LinkedIn has become the first privately-held social media company to go public by selling its shares at $45 per unit. Surprisingly, in the first day of trading shares rose as 171 percent and closed at $94.25, more than 109 percent above the initial price. According to www.reuters.com, to date 7.84 million shares have been sold, which puts the company at a valuation of about $4.3 billion.

The time of great changes has come for McDonald’s. Despite of the +$1 billion overhaul that the company plans to complete by 2015 to ultimately change the face of its restoraunts, the brand is under pressure to discard its other iconic face, Ronald McDonald.

The campaign against McDonald’s symbol and point of communication with young consumers is gaining momentum as a group of activist physicians and health conscious people are pursuading McDonald’s to give a boot to its 43-year-old mascot.

In celebration of its 125th anniversary, Coca-Cola will be showcasing some of the iconic designs that have formed an essential part of the brand’s history.

The free installation that will be on display in Design Museum Tank outside the museum on London’s South Bank beginning May 20 and through July 3, is dedicated mainly to two of the basic elements of the brand identity: Coca-Cola contour bottle and Coca-Cola logo. The exhibition will take visitors on a journey through time so they will see how the bottle and logo has changed throughout history.

For a limited time only, P&G will offer its three products such as Tide, Bounce and Downy in original early version of their package. Interestingly, inside the vintage package consumers will find contemporary P&G products based on the latest formula. This limited edition offer will be available in Target retail network beginning May 22 through June 10.  

Repeated conflicts and misunderstanding induced by extreme individualism of all team members, have caused M&M’s spokescandies to split and pursue their solo careers. Red has quickly discovered a new opportunity and is said to become a spokesman for the Oregon Cherry Company. Blue has joined Blue Man’s Group, while Ms. Green is about to publish her own book entitled ‘Our bodies, Our Shells ‘. Orange has escaped the world and is hiding somewhere in the forest in fear of being eaten.

Building on the terrific success of reality show ‘Bud United: Bud House’ that aired during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Budweiser is going to roll out another sensational project entitled ‘Bud United: The Big Time’. This is a next-gen project launched in course of the Bad United experiental platform. The latest endeavor of the beer brand is all about getting little people hit the big time. The casting is now performed through the brand-operated pages on social media, including Facebook and Renren