Twitter is putting to rest any doubts it is taking a shot at being one of the Web’s next big platforms with a $200 million funding round that values the company at a staggering $3.7 billion.

Adweek.com

Two truths of the online media world: brands want to develop social connections with consumers and there are tons of cheap ad inventory thanks largely to the explosion of social networking. The combination of the two could result in more advertising designed to drive social connections rather than transactions or brand awareness.

(Mashable) -- If you're confused because your Facebook News Feed is filled with women saying that they "like it on" the floor or the kitchen counter, you're not alone. It's all part of a new Internet meme that has gone viral on Facebook to raise awareness for breast cancer.

First things first, though: These women are actually referring to where they like to place their purses, not to their favorite places to make love. Of course, part of the reason this meme has gone viral is due to its heavy sexual connotations.

(Mashable.com) -- You can't block CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook.

Try it. You'll get an error message that says, "General Block failed error: Block failed."

Olympic athletes Apolo Ohno, Shawn Johnson and Chris Bosh are the stars of a new "Got Milk?" campaign, which promotes the benefits of drinking low-fat chocolate milk.

Dubbed "Refuel America," the effort carries the message that drinking low-fat chocolate milk is an “easy, effective and cost-efficient” way to fuel up after an intense workout, per the Milk Processor Education Program, which is running the campaign. Interpublic Group's Deutsch in New York created the TV and print ads, while sister shop Draftfcb in Chicago handled the outdoor, digital and mobile work.

Crown Imports has launched its first national multimedia campaign for Corona Light.

The effort -- including television, out-of-home and digital (Facebook and rich media ads) -- positions Corona Light as the more “active" and “vibrant” of Crown Imports' brands, versus say, Corona Extra, which is more “laid-back,” said Jim Sabia, evp of marketing for Crown Imports.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Goodbye Big Mac; hello roasted-
chicken wrap.

That's the idea behind a new healthful, fast-casual dining concept set to be launched by a duo of former McDonald's executives, Mike Roberts and Mike Donahue, and backed by entrepreneur Steve Sidwell. The brand -- which doesn't have a final name but is going by the working moniker "Stephanie's" -- is slated to open doors in early 2011 with hopes of ballooning to as many as 250 locations in five years' time. 

In the second "meta" fast-food campaign to launch this week, Chipotle Mexican Grill is running ads explaining why it isn’t running the usual fast food ads.
 
The campaign, executed in-house, calls attention to the lack of stereotypical images the ads themselves contain.

“We wanted to have farmers in our ads, but what sells are big burritos, not lessons in farming,” reads one banner ad. Meanwhile, a radio ad explains that “we skip conventions of fast-food radio because we skip conventions of fast-food.”
 
The effort, designed to both underscore the chain’s commitment to quality ingredients and to set it apart from competitors in the segment, comes as Domino’s Pizza has launched a campaign built around using real, untouched pictures of its pizzas.
 
Chipotle’s anti-advertising message comes as the chain has also revamped its packaging to sport what it calls “passionate ramblings” in hand-scrawled lettering “in an irreverent voice.”

Sequence handled the packaging, while Compass Point Media executed the media buy. The client spends about $3 million annually on ads, per Nielsen. Ad Week

These are the selections by the Film jury at Cannes for the world's top commercials that first aired between March 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010. See the silver and bronze winners, and winning ads from other categories, at CannesLions.com.

Grand Prix Winner:

BRAND - Old Spice
SPOT - "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like"
AGENCY - Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
COUNTRY - USA



17 Gold Lion Winners:

BRAND - 13th Street Horror Channel
SPOT - "Last Call"
AGENCY - Jung Von Matt, Hamburg
COUNTRY - Germany



BRAND - Axe
SPOT - "Cleans Your Balls"
AGENCY - BBH, New York
COUNTRY - USA


BRAND - Canal+
SPOT - "Closet"
AGENCY - BETC Euro RSCG, Paris
COUNTRY - France


BRAND - Car One
SPOT - "Inheritance"
AGENCY - Leo Burnett, Buenos Aires
COUNTRY - Argentina


BRAND - Foster's VB
SPOT - "Regulars"
AGENCY - Droga5, Sydney
COUNTRY - Australia


Click here to see the remaining 12 top Commercials from Cannes

BUENOS AIRES (AdAge.com) -- Makers of a new Bolivian soft drink called Coca Colla are hoping the Bolivian government will help them find financing to expand production of the coca leaf-based soft drink and maybe hire an ad agency.
Coca Colla was thrust into the spotlight earlier this year when Ospicoca, the drink's producer, garnered wide publicity by cleverly serving the drink to the crowd at President Evo Morales' inauguration ceremony as he started his second term in office.

Unlike Coca-Cola, which for decades has denied that its secret formula has any connection with coca leaves or their highly concentrated end product, cocaine, Coca Colla flaunts the coca connection with a picture of the green leaf on its label.