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As the nation put its collective positive thoughts into helping David Beckham's fractured metatarsal heal, marketing managers were wondering what the value of their multimillion-pound deals with the sports star were now worth.

The media, looking for every angle on Beckham's broken bone, recounted how his failure to play at the World Cup next month could affect the success of ad campaigns for Coca-Cola and Adidas, two companies which sponsor the England captain and had planned campaigns around the star.

However, Beckham's future as a brand was also thrown into doubt. Some were speculating that the player could have used any victory in Japan to launch his own brands. However, he would need a World Cup win on home territory in order to propel himself into the same league as Pele, according to brandwatchers.

The National Lottery ended much speculation about its future brand by unveiling a logo that was almost identical to the old one. Wisely, Camelot refrained from revealing any figures as to the cost of making the old logo looked three dimensional and curving the words "The National Lottery", but the media couldn't resist speculating on a price tag, with figures between £200,000 and £500,000.

The Lottery also released a new advertising campaign this week, part of its £82m push to win players back to the game. It features some of the projects that would not have existed without lottery funding, thanking the country for what it has done.

We've had Blue Nun, Black Tower, and now it is Mateus Rose's turn to be transformed from naff to now, as distributor First Drink Brands unveiled an image makeover. As if it wasn't bad enough being associated with 1970s dinner parties, it was recently claimed that Mateus was the favoured tipple of none other than Saddam Hussein. Dictator-chic, anyone?

Another brand looking to move away from its naff image is purveyor of saccharine romantic literature, Mills & Boon. While it's not about to return to the days when James Joyce saw it as the ideal publishing house for his labrynthine 'Finnegans Wake', it is about to make a bold assault on the chick-lit market.

It is launching a new imprint called Red Dress Ink, aimed at capturing the 18-34 Bridget Jones generation. Mills & Boon wants readers to think 'Sex and the City', and the titles will feature characters who will have careers and -- gasp! -- will not always end up with the man of their dreams. Not at all like life then.

In the corporate brand stakes, EMI announced it was planning a summer flotation for its music retail chain HMV. The deal is timed to capitalise on -- hopefully -- improved market conditions. If it does go well, analysts are predicting a slew of retail brand IPOs could follow, including Burberry, William Hill and the DIY chain Homebase.

The US conglomerate General Electric is looking to up its corporate profile in Europe, and has hired Saatchi & Saatchi for its first corporate ad campaign.

The move comes in the wake of GE's failed takeover of Honeywell, after the European Commission blocked the $43bn (£30.2bn) deal. It hopes to target opinion formers with TV and newspaper advertising, in a bid to convince them of its European credentials.

Newcomers to the branding generation, the Freemasons are inching forward with their modernisation plans. The next weapon in the arsenal, after the launch of a quarterly magazine, is… a new necktie.

The Freemasons are reported to be dropping their black ties in favour of more colourful neckwear -- perhaps Peter Sissons could be the poster boy for the relaunch, a move likely to go down slightly better with the Daily Mail.

And finally, about as far removed from the Freemasons as possible, ageing rocker Joe Perry is planning to follow in the footsteps of Paul Newman.

The Aerosmith guitarist (you may know him as the one who doesn't have a mouth the size of the Grand Canyon) will be launching a line of hot sauces, called Joe Perry's Rock Your World Hot Sauce.

Like Newman, who has a range of pasta sauces and salad dressings, Perry will be taking a hands-on approach to his culinary offering. He said: "I've got a formula going, but we're still ironing out the details... I want to keep it at a level that I can control because it's not like I'm slapping my name on to something and that's it."

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