The New Media Sphere

Clever Gags Score High On Super Bowl Ads

New Media Strategies Inc., an online intelligence company based Arlington Va., that tracks online buzz and blog activity, says ads getting the most positive buzz online during the game included Sprint's "crime deterrent" spot and Bud Light's secret fridge commercial. Via WSJ

Super Bowl ads play it safe

Link: Entertainment News Article | Reuters.co.uk.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Warning. Starring in a Super Bowl commercial can be more bruising than playing in U.S. television's most-watched event. Among the slapstick offerings in the football championship on Sunday, a dinosaur crushed a caveman, a husband fell through a roof, a doctor appeared to kill a patient, and a man was beaten up by a cell phone. And monkeys are always good for a safe laugh as Internet job search company CareerBuilder.com demonstrated for a second year. An early straw poll gave the thumbs-up to two ads from Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., said Pete Snyder, CEO of New Media Strategies, which monitors Internet blogs. In one, three men hide a beer-stocked fridge; in the other, a sheep streaks across a football game between the firm's Clydesdales mascots. The falling husband was another of Anheuser-Busch's spots. The beer company had about 10 overall. Also scoring well, according to Snyder, was a Sprint Nextel Corp ad in which a phone is tossed at a man to prove that "crime deterrent" is one of its many features. On the other hand, guffaws greeted the spot for Gillette's five-blade Fusion razor, Snyder said. The Procter & Gamble Co. unit's sci fi-oriented ad boasted earnest scientists extolling "the miracle of fusion."  Via Reuters

Some Successes, Some Failures in Super Bowl Ad Integration

Link: Some Successes, Some Failures in Super Bowl Ad Integration.

With recent studies showing a sharp increase in the number of people who simultaneously watch television and surf the Web, it was perhaps unsurprising that many Super Bowl advertisers also sought to make an impact on the Web. Most successful in generating an online buzz, experts say, were online concerns like GoDaddy and CareerBuilder.

GoDaddy Turns to Web After Fox Pulls Ad

Link: MediaPost Publications Home of MediaDailyNews, MEDIA and OMMA Magazines.

PROVING ONCE AGAIN THAT CONTROVERSY can be a boost to marketing, GoDaddy used the Internet to parlay an ad censored by the NFL into big post-game buzz. GoDaddy bought one spot in the first half and another in the second, but the NFL reportedly convinced Fox to withdraw the second ad mid-game, after the first one ran. The ad featured a buxom spokeswoman in a tank top, who nearly suffers a wardrobe malfunction while testifying before a Congressional panel about what she would be doing on her proposed ad.

Bloggers on Super Bowl buzz watch

Link: Internet Daily: Bloggers on Super Bowl buzz watch - Advertising - Airlines - Electronic commerce - Entertainment and Leisure - Internet Services - Internet Software - Media - Mobile phones - Retail - Travel - Wireless Technologies - Transportation - Internet - Wireless - General.

Intelliseek Inc. of Cincinnati and New Media Strategies of Arlington, Va., have lined up dozens of people to surf Web sites, blogs and message boards to get a fast read on the effectiveness and popularity of marketers' commercials. With TV costing as much as $2.4 million for a 30-second spot, companies want to know whether their money was spent wisely.

Few Super Bowl Ads Stand Out From Formulaic Fare

Link: Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage.

In a spoof of the right formula for a Super Bowl ad, FedEx Corp. called this year's battle of television commercials long before results came in for the actual championship football game. Top advertisers on U.S. television's most watched, and expensive, event returned to tried and tested gimmicks during Sunday's broadcast after an indecency scandal during last year's game put marketers under greater scrutiny. Watched by more than 144 million viewers in the United States last year, the Super Bowl is the nation's highest-rated TV program and the most-watched single-day sporting event. It is the biggest stage for advertisers and their agencies, where they vie for the title of most memorable or entertaining commercial. This year, TV network Fox sold 30-second spots for up to $2.4 million each.

Monkey business for Super Bowl ads

Link: Monkey business for Super Bowl ads | CNET News.com.

Top advertisers on U.S. television's most watched, and most expensive, event returned to tried and tested gimmicks during Sunday's broadcast after an indecency scandal during last year's game put marketers under greater scrutiny . . . "McDonald's is probably one of the biggest misses," said Pete Snyder, CEO of New Media Strategies which monitored Internet blogs and viewer traffic to Super Bowl ad sites. "Often the test is not only what people are saying, but when they're not talking about it at all."

Final score: Sex 26, Sports 25

Link: ESPN.com: Page 2 - Final score: Sex 26, Sports 25.

No Kobe. No Calvin. No Colorado. We've had enough of those stories. But the Sex Desk at Page 2 is the hub for global news on sex and sports; while other news outlets cut back on international coverage, we enhanced it, spanning this big blue ball from Norway to New Zealand, Canada to Croatia, Illinois to Italy, Charlotte to Czechoslovakia.

Ilias Iliadis: What It's All About For Me

In the interest of safety and efficiency, the IOC (International Olympic
Committee) provides shuttle buses for all of us to travel between the venues and our housing. Well, apparently, when Iliadis was leaving Liossia Olympic stadium to return to his room he was one of the last people to get on the bus crowded with Olympic employees and fellow athletes. Without a word, the entire bus broke out in enthusiastic applause. A spontaneous recognition of great individual achievement from his peers and fans. Ilias smiled, sat down and nothing else was said. Pure, sincere, humble, and proud -- for me, what the games are all about. USA All The Way - Our Athens Summer Olympics Blog: Ilias Iliadis: What It's All About For Me

USA All The Way is a Kickin' Olympics Blog

If you want to laugh out loud and really enjoy an alternative view of the Athens Summer Olympics, check out USA All The Way where Luke Smith and his friends come together to talk about the games, the athletes, and the culture of being an American and being a fan of the Olympic Games.