The fate of Dos Equis' iconic "Most Interesting Man in the World" character is up in the air, but he's currently starring in the Heineken-owned brand's latest campaign to promote its status as the official beer sponsor of the College Football Playoff. Throughout football season, Dos Equis will be encouraging college football fanatics to use the hashtag #MostInterestingFanSearch to show why they're the most interesting fan.

De Beers Group will put more than $140 million into its marketing efforts this year-its biggest spend in marketing since 2008, according to De Beers Group. The investment will be focused on drumming up consumer demand for diamond jewelry, with the biggest allocations targeting the U.S., China, and India. The majority of investment will support De Beers' proprietary jewelry brands, Forevermark and De Beers Diamond Jewellers.

A former IT manager for Columbia Sportswear pleaded guilty Wednesday to breaching the company's email system after he quit to access private and proprietary information. Michael Leeper spent 14 years with Columbia starting in 2000. He accessed the company's network on a regular basis, federal officials said, compromising commercially valuable and private information.

Estee Lauder Companies Inc. is being sued by federal regulators for discriminating against men. The company's parental leave policy allows new fathers to take two weeks of paid leave for "child bonding," while new moms get six weeks, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. The EEOC claims the practice violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963.

Dockers is getting back to its khaki roots. The 30-year-old Levi Strauss brand will release a global campaign Friday devoted to men's casual pants. Titled "Always On," the campaign highlights the Dockers Smart 360 Flex Khaki, a new collection that features four-way stretch. Slated for television, cinema and digital channels in the U.S. and internationally, the spots are intended to be humorous and connect with men "on an emotional level."

Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Satya Nadella of Microsoft have a big announcement they plan to make today. Their companies have been working together quietly over the past year to make their digital assistants, Alexa and Cortana, respectively, communicate with each other. By the end of this year, they expect the partnership will let users summon Cortana using Alexa and vice versa.

Commuters on area freeways might have seen UCLA's enhanced branding and marketing efforts less than a week before the team's season opener against Texas A&M on Sunday. It's all made possible by UCLA's record 15-year, $280-million deal with Under Armour that includes a yearly $1-million outlay for marketing purposes, allowing the school's athletic department to more than triple its previous marketing budget.

California-based fermented beverage-maker Revive Kombucha has raised $7.5m in Series B funding, led by Peet's Coffee. Revive Kombucha will use the funding for scaling up the operations and to expand its nationwide distribution. Presently, its products are distributed across nearly 50 states at retailers like Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, The Fresh Market, Wegmans, and Safeway.

Burger King is giving away free burgers to those who own up to being fired. On Tuesday, the burger chain announced its new "Whopper Severance" deal, in which you can get a free Burger King gift card in exchange for a public acknowledgement that you were fired. All you have to do is go to LinkedIn and post the message: "I got fired. I want a free Whopper. #WhopperSeverance."

Airlines, Airbnb and other members of the hospitality industry are helping with relief efforts. Airbnb has activated its Disaster Response Program. Those in need of temporary accommodations-including emergency relief workers and volunteers-can connect with Airbnb hosts in the San Antonio, Austin and Dallas areas who are willing to offer their homes free of charge from now through Sept. 1. Airbnb is also waiving fees.