Brand and Company Trivia

The US government took control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September 2008 during the financial crisis. Standard & Poor, Ernst & Young, and Morgan Stanley are private entities and didn't acquire the mortgage giants.

Spencer Retail (part of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group) tied up with UK's Woolworths to market Chad Valley toys in India. Shopper's Stop, Pantaloons, and Big Bazaar are other retail chains but not this partnership.

Ranbaxy reached an out-of-court settlement with Pfizer over Lipitor patent litigation. Pfizer manufactures Lipitor, while Novartis, Daiichi Sankyo, and Glaxo Smithkline are other pharmaceutical companies not involved in this specific case.

In Friends, Chandler hosted Ross's bachelor party at Pizza Hut when Ross was marrying Carol. This was one of the earlier Season 1 episodes exploring Ross's first marriage. The restaurant setting was typical of the show's 1990s brand references.

Sharp was Manchester United's shirt sponsor from 1983 to 2000, before Vodafone (2000-2006) and then AIG (2006-2010). Sharp was a Japanese electronics company, and their sponsorship coincided with United's rise to domestic and European dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson.

In 2000, Glaxo Wellcome merged with SmithKline Beecham to form GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. The acquisition was valued at around $76 billion. Pharmacia was later acquired by Pfizer, Aventis merged with Sanofi, and Bank One was acquired by JP Morgan Chase.

Toblerone chocolate was owned by Kraft Foods after their acquisition of Cadbury in 2010. However, Toblerone is now owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft in 2012). Given the timeframe when this question was likely written, Kraft Foods was the correct answer.

Google did announce a fake energy drink on April Fool's Day 2005, but it was called 'Google Gulp', not 'Google Juice'. The product came in flavors like 'Glutamate Grape' and 'Sugar-Free Radical'. Option C correctly identifies the name as the error.

"Seedhi baat, no bakwaas, clear hai!!" is Sprite's tagline in India, positioning the lemon-lime drink as straightforward and refreshing without artificial pretense. The Hindi phrase translates to "straight talk, no nonsense, it's clear!"

'Finger-lickin' good!' is KFC's iconic tagline that emphasizes the taste of their fried chicken. Dominos and Pizza Hut are pizza chains, while McDonald's uses taglines like 'I'm lovin' it'.

The tagline 'More Smiles per hour' belongs to TVS Victor, a motorcycle manufactured by TVS Motor Company. This tagline emphasizes the bike's value proposition of providing an enjoyable riding experience. Scooty, Eterno, and Pulsar are two-wheelers from different manufacturers (Honda, Honda Hero, and Bajaj respectively) with their own distinct taglines.

Circuit City had the most layoffs during the first quarter of 2009. The electronics retailer was in the process of liquidating and closing all its stores during this period, resulting in massive job losses. This was one of the largest retail bankruptcies during the recession.

XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio were in the process of merging in 2009. The two companies had announced plans to combine to form a single satellite radio provider. The merger was approved by regulatory authorities after extended review, creating a monopoly in the satellite radio market.