"Brotherhood," Budweiser's 2013 Super Bowl ad, was among those which stood out among rather routine fare.

Super Bowl ads (the complete list) this year provided few gems, according to an emerging consensus of industry professionals.

Many were deemed lame or even confusing, and generally considered ineffective and off-brand. Several brands seemed to suffer rather than benefit from the frenzy of sneak peeks and full-commercial reveals in this year's rush for pre-Game exposure and social buzz.

This late in the game, General Motors isn't about to change its game plan for the Super Bowl: no ads during the game this time. But you can be sure GM marketing executives are planning to do everything but advertise during the Big Game.

In fact, GM is happy to stoke speculation about what exactly how it might be planning to hop on the Super Bowl bandwagon without actually running a commercial during the competition, a promise that former CMO Joel Ewanick made last spring before his departure — and one which, for whatever reasons, the company has kept. Some observers believe that GM could be planning to take a page from Pizza Hut with some sort of integration of its brands or products into the pre-game show on CBS. According to the Detroit News, GM has worked out a presence for the Chevrolet Corvette around the Pepsi-sponsored halftime show featuring Beyonce, who's been busy defending, rehearsing and promoting the halftime show. Chevy, meanwhile, quietly slipped a 2014 Corvette Stingray commercial onto its YouTube channel late last month.

In other late-breaking Super Bowl branding moves, the latest move in the Cola Wars (which has already seen SodaStream swatted by CBS): PepsiCo's Pepsi Next brand tweak Coca-Cola's Coke Chase Game Day campaign (with a hand from the wags at Funny or Die) above—and below, Coca-Cola's responses released online today.Continue reading...

Axe extends "Susan Glenn" campaign to webisodes.

Discovery enjoys spoils of another successful "Shark Week."

E-trade doesn't threaten talking-baby ads with management shakeup.

Groupon sees marquee investors head for the exits.

Huffington Post assesses first week of live TV.

Louisville Slugger pitches to women in new campaign.

McDonald's creates social-media success in Canada.

comScore has been polling major brands such as Best Buy (see above) about their biggest concerns when it comes to digital marketing. Their biggest concern is how to ensure effectiveness: where their ads delivered in-view, to the right target audience, in the right geography, in a brand-safe environment and absent of fraudulent delivery?

It's an issue the research firm addresses in a new white paper, released this week to support its Validated Campaign Essentials offering to validate digital campaign delivery.Continue reading...

As the world's biggest stage for marketers, we'd have to give Super Bowl XLVI, generously, a B-minus. While the game was compellingly competitive right until the last play, and Madonna acquitted herself pretty well for a 53-year-old halftime-show attraction, America's brand marketers barely held up their end of the extravaganza.

For one thing, there was no genuine stand-up-and-cheer advertising moment during NBC's telecast as there was last year, in Chrysler's spot featuring Eminem and its new Chrysler 200 "Imported from Detroit," although Clint Eastwood was a worthy successor.

In fact, stand-out moments in the ads were almost non-existent; the humor that carried most of the ads didn't come close to an outbreak of hilarity; and a few spots manifested jump-the-shark syndrome, such as an NBC promo that cameoed Betty White.Continue reading...

Just when it seemed that almost every Super Bowl ad already had been revealed or teased, brand marketers' buzz machines continue revving up. GM is promoting their Super Bowl XLVI spots on Chevy's YouTube channel — including talking insects on a Chevy Sonic and Volt-enchanted aliens, which you can watch below — with YouTube-only clips with Rainn Wilson encouraging fans to share, engage and vote for their favorite spots.Continue reading...

The rules of Super Bowl advertising have changed — it's no longer about the surprise of debuting your spot during the Big Game, but about seeding buzz through viral sneak peeks (or the entire spot) on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

Brands are eager for a "halo effect," adding to a record tide of early "reveals" of Super Bowl ads and related content. So with that in mind, here is the latest crop of sneak peeks at the commercials you'll see on Super Bowl Sunday, starting with CareerBuilder's crazy office chimpanzees at top.

Skechers also released a teaser for its Super Bowl XLVI spot, which will air just before the two-minute warning at the end of the first half and spoofs its underdog status with a dog — a sneaker-wearing French bulldog, to be exact.Continue reading...

Victoria's Secret has been nominated as one of the top 10 brands on CBS's Greatest Super Bowl Commercials, and it's asking fans to vote at cbs.com/superbowl by January 31st — and then tune in on February 1st to see if Victoria's Secret won as Best Brand, and vote live for your favorite commercial. Other brands in the running include Bud Light, Budweiser, Careerbuilder.com, Coke, Doritos, E-Trade, FedEx, GoDaddy, and Pepsi.