This year's Super Bowl theme: shoot (your spot) first, apologize later. Following the post-game apology from Groupon for its Super Bowl spot, HomeAway is taking steps to make amends.

After some viewers objected to HomeAway's fake "test baby" handling in its spot, its website was update today with the following message: "We're happy to report that the animatronic baby featured in our commercial has been reassembled and is currently relaxing in a spacious vacation rental."

On a more serious note, HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples today released a statement to apologize to any offended viewers.Continue reading...

“It makes Groupon seem somewhat insensitive as a company,” comments Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., to the New York Times. "It might have done quite a bit of damage."

Yes, the fallout continues from Groupon's first Super Bowl TV campaign, which spoofed brands that hire celebs to promote noble causes — by hiring celebs to mock noble causes while promoting actual causes onine, a hand-off that not only dropped the ball but bruised the brand.

Groupon CEO Andrew Mason posted an explanation on his corporate blog yesterday that concluded, "The last thing we wanted was to offend our customers — it’s bad business and it’s not where our hearts are."

It's worth reading as a case study in the perils of humorous marketing, even at the theater of the outrageous that is Super Bowl advertising, particularly when it comes to cause-related marketing.

Record numbers of viewers for Super Bowl XLV (111 million, as Nielsen reports, a decisive victory for the enduring power of TV as a branding and marketing medium) makes last night's big game the most-watched TV event in US history.

So advertisers certainly got their money's worth in terms of reach and exposure — at least those brand marketers whose spots stood on a very crowded field this year.

The best of the pack this year?Continue reading...

Groupon made a splash with its Super Bowl debut last night: a trio of spots that spoofed, mildly, pro-social causes such as saving endangered whales (featuring Cuba Gooding Jr.), the Brazilian rainforests (a CGI-imposed Elizabeth Hurley) and Tibet (Timothy Hutton).

Of course, any mocking (however gentle) of good causes, and transferring "saving" an imperiled precious resource with "saving" money on goods and services via social-based group purchasing runs the risk of crossing a line — which this campaign, created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, appeared to do with many viewers.

The kick-off to the brand's Save the Money campaign was accused of being insensitive to social causes — the roots of the brand's origins — while the spot featuring Hutton caused the biggest backlash, landing the lowest score and social sentiment on the Brand Bowl Super Bowl social media tracker.Continue reading...

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...

Apple iPhone pre-sales prompts Verizon to curtail users' bandwidth for video.

CNN ratings rise on Egypt coverage and attack on Anderson Cooper — one of numerous attacks on the press in Cairo.

Conde Nast-owned Reddit passes one billion pageviews (and rival Digg).

Facebook used to rally Syrians to Egyptian-like 'revolution.'

JPMorgan sued for allegedly warning UK officials about Madoff Ponzi scheme.

LinkedIn enables sorting members by skill and expertise.

LivingSocial looks to counter Groupon with pre-Super Bowl ad buy.Continue reading...

Apple tightens reins with iTunes store.

Dow Chemical profit nearly triples on rising economic tides. 

Estee Lauder hails the return of the aspirational shopper. 

Mastercard profits from uptick in consumer spending and e-payments.

News Corp. unveils healthy profits despite MySpace woes.

Google opens Android web store.

Groupon snags last-minute Super Bowl ad time as big game ad slots shift players. (Don't miss our sneak peek at this year's ads.)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...