Super Bowl XLV goes to the Green Bay Packers over the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-25. Game advertisers including Chrysler, Volkswagen, PepsiCo, Best Buy, CareerBuilder and Bridgestone also win, scoring well with consumers, while WSJ finds "many ads fail to score." Americana reigned supreme on the world’s biggest marketing stage, and Detroit — whose native son Eminem also staged a comeback, appearing in two ads. Meanwhile, Groupon faces questions of whether its first Super Bowl debut crossed a line and thwarted its cause-related marketing goals. And restaurant chains ponder the impact of having sat out Super Bowl advertising this year.

AOL is acquiring Huffington Post for $315 million.  

AutoNation seeks more U.S.-brand dealerships.

Disney raises eyebrows by marketing to newborns.Continue reading...

• Smart. Funny. Perfectly on-brand. This Australian Slurpee commercial, above, is inspiring.

• MAC launches Wonder Woman makeup collection.

• The Onion: "Iams Executives Scrambling To Figure Out Why Brand Is Losing 2- To 4-Year-Old Chocolate Labs"Continue reading...

While Gap North America is hustling to salvage the fall-out from its logo debacle and disappointing holiday sales, its China management team is pushing ahead with phase 2 of its Let's GAP Together campaign in the region.

Having entered the China market last year, Gap's local marketing campaign pairs creative individuals from China and the US who represent creative freedom, optimism, style and individuality.

American photography icon Annie Leibovitz shot Gap's China campaign, and even appears in one image with Hong Kong’s Wing Shya. Usher is paired with Taiwanese Mando-pop star Jolin Tsai; Hong Kong director Johnny To is paired with Hollywood director Barry Levinson.Continue reading...

In the wake of Gap's fourth quarter logo fiasco and disappointing holiday campaign (and another PR disaster), Gap Inc. chairman and CEO Glenn Murphy yesterday ousted 24-year veteran Marka Hansen as its North American president.

Not wasting any time, Murphy today announced that Art Peck, the former Boston Consulting Group exec running Gap's corporate strategy and retail outlets, will take over immediately as the brand's North American head.

Peck's promotion was just one of "a series of significant management and organizational changes at Gap brand designed to drive more consistent results in North America and to provide a new and dynamic creative leadership structure that will deliver sustainable global growth."

Murphy also announced a new global CMO, Seth Farbman; agency (Ogilvy & Mather, which Farbman is leaving to join Gap Inc.); Global Creative Center; and focus on New York as the epicenter of the San Francisco-born brand.Continue reading...

ABC loads up on high-profile drama pilots. 

Amazon is reportedly developing a subscription web video service to take on Netflix.

BMW, Peugeot form joint venture for developing hybrid technology.

BP faces US inquiry on alleged gas market manipulation.

Cold Stone Creamery adds hot desserts. 

Fox boosts promotion of its own shows during Super Bowl. 

Gap names new CMO, North American head and agency.

Google will demo Android Honeycomb today; outgoing CEO, Eric Schmidt, weighs book offers.Continue reading...

American Apparel gets credit waiver from lenders. 

Borders may file for bankruptcy as soon as next week.

BP is underpaying claims, Mississippi charges, as court halts Rosneft talks; new CEO Bob Dudley still seen as bold risk-taker.

Citi seizes control of EMI, paving way for sale.

Comcast and Time Warner Cable sign streaming content pact.

Dow and S&P 500 close at highest level since June 2008.Continue reading...

Al Jazeera, which has stood out during the Egyptian crisis, plans to renew its efforts to be carried in the US. Egypt's "March of millions" is underway, with last ISP shuttered.

Amazon could get a sales-tax benefit from the U.S. Supreme Court.

Apple moves to tighten its control of apps store.

BP reports $5 billion loss, puts US refineries up for sale, and faces long road with its safety drive.

Chrysler will pay employees a performance bonus.

Gap’s North American president, Marka Hansen, to leave. 

GM will give its Facebook fans a sneak peek at its Super Bowl spots, including major push for Chevrolet, on Friday.Continue reading...

Amazon's one-day deal with LivingSocial blows Gap's Groupon deal out of the water.

AOL (whose content strategy is profiled in this week's New Yorker) launches iPad-exclusive Editions digital magazine.

Esquire promotion with struggling Barnes & Noble brings model Brooklyn Decker virtually (via an iPhone app) to stores.

Goldman Sachs quarterly profit drops 53%.

Jimmy Choo to launch men's line (online only) in July.

McDonald's signs on as lead sponsor of the NHL.

Michael Jackson to be immortalized as French perfume.Continue reading...