These days, everything old seems new again: Disney has resurrected Tron from 1982, and Hello Kitty is just hitting her stride at 35 years old. It may seem like a great time to dig up and polish off a few forgotten brands.

On December 8, Brands USA Holdings will auction approximately 150 “priceless” and forgotten brand names for those who might want to cash in on the latest nostalgia trend. Names like Handi-Wrap, General Instrument, Lucky Whip and Meister Brau will be up for grabs to the highest bidder.

With awareness as the first building block of brand equity, it might seem like brand resurrection would provide an immediate head start in the market. As tempting as it may seem to claim the identity of an abandoned trademark, investors should beware that the residual value of the brand is also its risk.

Abandoned, orphaned or zombie trademarks live in a legal gray zone, as explained in the article The Zombie Trademark: A Windfall and A Pitfall, in the law journal of the International Trademark Association. But consumers of Brand 2.0 would most certainly be confused and disappointed if they are allowed to think that the original product is back on shelves. As with any relationship, I would recommend honesty. Telling consumers that you are recycling another company’s brand is a much better strategy than trying to backpedal from consumers who feel duped.

Sarah is a Charlotte-area junior who has been a Girl Scout for ten years.

She is now in the final stage of earning her Gold Award.

Much like the Eagle Award is to the Boy Scouts of America, the Gold Award is the highest achievement within the Girl Scouts of the USA. Only about 5% of eligible Scouts successfully earn the prestigious award. The Scout must complete 30 hours of leadership work, 40 hours of career exploration, and the 4Bs Challenge during which the scout identifies key needs in her community. After those steps have been taken, she must complete a service project. This service project must extend beyond GSUSA and provide a lasting benefit. It requires a minimum of 65 hours of work.

Sarah says that the homelessness crisis in Charlotte has been a passion of hers for many years, primarily due to her mother’s involvement with the Urban Ministry Center for almost half of Sarah’s life. Because of this, it was an easy decision for Sarah to determine her Gold Award project, as she has grown up working with homeless people.

For her project, called “A Fresh Start,” she is compiling 85 laundry baskets full of basic household items, including dish detergent, washcloths, hangers and sponges, to be donated to the upcoming residents of Charlotte’s newly constructed Moore Place, a housing facility built by the Urban Ministry Center. Moore Place will be Charlotte’s first permanent supportive home built to give a roof to chronically homeless men and women. Sarah’s aim is to provide these baskets as a house warming gift and starter pack.

As a Helping Hands event for November, Addison Whitney collected enough goods to fill two laundry baskets with the household items. These items will benefit two new residents of Moore Place and will make a dramatic impact in getting these new residents settled in their new homes.

Sarah plans to help the residents move in and hopes to continue working with them long after their first bottle of laundry detergent runs out.

If you’d like to put together a basket for Sarah’s project, please visit her website.
You can read more about Moore Place here.

FDA Approves Eisai Inc. (ESALF.PK)’s Halaven For Late-Stage Breast Cancer
11/15/2010

SILVER SPRING, Md., Nov. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Halaven (eribulin mesylate) to treat patients with metastatic breast cancer who have received at least two prior chemotherapy regimens for late-stage disease.

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer related death among women, according to the National Cancer Institute. This year, an estimated 207,090 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, while 39,840 women will die from the disease.

Halaven is a synthetic form of a chemotherapeutically active compound derived from the sea sponge Halichondria okadai. This injectable therapy is a microtubule inhibitor, believed to work by inhibiting cancer cell growth. Before receiving Halaven, patients should have received prior anthracycline- and taxane-based chemotherapy for early or late-stage breast cancer.

Halaven’s safety and effectiveness were established in a single study in 762 women with metastatic breast cancer who had received at least two prior chemotherapy regimens for late-stage disease. Patients were randomly assigned to receive treatment with either Halaven or a different single agent therapy chosen by their oncologist.

The study was designed to measure the length of time from when this treatment started until a patient’s death (overall survival). The median overall survival for patients receiving Halaven was 13.1 months compared with 10.6 months for those who received a single agent therapy.

“There are limited treatment options for women with aggressive forms of late-stage breast cancer who have already received other therapies,” said Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the Office of Oncology Drug Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Halaven shows a clear survival benefit and is an important new option for women.”

The most common side effects reported by women treated with Halaven include a decrease in infection-fighting white blood cells (neutropenia), anemia, a decrease in the number of white blood cells (leukopenia), hair loss (alopecia), fatigue, nausea, weakness (asthenia), nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy), and constipation.

Other FDA-approved therapies used to treat late-stage, refractory breast cancer include Xeloda (capecitabine) for patients with breast cancer resistant to paclitaxel and anthracycline-containing chemotherapy; Ixempra (ixabepilone) for patients with late- stage disease after failure of an anthracycline, taxane and Xeloda; and Ixempra plus Xeloda for patients with late-stage disease after failure of anthracycline- and taxane-based chemotherapy.

Halaven is marketed by Woodcliff Lakes, N.J. -based Eisai Inc.

For more information:

FDA: Office of Oncology Drug Products
NCI: Breast Cancer

Media Inquiries: Erica Jefferson, 301-796-4988, erica.jefferson@fda.hhs.gov

Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA

SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration

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Did you hear that noise earlier last week? It was the sound of millions of Americans rejoicing. Why? The McRib is back, of course.

Considering there’s a McDonald’s on every corner, it’s interesting how McDonald’s has been able to make a pork sandwich so exclusive. Thousands wait for sightings each year on the McRib locator website. Facebook groups beg for its return. Well folks, prayers have been answered because 2010 is the magical year when all U.S. McDonald’s are carrying the sandwich (for a limited time of course).

I think the last McRib I had was in 1996, but something about the McRib is exciting each year. And not just for me, remember Jack Osbourne’s excitement (video is bleeped but probably NSFW)?

This year, McDonald’s McRib ad campaign highlights the love and passion people have for the sandwich as opposed to focusing on the exclusivity alone. Yep, love and passion for a pork sandwich.

Have you had a McRib sandwich yet?