Smashing Pumpkins Sue Virgin Over Pepsi Ads

Calls it a hoax, says rodent would dissolve before opening

(NEWSER) - An Illinois man is suing PepsiCo after allegedly finding a mouse in his Mountain Dew, and the details just keep getting weirder. In 2009, the man says, he got sick after drinking a can of the soda. After he complained to Pepsi, it sent someone to collect the mouse, and reportedly wouldn't give it back until it had decomposed—thereby apparently preventing the man from using it for "additional testing," as the Alton Telegraph put it back then. More»

'Jane Doe' wants $1M

(NEWSER) - Here’s another entry on the list of bizarre celebrity lawsuits: An actress is suing Amazon.com for $1 million because the Internet Movie Database, which Amazon owns, revealed her age. The actress—sadly, we can’t tell you who she is, because she filed as “Jane Doe”—claims IMDb got her age via her credit card information when she subscribed to IMDbPro in 2008, the New York Post reports. More»

'Why Can't We Be Friends' band seeking $10M in damages

(NEWSER) - Seventies funk sensation War won't be giving Pepsi any peace until a copyright lawsuit is settled. The band claims Pepsi used its signature song—"Why Can't We Be Friends?"—in a Pepsi Max ad, reports TMZ . War is seeking $10 million in damages, according to a suit filed in Los Angeles County court. More»

Claim site pressured them to advertise to squash bad reviews

(NEWSER) - A barrage of small businesses are suing Yelp, saying it pressured them to advertise in order to quash negative reviews. Since late February, at least three lawsuits seeking class action status have been filed against the site by a dozen companies, the AP reports. Yelp denies wrongdoing, saying that reviews might appear or disappear thanks to automated systems designed to filter out untrustworthy posts. More»

Levi's, Pepsi, Harley, and Facebook make the list

(NEWSER) - The 77 million people born between 1946 and 1964 helped make and break some of the world's great brands. Judann Pollack of Ad Age picks the top 15:

• Levi's—Today, Levi's jeans sit desk-side on casual Fridays. But in the 1960s they were marketed with music from Jefferson Airplane.
• Pepsi—Boomer big-shots like Madonna, Michael J. Fox, Tina Turner, and Cindy Crawford pitched Pepsi to a new generation of soda sippers.