Beginning of 2011 turns out to be a hot time for Hennessy. This luxury cognac brand celebrates the start of the new year by launching two limited edition products.

It’s become a tradition for Hennessy to present XO limited edition at the beginning of each year since 2007. So, the fourth addition to the XO collection is called Odyssey XO. This is a unique blend created especially for this occasion, not just a classic Hennessy XO taste in a designer bottle. As for the bottle design, it was created by a multi-disciplinary artist and designer Arik Levy who took inspiration from the rock formations which represent one of the basic objects in his work.

Today, January 18, Apple‘s CEO Steve Jobs announced he is taking a medical leave without specifying its precise duration. In his absence, Tim Cook, the current COO of the company, will be responsible for the day-to-day operations, although, in an e-mail to staff, sent the day before, Jobs asserted that he would ‘continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for the company’.

Beginning of a new year is the time for global companies to introduce or at least announce new changes in their business tactics. Starbucks has changed its logo and declared its commitment to get out of the circle, and Hyundai is unveiling its new motto. The database of the brand’s slogans now welcomes a newcomer, ‘New Thinking. New Possibilities,’ which comes as part of the auto maker’s new brand concept, ‘Modern Premium.’

PepsiCo Canada’s Quaker brand is on a mission to take its belief in the power of a nutritious breakfast to new heights this year, by motivating Canadians to start their day with Quaker oatmeal, and to help those in need to do the same. The brand unveils an exciting new initiative with Olympic Champion Alexandre Bilodeau called Unlock Amazing, which aspires to provide two million bowls of oatmeal this year to help feed the more than 860,000 Canadians helped by food banks each month.

Dolce&Gabbana continue highlighting the Italian nature of the brand’s fashion traditions in their magnificent advertising campaigns. The cult fashion House unveiled a new set of prints focused on the idea which was the key one in the previous promotional works—pure Sicilian spirit and refined style soaked with sexuality to the core. Last year, the brand treated public to perfect shots featuring Madonna turned a housewife and fabulous somewhat gay demigods, and for this year’s campaign promoting D&G’s S/S 2011 men and women collection, the brand opted bursting emotions to be the leading tune.

Levi’s® kicks off the search for the second-ever ‘Levi’s® Girl,’ the online voice of Levi’s® women. Using its crowdsourcing Facebook app, users are able to submit videos documenting why they should be chosen as the new face and voice for Levi’s women in the digital space. In this specialized six-month assignment, the new ‘Levi’s Girl’ will allow the brand voice for women to be heard and channel the essence of ‘Shape What’s to Come,’ the brand’s global online community where millennial women around the world can connect with peers and mentors to shape their futures.

During this year’s Golden Globe awards ceremony, America’s technology giant and sponsor of the Golden Globe event Microsoft introduced new series of commercials under a new tagline: ‘Be What’s Next’. As a long-time sponsor of the event, Microsoft had ability to bring its ads to the viewers during the broadcast. But what’s special about this year’s ad series is that the newly-unveiled spots directly reference the context of the Globes by showcasing future actors who talk about their commitment to their dream of pursuing the career of an actor.