Let the prank wars begin. Fiat deviously photobombed Volkswagen through Google Maps by parking one of its Fiat 500 models in front of the competing automaker’s Swedish headquarters in Södertälje while Google was snapping Street View shots. Your move, VW.

A memorable senior prank at a high school in Clayton, Ind., involving more than 12,000 Post-it Notes went off without a hitch—at first. Unfortunately, the Class of 2012 stunt ended in more than 57 student suspensions, a sit-in, and the firing of one of the school’s custodians.

This bizarre incident at Chuck’s Place restaurant was no prank. When one hungry customer put the all-you-can-eat restaurant to the test last Friday, the establishment’s food reserves started to dwindle, forcing it to cut the man off after a dozen pieces and sending him packing with eight more. At 6’6” and 350 lbs., the man is now causing quite the sizable dilemma by protesting outside of the restaurant.

As most PR people would agree, I’d be more amped about all-you-can-drink coffee—available, I suppose, at most break rooms across the U.S. And now there’s even more healthful reasoning to reach for that caffeinated brew. As it turns out, your morning brew might be the key to a longer life.

Entertainer Ice Cube didn’t mention coffee (of the iced variety, obviously), but he did talk with Advertising Age about his promotional gig with Coors Light, his issue with Mary J. Blige’s recent spot for Burger King, and his stance on gay marriage.

One stance that many companies seem to swing back and forth on is the subject of flextime at work, and recent news should cause a swing in the right direction. Small Business Trends points to new research that suggests offering employees the option to be more flexible with their working hours might inspire them to work more.

I’m not sure what research went into Forbes’ methodology for ranking the world’s most powerful celebrities, but it’s compiled the list here if you care to see who nabbed top honors this year.

Meanwhile, Adweek listed the 20 most-viral ads of 2012 (so far). Grabbing No. 1: TNT’s “dramatic” launch in Belgium.



While we’re overseas, let’s check in on things with the royal family. In a special interview with Katie Couric in preparation of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, Princes William and Harry spoke candidly of their grandmother, whom they claim isn’t someone you mess with.



When it comes to social media, Facebook is certainly an entity you shouldn’t mess with. According to Wired, “Facebook is on the cusp of becoming a medium unto itself—more akin to television as a whole than a single network.”

And with the site on the verge of its IPO this Friday, we’re hearing that Facebook’s Menlo Park headquarters will hold an all-night hackathon with about 1,000 employees leading up to the ringing of the stock market’s bell.

If celebrities are going to attend the ringing, you’ll probably find Justin Ross somewhere on hand. The New York Times reports that while the 29-year-old social media monger might not be a household name, his zealous self-promotion is out to change that—and perhaps many brands’ approach to marketing.

Sketchers is going to need some promotion to help payoff the $40 million settlement it owes after the Federal Trade Commission said the shoe maker made false claims when marketing its Shape-Ups, Resistance Runners, Toners, and Tone-ups.

That’s a lot of dinero, although not nearly as much as Pinterest just brought in. The startup raised $100 million in a financing round that now values the social media darling at $1.5 billion. That’s almost a dollar per second I’ve waste on the scrapbooking site.

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