So when Cadillac claimed it was fairest of them all, we had to take a closer look.

Cadillac’s 30-second preview of the upcoming 2013 ATS compact sport saloon during last Sunday’s Super Bowl XLVI broadcast, was apparently the most-viewed single advertising spot in U.S. television history. (With Super Bowl XVLI reaching a record U.S. television audience of 111.3 million viewers)

The data used by Cadillac was provided by Kantar Media, a well respected audience insight company, using return path data (RPD) sampled passively through the set-top boxes of an opted-in audience. The sample size used was 100,000 (of the 111.3 million audience) and Kantar Media then sample a behaviour they call ‘TuneAway’, which is essentially when a household changes channel to avoid a commercial.

The lower the TuneAway, the more successful the ad or programme. In theory.

A large proportion of investments made in technology companies at the moment are in the field of audience research and response, mostly to optimise online spend or manage customer relationships on 3rd party platforms such as Facebook. Each try to promise a ‘silver bullet’ solution (one dashboard for all needs) and tend to focus on the interpreted data rather than the method (and its assumptions) used in producing the data.

The problem though with all TV audience data is that it measures the behaviour of a household, rather than a person. A household could be a group of mates sitting down to watch the game, a family dictated to by a dominant parent or even a busy social gathering where the TV is switched on in the background.

Additionally, just like many online traffic measurements (such as Alexa or Comscore) the audience panels providing the data must first be opted in, which is often achieved via incentives (free anti-virus software, of gift vouchers). This further skews the data towards those people who look out for free-gift offers.

Cadillac’s spot, called “Green Hell,” aired at 9:37 Eastern Time, during the game’s “two-minute warning” official timeout, so audiences were literally on the edge of their seats. How many of them stayed there, rather than visiting the loo or fetching another beer is anyone’s guess.

Whilst Cadillac may have scored highest (43.46 for their 30 second spot) in the 100,000 household sample, they are currently only 47th in the Viral Video Chart with a little over 536,000 views and 1,989 shares.

This compares with Volkswagen’s 23 million views and 942,943 shares and Honda with 19.3 million and 360,900 shares, so you can see why I almost choked on my breakfast this morning. All of these are of course online viewing figures, but they likewise portray the behavior of individual people, each of whom have ‘chosen’ to click on a video rather than passively viewing it during a live broadcast.

The lesson? Don’t believe everything you read and make sure you understand how behavioural data has been compiled and the context that it refers to.

It’s good to see Cadillac embracing the Nurburgring so strongly during development of their ATS sports saloon, I just hope they’ve also inherited some of their Germanic competitor’s understatement when it comes to the performance of the car.

Whilst there are several instances in the 100+ Super Bowl ads, we’re interested in Automotive brands and fortunately there are several juicy ones to take a look at.

The NFL takes issue with Chrysler’s “It’s Halftime in America” commercial

Chrysler’s ad was by far the most ‘moving’ ad of the Super Bowl, featuring Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood narrating the story of Detroit’s Motor City, digging deep despite the tough conditions and coming out fighting for the second half.

How does this grab you? “This country can’t be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again and when we do the world’s going to hear the roar of our engines. Yeah, it’s half time America and our second half is about to begin.” Powerful stuff.

So, amidst such inspiring poetry it came as something of a surprise when a kerfuffle kicked off as the NFL (Super Bowl rights holders) claimed the ad violated their copyrights. The ad was taken down from YouTube, but then an NFL spokesperson subsequently claimed the league didn’t take the ad down and is now asking Google to investigate.

Something is certainly going on – Chrysler have been frantically contacting publishers and asking us to display their ad, but when we uploaded a copy to YouTube this afternoon it was immediately removed, accompanied by the message “This video has been removed because its content violated YouTube’s Terms of Service. Sorry about that.”

What’s the matter, don’t they like poetry..?

So what was it? A marketing stunt? A misunderstanding, or a media storm contrived from our over-active imagination? Take a look and see for yourself.

Ford lawyers-up over Chevy’s Silverado commercial

Chevy’s Silverado ad takes a direct swipe at rival Ford, as it tells the story of group of men who survive a world-destroying apocalypse (as supposedly predicted by an ancient Mayan calendar), because they all owned Chevrolet Silverado trucks. However, one of their friends (Dave) doesn’t make it.

“Dave didn’t own the longest lasting, most dependable truck on the road,” one of the surviving group says. “Dave bought a Ford.”

Ford, were naturally outraged by such a negative portrayal of their brand and delivered a ‘cease and desist’ order to General Motors, due to the “unsubstantiated and disparaging claims regarding Ford’s pickup trucks.”

Chevrolet, who clearly had no intention of complying with Ford’s request, didn’t just run the ad as planned but have continued to fuel the spat by joining a live web discussion on the automotive blog Jalopnik.

Ford is objecting to the reference that the Chevrolet Silverado is “the longest lasting, most dependable truck on the road”, and said that “..If Chevrolet does not comply with our request (they didn’t) to permanently remove the commercial from its website, its YouTube and Facebook pages and any other internet sites, then Ford will take all appropriate steps to enforce and protect its reputation.”

General Motors (parent company of Chevrolet) remain unrepentant, saying “We stand by our claims in the commercial, that the Silverado is the most dependable, longest lasting full-size pickup on the road.”

Ewanick went on to say, “We can wait until the world ends, and if we need to, we will apologize. In the meantime, people who are really worried about the Mayan calendar coming true should buy a Silverado right away.”

Now that’s just rubbing salt in an already very raw wound…

Toyota serve up some Super Bowl spam on Twitter

As reported in the marketing blog eConsultancy this morning, via a report originally published on The Next Web, Toyota were caught red-handed trying to boost their Camry Effect campaign by sending unsolicited messages to random individuals, apparently based on nothing more than a tweet in their timeline mentioning the Super Bowl.

Here’s what TNW had to say in their article, “In what is probably the worst Twitter promotion I’ve seen on the platform since the company launched in 2006, Toyota has created a slew of accounts and is spamming people about what it is calling the “Camry Effect a Friend’ Giveaway!”. The worst part is that they’re all verified accounts, so while Twitter isn’t involved in the promotion, someone at the company definitely knows about it.”

Toyota subsequently apologised in the following statement, “We apologize to anyone in the Twitterverse who received an unwanted @reply over the past few days. We were excited to share the message of our Camry Effect campaign in a new way and it was never our intention to displease anyone.
We’ve certainly learned from this experience and have suspended the accounts effective immediately to avoid any additional issues.
Kimberley Gardiner, National Digital Marketing & Social Media Manager, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Inc.”

Embarrassing mistake? Or deliberate tactic to gain exposure? You decide, but as is proven by this article, all 3 brands have certainly drawn attention away from their competitors and become a talking point in sections of the media that wouldn’t normally be talking about their cars.

We took a sample of the data yesterday, to provide for a pre and post-game view of the main contenders, and learned that Honda’s Ferris Bueler themed videos were firmly in the lead for views, if not social shares. 

But less than 18 hours later, the leaderboard has changed to underline just how competitive the battle has become.

First things first, if you were following the Twitter feed last night of @unrulymedia or @VideoChart, then you’ll have noticed the following stats;

1. <40 million people were estimated to have shared their favourite ads online 'after' the game (35 million of these via Facebook)
2. It was estimated that 2.5 million people would send their favourite Super Bowl ads to their friends using YouTube 
3. The highest tweets per second came at the end of the game – 12,233, followed by the second highest during Madonna’s performance, reaching 10,245 tweets per second.
4. Whilst in the final 3 minutes of the Super Bowl game, an average of 10,000 tweets per second were sent. 

If you’re head’s not spinning from those numbers, then let’s take a look at the Automotive brands and what changed on our scoreboard overnight.

Yesterday’s Pre-game data (as of 05/2/2012 at 17:00 GMT)

The post-game reckoning

Since yesterday evening our Top 10 Super Bowl Ads gained 15.2 million views between them – climbing from a total of 54 million to 69 million views.  The biggest gains were made by Volkswagen, with “Bark Side” climbing from 11.9 million views to 23.9 million and social shares rising modestly from 692,825 to 705,760. 

The second of Volkswagen’s Super Bowl ads, and the main feature spot during the game, “The Dog Strikes Back”, rose from 3.8 million up to 4.65 million views and from 118,712 to 145,982 social shares, proving that audiences are more interested in a dog symphony than the re-creation of a Star Wars pub in Tatooine.  Nevertheless, when combined Volkswagen’s Super Bowl ads are now back ahead of the competition with 28.55 million views and 851,742 shares.

After a surge leading up to Super Bowl 46, Honda’s Ferris Bueler inspired ads, “Coming Soon” and “Matthew’s Day Off”, have suddenly stalled, rising only 850,000 views overnight from 16.6 million to 17.45 million views. 

Honda’s luxury brand Acura performed slightly better, rising 1.4 million views from 14.1 million to 15.5 million and from 50,568 to 55,599 shares.

The Automotive sector remained dominant, although we lost 1 brand from the Top 10 (Kia Optima: “A Dream Car. For Real Life.”) and a few new entrants joined the race to become king of the Super Bowl car ads.

You’d be brave man (or woman) to bet against Volkswagen, but then let’s wait and see once the bulk of social sharing occurs during the next few weeks.  The acid test for a viral video is when its meme is adopted and re-personalised by ordinary people, when it moves outside the reach of paid promotion and connects with a wider audience reached through social and earned media.

Judging by the comments coming through on our YouTube channel, many people are only ‘just’ discovering these ads, so there’s plenty more to learn as these campaigns start to become talking points (or not) in environments outside the influence of their promoting brand.

Showcasing the design and technology direction for Honda’s next generation supercar, the NSX Concept features a V6 mid-mounted engine and will employ a range of new technologies including the innovative Sport Hybrid SH-AWD (Super Handling All Wheel DriveTM) hybrid system. It is expected to go on sale within the next three years.

While many supercars opt for a big powerful engine, the NSX Concept pursues the true racing philosophy of ‘performance through lightness’ to achieve a more favourable power-to-weight ratio.

Utilising a unique 2-Electric Motor Drive Unit with a bilateral torque adjustable control system, the new hybrid all-wheel-drive system can instantly generate negative or positive torque to the front wheels during cornering, which Honda anticipates will deliver handling performance unmatched by previous AWD systems.

In addition to the handling benefits of the Sport Hybrid SH-AWD® system, a powerful next-generation VTEC V-6 engine with direct-injection, works in concert with a dual clutch transmission with built-in electric motor, to create supercar acceleration combined with outstanding efficiency.

Speaking at last’s months Detroit show, Takanobu Ito, President and CEO of Honda Motor Co., who led the development of Honda’s first NSX supercar, said “This Sport Hybrid SH-AWD system will make the NSX the ultimate expression of the synergy between man and machine. The NSX will make the driver one with the car to enhance dynamic driving abilities without getting in the way.”

He went on to say, “Like the first NSX, we will again express high performance through engineering efficiency. In this new era, even as we focus on the fun to drive spirit of the NSX, I think a supercar must respond positively to environmental responsibilities.”

We look forward to seeing it up close and personal at Geneva.

European CR-V Prototype

Honda will also present the European CR-V Prototype at Geneva, a preview model highlighting the exterior styling direction of the all-new fourth generation European Honda CR-V, which is set to go on sale in Autumn 2012.

Compared to the previous generation, the model takes on a more aggressive stance with deeper sculpting of the body lines and a bolder front fascia. The lower front bumper wraps smartly upward to convey SUV capability, while the lower front bumper design now integrates more smoothly into the fascia for improved aerodynamics.

Gallery

It’s worth reminding you why we’re paying attention to a ‘football game’ when our main focus is obviously cars, driving and the lifestyle surrounding them.

Put simply, the Super Bowl has become the biggest stage for brand marketing in the U.S. and one of the most significant factors behind the success of each brand’s marketing activities throughout the year, both in the U.S. and globally. And surprisingly it’s Automotive brands which dominate ‘and’ rate highest with audiences in terms of increased buzz.

But Super Bowl success goes far beyond TV advertising, with nearly as many viewers watching the ads offline, and unlike ‘broadcast’ media, online represents a personal ‘choice’ and is therefore of greater value.

This is perhaps one of the best illustrations of ‘New Media’, which rather than being defined by technology (i.e. digital vs print or broadcast) is actually better explained by the separation of content from the channel it’s being carried on. Yes, there are specific adjustments necessary to optimise each medium, but the winning brands are those that treat the world as their stage and build their content to reach audiences wherever they may choose to consume it.

Topping the automotive brands in this year’s Super Bowl are Honda and Volkswagen, who’ve stolen a march on the 14 other brands who’ve ploughed tens of millions of dollars into the event. Both have leaned heavily on popular characters from TV and Film (Jay Leno, Jerry Seinfeld, Matthew Broderick, Darth Vader/Star Wars) and used humour as one of their principal ingredients.

There are also a few late entrants (BMW, Kia) that could create a few upsets for our league table, so we’ll revisit the scorecard later in the week to see how they’ve fared.

The Pre-game Scorecard

In the top 10 Super Bowl ads this year, 7 of them are for Automotive brands but even more impressive is this – 7 Automotive ads represent 92.3% of the social shares within this premiere group.

These top 10 videos have clocked up just over 54 million views between them so far, and to further underline the dominance of the automotive sector, they represent 94.4 % of this total – that’s despite the best efforts of David Beckham (H&M), Budweiser and the U.S. Navy Seal themed ‘Act of Valor’ trailer.

As before all data has been provided by Unruly Media’s Viral Video Chart and is valid as of 05/2/2012 at 17:00 GMT. Previous data was taken at 19:10 GMT on 31/1/2012.

So what’s happened?

Volkswagen’s early lead was overtaken by Honda during the latter part of the week (now 15.7 million views versus 16.6 million), although VW are miles ahead when we look at social shares (811,000 versus 329,000). Even if we included Acura (Honda’s luxury car division), we would still be looking at only 379,000 shares, but a whopping 30 million views.

GM, the biggest spender at this year’s Super Bowl, have dropped further behind the big two with Chevrolet’s ‘Happy Grad’ advert dropping from 9th to 24th in the chart, but thankfully (for Chevy) their Silverado truck advert has stepped in to carry the brand forwards (currently 12th).

Despite all the hoopla over Audi’s Twilight-themed Vampire Party ads, it must be embarrassed by its performance compared to sister brand Volkswagen. Quite frankly it hasn’t caught on – perhaps audiences are (finally!) tiring of the Robert Pattinson/Kristen Stewart storyline and Audi have been too late to the party in using it. Whatever the reason, despite a 70-100% increase on last week’s figures, the opposition seem to have a lot more power under their hoods.

Watch out for Kia going forwards next week, it’s an epic ad, with a start-studded cast and it’s clearly designed to appeal to both sexes.

But the race continues between Volkswagen and Honda/Acura. Who will win the bragging rights in our scorecard? But perhaps more importantly, who will translate their Super Bowl success into the kind of numbers their shareholders place a value on?

The Newcomers

Several new videos have joined the fray since last week, most of which we will talk about another time. If you missed the original batch of ads, then you can watch them in our previous post, meanwhile here are some of our favourite new ones.

Kia Optima: “A Dream Car. For Real Life.”

Chevy Silverado “Apocalypse” featuring Ford

BMW 3 SERIES – “THE CLOSE CALL”

Also take a look at “THE SCORE”, “THE PERFECT SEAT”, “THE BIG GRAB” and “THE ENTERTAINER”.

Chevy Sonic “Joy”

Chevy Volt “Aliens #1 – Come On”

“We have made a decision” said Honda CEO, Takanobu Ito “to enter into the WTCC with the European Civic. We will develop a totally new engine for this project and we are all excited about starting this new challenge.”

For this project, Honda has formed a joint partnership with Mugen and J.A.S. Motorsport. Honda R&D is developing a bespoke racing engine, while Mugen will manufacture and maintain it. J.A.S. Motorsport will develop the race car, using the new Honda Civic 5 door produced in Honda’s manufacturing plant located in Swindon (UK).

The racing engine will be a 1.6 litre 4 cylinder direct injection turbo-charged petrol engine, developed in accordance with FIA’s Super 2000 regulations and different to the BTCC’s NGTC (Next Generation Touring Car) specification which Honda’s BTCC team have adopted for 2012.

Honda’s ambition is to join the WTCC as early as this season, with a string of “inaugural rounds”. Discussions are currently being held with the FIA, but these rounds would include Japan (held on 21 October 2012 at Honda’s Suzuka circuit), followed by China and Macau. Honda will then enter a two car team, managed by J.A.S. Motorsport, into every race in the 2013 championship season.

This activity is being run independently to the Honda Racing British Touring Car Championship winning team. Three-times BTCC Champion, Matt Neal and Gordon ‘Flash’ Shedden will be behind the wheel of the race-prepared Team Dynamics version of the new Civic and lining up on the grid at Brands Hatch on 1 April for the first race of the 2012 season.

Racing has always been a fundamental element of Honda’s DNA. In the late 1950s Honda first entered the Isle of man T.T and then Formula 1 in the 1960s. The FIA WTCC is the next chapter in Honda’s on-going commitment to world motor sport and provides a perfect platform to demonstrate its racing spirit to Honda’s numerous fans around the world.

If you’ve clicked on this post looking to enjoy the latest videos, then I suggest you visit ‘Super Bowl XLVI – The Greatest Automotive Ad Game on Earth’, where you can view each of the automotive ads vying for the top-spot at the Big Game this year.

Meanwhile, let’s take a quick look at how the automotive sector ads are doing, now that the dust has settled.

Can Volkswagen be beaten?

Last year Volkswagen destroyed the opposition at Super Bowl XLV and most importantly during the remainder of the advertising year. Their campaign, “The Force”, clocked up nearly 53 million views in less than 12 months and a record 4.8 million social shares.

They did this, not by producing the best advert (although it was fun to watch), but because they figured out how to game the attention of online audiences, drumming up initial buzz before the campaign started (something big is coming) and then feeding people’s innate appetite to share and be acknowledged (as a trusted finder) in their social groups.

The ad went viral in its first week and sustained the interest of audiences, primarily because the meme entered the vocabulary of parody writers, was picked up and used by other media campaigns (launch of the Hollywood-produced ‘Thor’ Film) and became the poster-child for combustion-engine haters Greenpeace in their anti-VW campaign, ‘The Dark Side’.

So did Volkswagen take on board the valuable lessons from 2011? And what about the other automotive brands?

Here’s a quick look at the points table to remind us where each of the campaigns have currently reached (all data was obtained from Unruly Media’s Viral Video Chart and valid as of 31/1/2012):

In 2012, Honda learns that if you can’t beat them… why not join them?

So far in 2012, Honda are the only automotive brand within spitting distance of Volkswagen, but even so, just look at their measly 2.95% shares per view figure compared to Volkswagen’s 6.10%. To put these into perspective, in our 2011 round-up we reported Ken Block/DC Shoes Gymkhana 4 achieved 16.3%, whilst Volkswagen’s ‘The Force’ reached 10.2%.

So as a benchmark we are looking for at least 1 in every 10 views (many of which will be repeat viewings) to result in the video being shared.

Whilst the share performance of Honda’s 2 videos looks modest compared to Volkswagen, the number of views is far closer. This tells us that the pre-launch mentions of Matthew Broderick’s involvement in the campaign, plus all the media speculation about a remake of the film, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, will have generated a considerable boost in search traffic, but so far viewers haven’t been quite delighted enough to share it as readily as they have VW’s Bark Side teaser.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment so far though, is for GM/Chevrolet.

When we tally up our estimates for the media spend by automotive brands in this year’s Super Bowl, we’re looking at $66.5 million for the TV spots alone (19 spots at a minimum of $3.5 million each), add on top of this the filming & production, fees for actors, brand licensing (Twilight, Star Wars, Rocky..), agency fees and online advertising costs and there can’t be much change left from $100 million, with perhaps $30 million of that total being carried by GM.

So they’ll not be best pleased to see their main feature spot trailing the field in 7th place, although they still have 4 more ads to try and recover the lost ground.

But perhaps the most intimidating observation to make is that Volkswagen have yet to launch their full commercial (which will feature the New Beetle), but it’s early days and the Big Game is still just under 5 days away..

Conclusion

There’s no doubt in my mind, that the success of advertising in today’s digital world depends on managing the shift from paid promotion through to the more sustainable journey in earned media. Whereas earned media used to cover just professional publishers and news providers, it now includes every single consumer who writes comments, blogs or just updates their Facebook page and is therefore publishing their opinions about a brand.

This is the heartland for innovative ad campaigns who seek to maximise the reach, sustainability and re-usability of their creative message and the most difficult change to embrace for ad agencies more used to influencing rather than engaging the audience.

We’ll draw out more insights from the 2012 Super Bowl Ad war once the game is over, but for now one can only imagine Volkswagen are rather pleased with the creative work of their agency Deutsch, LA.

Last year around 111 million people watched the event live on TV, making it the most-watched single broadcast in the history of U.S. television. So perhaps it’s no surprise that a prime-time 30 second ad spot sells for up to $3.5 million..

But you might be surprised to realise that the advertising war is fought, not between sporting goods or even soft drinks companies, instead it’s the big automotive brands who will slug it out for the audience’s attention.

Of the 35 ad spots announced thus far, 13 of them are for automotive brands including Honda America, Acura, Audi of America, Bridgestone Americas, Cars.com, Chrysler, General Motors (Chevy & Cadillac), Hyundai, Kia Motor, Lexus, Suzuki, Toyota and Volkswagen.

And let’s not forget that Super Bowl 46 is sponsored in its entirety by Chevrolet.

Isn’t this only relevant to U.S. viewers..?

The downstream value of advertising spend has changed a lot during the past decade, with the growth of online video platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo. Whilst the passive viewing figures of network TV look impressive at first glance, the real ‘meat’ of the campaign response happens online after the big game, where conversations and social sharing turn the spark of popularity into a viral phenomenon. Online is now the medium that reaps the long-run value from the huge TV spend on these campaigns.

Three of our Top 10 Most Shared Automotive Ads of 2011 were Super Bowl ads, with the most viral (Volkswagen’s ‘The Force’ commercial) owing its success purely due to its clever deployment in the week running up to Super Bowl 45.

So, Super Bowl month is a big deal for automotive advertisers not just in the U.S., but all around the world. During this period there is a huge increase in audience engagement as people talk about their favourite ads, and the attention is multiplied by the earned media coverage from publishers and social platforms.

However, in a straw poll taking during several conversations with agencies this morning, not one of those I spoke to were planning to take advantage by seeding their own campaigns into this perfect storm, either via hastag promotions or insight-driven search marketing. No wonder traditional display ad performance is at an all-time low..

Show me the money..

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the Super Bowl ads and teasers that have already broken cover online. There’s plenty more to come, so we’ll update this post as we receive them.

Acura “Jerry Seinfeld vs Jay Leno” NSX Big Game Commercial

If you don’t already know about one of America’s wealthiest funnyman, he’s also a HUGE car guy – mostly Porsche, but the 2015 Honda/Acura NSX would clearly suit him down to the ground.

The 60-second spot features comedian Jerry Seinfeld going to extreme lengths to bribe the man who holds the rights to buy the first 2015 Acura NSX supercar.

Honda confirmed at last month’s NAIAS Detroit auto show that the NSX will be built, so it remains to be seen who’ll manage to elbow their way to the front of the queue. I wouldn’t bet against Jerry Seinfeld.. unless of course J Leno wants it too.

Audi “Daylight”

With the Twilight series of vampire films continuing to excite audiences around the world, Audi have cleverly chosen to create a series of online commercials to promote the new LED headlights on the A7. Called “Daylight” (a subtle play on the film’s title), the series of five commercials portray Audi’s A7 when fitted with LED headlights as an accidental vampire slayer – “Something will take the lives of 25 vampires tonight. Hint: it won’t be a wooden stake”.

There’s also a social element to this campaign, which viewers can engage with at http://audiracethelight.com and win the prize of a trip to the Audi sportscar experience.

Bridgestone “Performance Balls and Puck”

Bridgestone Tyres (or Tires as written in the U.S.) have chosen an early April Fools theme for their Super Bowl ads this year. The sheer volume of videos within the campaign is more than all the rest of these brands put together – 17 at last count – but for the sake of brevity we’ll focus on the main Super Bowl 2012 teaser.

The ads present scenarios where the mild-mannered Bridgestone mega-minds (The Titans of Tread, The Rulers of Rubber..) put their tyre technologies to the test in an entirely new arena.. The sports world may never be the same again.

If you’d like to watch the other 16 videos, then head on over to SkiddPlayer’s Ads and Commercials channel or visit the Bridgestone Super Bowl Ads channel on YouTube.

Cadillac “Green Hell”

Cadillac’s 30-second Super Bowl spot is perhaps the most conventional of this year’s collection – over the past year Caddy have been developing their all-new ATS Saloon at Germany’s world-famous Nürburgring Nordschleife track and their Super Bowl spot simply brags about it being comparable with the world’s best – but if anyone disagrees, then just tell them to “..go to green hell.”

Cars.com

This is the ad that will be run by U.S. retailer cars.com during next weekend’s Super Bowl, which embraces the charitable goal of donating $1 to one of seven children’s charities for viewer’s who vote using the Shazam smartphone app. It’s a creepy ad featuring a two-headed customer in a car showroom, the smaller head sprouting from his shoulder representing his ‘confidence’ which has been coming out of him ever since he visited the cars.com website.

Chevrolet “Happy Grad”

In addition to their sponsorship of Super Bowl XLVI, Chevy are running three in-game TV commercials, two pre-game and two post-game. Together, of course, with online variations of this 60 second “Happy Grad” spot. In addition to the ad below, Chevy will also be running other campaigns in parallel, expected to generate 1.5-billion views during the 4-week campaign period. Not bad eh? But then again, it’s not going to be cheap.

“There’s 11 automakers advertising in the Super Bowl, so we had to figure out how we can make people laugh and make sure it’s entertaining enough to get out information from us – not just during the Super Bowl, but what do we do before, during and after,” said Chris Perry, Chevy’s VP Global Marketing and Strategy. Laugh? We nearly peed ourselves..

Honda: “Coming Soon” (Matthew Broderick returns in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)

This is all set to be an epic TV commercial as Honda pulls out the Hollywood big guns to promote the redesigned CR-V. The 10 second intro is explained by the following statement, “We hate to be such a tease, but on a day like today, we just have to. Stick it out until the Super Bowl, or take a “day off” on Monday and catch the big reveal.”

Anyone over the age of 30 will instantly recognise the catchy (chucka chucka) riff from the 1986 film, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and know that there’s trouble afoot. We can’t wait to see what happens next..

UPDATE: And here’s the full 2:25 commercial featuring Broderick and the CR-V. Honda have cast Matthew Broderick as himself, skipping out on a day of acting work and living it up in his all-new CR-V.

In Honda’s homage to the 1986 classic they have hidden over two dozen references to the movie throughout the commercial. Some are obvious, some are VERY subtle. They’re inviting you to submit the ones you find via Twitter using the hashtag #dayoff

Hyundai “Think Fast” , “All For One” and “Cheetah”

Hyundai are running three Super Bowl ads this year, although only two will run during the Big Game. The first promotes the Genesis Coupe, describing its 343 bhp engine as giving new meaning to the phrase “Heart Pounding Power”…

To illustrate just how effectively it works, the 30-second ad shows that it even has the power to revive a passenger suffering from sleep apnoea (or was that a heart attack?), who, in the middle of sharing his latest pearls of wisdom with the young padawan driver, loses consciousness.

Our Genesis Coupe R-Spec driver proceeds to use the coop’s strong brakes and acceleration to shake his boss back to consciousness, although on such a quiet open road, you do just wonder why he didn’t just stop the car and give the poor bloke some proper resuscitation.

The spirit captured in Hyundai’s second Super Bowl ad is a showcase of the company’s culture, portrayed in their very own rendition of the Rocky Theme Song. Employees from Hyundai’s Montgomery, Alabama plant provide a little vocal encouragement to one of their designers.

Hyundai’s third and final ad is called “Cheetah”, and shows the danger of working as a animal-handler in a dramatic race between the new 198 bhp Hyundai Veloster Turbo and a Cheetah.

The Veloster Turbo (which looks rather tasty by the way) leaves the Cheetah for dust, but in the Cheetah’s frustration the only thing left to chase is the animal handler – who is also rather tasty, at least from the Cheetah’s point of view..

Kia Super Bowl XLVI teaser with supermodel Adriana Lima

Adriana Lima does anything but put us to sleep, so it will be interesting to find out exactly how the tune, ‘Mr Sandman’, and a gorgeous supermodel feed into promoting the Kia Optima. Apparently the storyline depicts an “extreme dream sequence” after the Sandman accidentally spills a whole bag of magic dust on a sleeping couple.

The 60-second ad spot entitled “Drive the Dream,” features the new 2012 Optima Limited as it races through a Gen X couple’s wildest dreams, including: Victoria’s Secret Angel Adriana Lima waving the checkered flag at a speedway; an in-your-face Mötley Crüe concert; mixed martial arts legend Chuck Liddell battling in the ring; a heroine and hunk on horseback in a romance novel setting; champion bull rider Judd Leffew taming a bucking rhinoceros; and a fairy tale ending.

The full extended-version of the ad will be available here on SkiddMark from February 2.

Lexus Superbowl Ad “The Beast” introducing the All-New 2013 GS

Lexus is making its first Super Bowl appearance to promote the 2013 GS, which hits US showrooms next month. The 15-second teaser depicts a powerful entity caged in a transportation container with the message, “The Next Generation of Lexus, cannot be contained”.

Update (31/1): Earlier this evening Lexus revealed their full 30-second spot, but unlike other brands it simply promotes the new GS saloon, unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show last September, with a closing promise that “..this is just a glimpse of what Lexus has in store for 2012.”

In the context of such strong competition this year, it’s a weak first-attempt without any story or a reason to share socially. Given the premium being charged for TV advertising during the Super Bowl, it’s difficult to see why Lexus chose to enter the race with this effort.

Suzuki “Sled” 2012 Super Bowl Ad

American Suzuki Motor Corporation will once again advertise during the Super Bowl with an all-new television commercial called “Sled”, highlighting the car maker’s all-wheel-drive 2012 Suzuki Kizashi sport saloon. The music used in the ad is “Party Still Jumpin” created by Ben Kahle and stars two actual Intuit Eskimos from Alaska. Filmed on Canada’s frozen Spray Lake on the outskirts of Canmore, Alberta the ad was shot in one day.

Toyota “It’s Reinvented! — Toyota Camry”

Toyota takes a light-hearted look at day-to-day experiences and items that could have been reinvented (like its all-new Camry saloon), such as a baby that never requires a nappy change, the Department of Motor Vehicles being an enjoyable place of fun and games, and house plants that defend against intruders by fighting crime.

The premise of the spot is that good things are always better when reinvented; and in this case, they are also funnier. The ad represents Toyota’s return to Super Bowl advertising after a 3-year hiatus. Just like Honda’s ad, Toyota have included a social element within their Super Bowl campaign, which will kick-off directly after the commercial is broadcast during the third quarter of the game.

Viewers will be encouraged to tweet with the #Reinvented hashtag about what they’d like to see reinvented and selected tweets will be responded to in real-time with a creative depiction of their idea. Sounds fun (if you’re in the US…)

Volkswagen “Bark Side”

Volkswagen were the undisputed ‘kings’ of Super Bowl XLV last year with their contagiously popular “Dark Side” commercial. Their tally of 4.8 million social shares represented a new record for branded video campaigns, and they’ve come out fighting in 2012 by featuring dogs in the pre-game teaser. Called “Bark Side”, the canine chorus barks a familiar tune and will be used to promote the new VW Beetle.

And there’s a strong social element to this year’s campaign with their “Intergalactic Invite” – http://web.vw.com/star-wars-invite/ and following star wars themed introduction;

“Pretty soon, in a neighbourhood not very far, far away…

Episode XLVI

BACK. AND BETTER THAN EVER.

Tensions rise in the galaxy as the Big Game approaches. An entire planet’s population waits for the invitation to feast on nachos, cheer on their team, and watch the legendary battle unfold. Little do the earthlings know that you, young Jedi, have already begun the quest to host the Big Game Party. You are about to create an INTERGALACTIC INVITE and save the galaxy from ultimate Game Day doom.

A year ago, you witnessed the power of a pint-size Lord of the Dark Side. This year, witness the power of a new Force. Volkswagen is back and better than ever…”

Credits: Several sources were used in compiling this article which I would like to acknowledge – Unruly Media’s Viral Video Chart, Adage, AutoAdOpolis and of course SkiddPlayer.

Gallery

Needless to say, although I’ll do so anyway, please don’t try this at home, or if you do, don’t coming crying to us afterwards. Right, sensible statement out of the way, let’s take a look at the stunts.

Our first ad was created to promote Honda’s “In and Out” plan, which lets swap your old car for a new one. The agency, villarrosas of Barcelona uses the Parkour choreography to symbolise how ‘easy’ the changeover can be. Surprisingly the scene was filmed without any CGI or editing tricks – they really did jump into the Honda CR-V that quickly.

If you’re impressed with Honda’s new ad, then wait until you see some of the ads which provided the inspiration. They’re pretty clever, although I can’t imagine any of the brands sold more products as a result. But hey, this is advertising and advertising is the new entertainment.

Honda CR-V. Plan In & Out commercial

Honda Spain’s new TV spot called “Plan In & Out”, promotes a new scheme to help customers swap their old car for a new one.

Honda CR-V. Making Of Anuncio Plan In & Out

Watch and learn, then maybe you could try it out. Maybe not.

The inspiration

BMW. Jump for Joy. Part 2

Looking at a BMW, your heart starts jumping for Joy. But sometimes it’s not just the heart. Watch some amazing ways to take a seat in a BMW, but don’t try this at home.

NFL Fantasy Files: Laurence Maroney

Patriots RB Laurence Maroney can fit through any tight spot. You need him on your fantasy team.

Nike MVPuppets “Car Jump”

Nike presents the MVPs (Most Valuable Puppets). The roommate puppet versions of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant get competitive in this campaign for the NBA Playoffs.

Kobe Bryant jumps a speeding Aston Martin

The original viral ad for Nike, featuring Kobe Bryant leaping over an accelerating Aston Martin Vantage Roadster.

Many people, far more knowledgeable than I, have written some moving tributes to the driver, father, husband and friend who passed away in the 15-car pileup at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last night. Rather than add to these, I thought I’d share links to some of my favourites, together with a statement from BRDC President, Derek Warwick, which was released a short time ago.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those Dan left behind, his wife Susie and their two children, Sebastian (aged 2) and Oliver, born in March this year. Motor racing can be such a cruel sport, especially on those who sacrifice the most.

Many newspaper articles this morning have been reflecting on the fact that motorsport is dangerous and whilst there are always improvements to be made to both the cars and tracks, perhaps it would be more fitting to remind ourselves at this moment of the more empowering truth, that life is precious.

A very touching tribute to a champion. INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard announces the passing of Dan Wheldon and drivers take to the track with a five-lap tribute.

A statement by the President of the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC), Derek Warwick

Dan Wheldon: 22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011.

On behalf of the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC), I wish to extend my sincere sympathies to Dan’s wife Susie and their boys Sebastian and Oliver, as well as the rest of his family and his team following the tragic news of his death in a racing accident yesterday at Las Vegas in the final Indy Car Series round of the year.

The BRDC is extremely proud of Dan and all that he achieved and was achieving in the United States. He was undoubtedly one of the great talents of his generation as his racing results testified. Two victories in the Indy 500 put him in a very select group of drivers and having won the Rookie of the Year honours in 2003 it was no surprise that he should win the Indy Car Championship in 2005. Dan followed this in 2006 by winning the BRDC Gold Star, beating the likes of Jenson Button, Mark Webber, David Coulthard and Dario Franchitti to this coveted award.

Dan was a true professional and a great ambassador for the sport. He was highly focused in the way he approached his racing and a real perfectionist. He pushed himself, and those he worked with, hard to produce results that were worthy of his talents and that fed his insatiable hunger to win. With his film-star good looks and athletic prowess, it was no wonder that the American public took him to their hearts.

In the BRDC we will remember Dan as a great racing driver who was very much involved with the Club and our circuit at Silverstone during the formative years of his career. Dan was, for many years, part of the BRDC ‘Rising Stars’ young driver programme. So proud of this recognition was he, that even after qualifying to be a Full Member of the BRDC he chose to remain a Rising Star, as he felt it represented what he was and helped the Indy Car world understand where he was set on going; to the very top. As a young driver Dan was also a finalist in the McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year Award on two occasions, which was proof, if it was needed, that great things lay ahead of him.

When Dan did eventually become a Full Member of the BRDC he commented at the time, “To be included in a group of such great names makes me feel very special. I will do everything that I can to represent the BRDC in a way that makes you all very proud.”

Dan Wheldon was a great ambassador for the BRDC and motor sport generally. He will be hugely missed.

Derek Warwick
President
British Racing Drivers’ Club

Recommended Links

There have been many moving reflections and tributes published this morning, here are just a few of the ones which struck a chord with my own thoughts:

• Marcus Simmons (Autosport): Dan Wheldon: 1978 – 2011
• SPEED.com:PRUETT – Danny Boy
• Bright House Sports Network: Racing’s great loss: St. Petersburg’s Wheldon was a gregarious spirit
• Joe Saward’s Blog: The day after..
• BBC Sport: F1 stars pay tribute to Wheldon