at other profiles. The data gathered by the app on the social network will also be fed into research for vehicle development at Volvo.

Sbarro, the world's largest mall-focused Italian restaurant chain, announced the appointment of Angela Hornsby as chief people officer. Hornsby will head human resources, talent acquisition, leadership development, employee relations, compensation, and benefits. The company this year plans to open 60 domestic and international stores.