Brand Bowl 2010

It had to happen.

Twitter is now being used as a mechanism to allow fans to talk about their favorite Super Bowl commercials from this Sunday’s game. You can go to http://brandbowl2010.com to vote—there you’ll find a one-page site which allows you to tweet about the various commercials as well as read real-time reactions to the spots from other consumers.

The site will rank the brands—not the individual ads—running during the game within minutes of their air time.

In years past, advertisers would wait anxiously to read the next day’s USA Today Ad Meter story on the Super Bowl advertising winners and losers. And, other media forums would weigh in with the same consumer and/or opinion data. With brandbowl2010.com, there’s no need to wait—advertisers, the press and consumers will know, real time, reactions to this advertising and the millions of dollars invested to make it happen.

It's G!

Rumor has it that execs at PepsiCo Inc. aren't thrilled with the work that TBWA\Chiat\Day is doing on their behalf for G (Gatorade.)

Really? Last time I checked, Chiat Day weren't the ones responsible for the questionable (that's being kind) decision to change the branding from Gatorade to G.

And, in other Gatorade news, local agency VML recently picked up all of the beverage marketer's digital business.

T.G.I.F. musings

- What's the over-under on how many songs The Who will play on Sunday at the Super Bowl halftime show? The band has 12 minutes of performance time, so my prediction is that they'll start with "I Can't Explain," their usual concert opener, followed by "Who Are You" and end with "Won't Get Fooled Again." Look for "Pinball Wizard," "Baba O'Riley" or perhaps a little "My Generation" (my upset pick) as the fourth song of the set. It'll have to be a medley similar to what we've seen recently from Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

- Is it just coincidence that The Who, whose songs appear on the CSI franchise, are appearing on a Super Bowl broadcast by CBS? Yes, the CSI shows are also shown on CBS.

- And, speaking of Super Bowl halftime acts, much is being written about the octogenarian twosome of Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey following fellow classic rockers Springsteen, Petty, the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney as headliners at the Super Bowl since the 2004 "wardrobe malfunction" incident. Even Prince, in 2007, is pushing the aging rocker/R&B-er envelope. So, my question is, who, of more recent vintage, is worthy of Super Bowl halftime status? The Black Eyed Peas? The Peas opened this past summer for U2--the same U2 who played the Super Bowl back in 2002. And, Fergie and company headlined this season's kickoff show for the NFL, affirming that the Peas aren't quite SB halftime worthy just yet. How about the Dave Matthews Band? Not a bad pick but I'm not sure that DMB has the verve, or broad appeal, to get a halftime crowd, at America's biggest annual sporting event, juiced up. Lady GaGa? Uh, really? I'm not sure how the Lady would appeal to the corporate suits who frequent the SB. Let's face it--classic rockers will likely continue to be the choice given their ability to appeal to a broad audience, even if a portion of the audience only knows their work as background for high viewership television shows.

- In case you missed it, Samantha Harris, co-host of Dancing With the Stars, has announced that she is leaving the show to focus on other projects. In an online poll, viewers were asked to name an ex-contestant who would do a good job succeeding Harris. Kelly Osbourne won the straw poll followed by Shawn Johnson and Lisa Rinna. Really? Have people quickly forgotten...Brooke Burke!?

New McDonald's Super Bowl spot

Remember the classic commercial for McDonald's starring Michael Jordan and Larry Bird? This spot is always on any "best Super Bowl commercials" list given its entertainment value in pairing the two NBA superstars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oACRt-Qp-s

The fast food marketer is at it again, joining together LeBron James and Dwight Howard--two modern-day NBA stars--in its latest Super Bowl offering, which will air in the Sunday pre-game show on CBS. However, the road to get to this commercial has been circuitous, at best.

In 2007, rumor had it that McDonalds was in talks with James and fellow star Dwayne Wade to appear in the spot together. And, CMO Bill Lamar engaged with TBWA\Chiat\Day and creative guru Lee Clow on how best to brand and produce the new spot.

Fast forward three years, and a new CMO, ad agency and NBA co-star later, McDonalds finally has its next version of the iconic spot.

Here's a sneak peek:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIVQaKfX3CQ

Public feuds

It's been a busy few days for public feuds which, in some cases, have caused backtracking by those involved:

- University of Kentucky basketball phenom John Wall stated he wasn't "having any fun" after UK's big win over Vanderbilt this past weekend. He also stated he "tried not to listen" to head coach John Calipari. Wall has since recanted his statements, saying he was misquoted and that he "loves" his head coach.

- Scott McCarron said that he thinks it's cheating for Phil Mickelson, or any other PGA Tour golfer, to use Ping Eye 2 wedges (with square grooves) at tour events. McCarron now says that he stands by his statement but that he didn't say that "Mickelson cheats." Splitting hairs or not, Mickelson says he was "publicly slandered" and suggests that he may pursue legal action, if the PGA Tour does not respond to McCarron's charges.

- Andrew Young, former aide to John Edwards, has been a ubiquitous presence on ABC news programs over the past few days, promoting his book and throwing Edwards under the news media bus in the process.

- Taylor Swift performed on one too many awards shows. Critics are now--finally--calling her out after her performance with Stevie Nicks on the Sunday night telecast of The Grammy Awards. Kansas City Star critic, Timothy Finn, wrote, "her (Swift's) performance...was worse than bad karaoke."

- Conan versus Jay versus Dave. I won't even begin to recount the litany of jokes, jibes and overall snarky behavior which has been pervasive in late night television over the past few weeks.

CBS reports a Super Bowl sellout

All of CBS' advertising units for the Super Bowl this Sunday are sold, according to the network.

In 2007, CBS' last time with the Super Bowl, the advertising time wasn't sold out until a couple of days prior to kickoff, so network executives are pleased with this year's results.

The U.S. economy has a huge impact on the success of network sales efforts. In 2008, FOX was sold out of Super Bowl inventory by October 2007. The advance sales were indicative of a strong economy. For 2009, NBC started out strong but ended up having to practically beg advertisers to participate given the economic downturn which hit a few weeks prior to last year's Super Bowl.

CBS' approach, over the past several months, of trying to create customized packages for advertisers has paid off. Rather than go out with an announced firm price, CBS chose to publicly state its desire to work with advertisers on the right package and price. (As previously reported, CBS has been seeking $2.5-3.0 million for a 30-second commercial in the game broadcast.)

If you're still interested, CBS does acknowledge having pre-game inventory still up for sale. However, many of the half-hour blocks leading up to the game have title sponsors, thus causing hesitancy among some advertisers who may still be interested.

24

Once again, for as terrific as 24 can be, we have the goofy storyline which invades the main core of the overall story. This year it's the CTU agent, at headquarters, who has the mysterious past about to be revealed by her ex-boyfriend/partner in crime who has tracked her down in New York.

Past seasons have, more often than not, had Jack Bauer's daughter, Kim, at the center of the off-kilter story angle. This year, it's something new...but, keep the faith dear viewers--Kim was a part of the first episode this year and could return at any time.

Taylor Swift redux

Finally, someone who is owning up to the fact that Taylor Swift's live performances leave much to be desired:

http://www.popeater.com/2010/02/01/taylor-swift-grammys/?icid=main|main|dl2|link3|http://www.popeater.com/2010/02/01/taylor-swift-grammys/

Sign of the recovery?

Power & Motoryacht magazine had a 42.9% increase in advertising pages, February 2010 to February 2009. People must be buying yachts and high-end boats, right?

Before you get too excited that this is a leading indicator of an economic recovery, contrast the fact that Yachting magazine is down 19.1%, year over year, and Cruising World is down 17.5%.

Taylor Swift

I've watched her win award after award, whether at the American Music Awards, the Country Music Association awards, or at last night's Grammy Awards. And, finally, I'm going to just say it--I don't get the fascination with Taylor Swift.

Yes, she seems like a very nice young lady--someone who is genuine and, at least on the surface, not jaded by her recent success and recognition. I also can understand why she thus gets plenty of fan-awarded recognition. I understand that she became a darling of the American public after being victimized, on stage, by Kanye West. But, the critical acclaim? Why?

Swift's voice is, candidly, not good. Her Grammy duet with rock icon Stevie Nicks last night was downright embarrassing. Say what you want about Nicks--the witchcraft thing, the soap-operatic life as a member of Fleetwood Mac--but the woman can sing. Nicks has a voice that was distinctive as a 20-something and is distinctive now. Swift, on the other hand, sounds like a high school singer trying to use her too soft, breathy voice on a stage where it can't compete.

As a lyricist, Swift writes songs which appeal to a youngish female audience. But, again, I'm hard-pressed to understand why critics find these lyrics so worthy of acclaim when compared to lyrics from others in her genre.

I'm freely admitting that "I don't get it" and am looking for guidance by those who do. What's the big deal here?