Shirley Bassey is fuming over the unauthorized use of her voice in the new Kanye West 'Diamonds' song. The sample was taken from her 1971 hit, 'Diamonds Are Forever'. She wasn't contacted at all before the song was released, and only ended up finding out about it when he sang the song at Live 8. Now if that's not 'somenerve'... I hear a cash register ringing somewhere.

Funny and memorable. But does it truly sell this brand of muffin? Do they even stock them in the gas station at the next exit (just in case you get a craving)?

"When tone of voice is consistent it allows the consumer another means of recognizing the brand and being reassured of expectations. Unfortunately, many brands don't have a consistent tone of voice, or their tone is not considered when aligning the communication aspects of the brand. Even brands that have crafted a tone of voice for external communications or advertising have done shockingly little to promote or encourage usage of that tone internally."

A VERY interesting read from the ever knowledgeable InterBrand, over at Brandchannel. If you don't already know about this resource, keep digging – its all gold.

This time they're serious. No more business plans written on napkins, and strange doodles that represent strategy. They're taking this one to the bank.

"Recent deals include Dow Jones's acquisition of MarketWatch.com ($519 million) and The New York Times's purchase of About.com ($410 million)."

Rupert Murdock, one of the largest players in these recent acquisitions, comments on the News Corp. plan in this Newsweek article.