Advertising slots during this year's Academy Awards telecast on ABC have sold out. But just as last year, advertising rules apply, meaning "marketers still have to make sure certain ads featuring celebrities or celebrity voice-overs don't run near segments of the program that could feature those very same stars."

Last year, the prominent example of this rule in action was best actor nominee Jeff Bridges and his voiceover work for Oscar advertiser Hyundai (above).

This year, Bridges is the most prominent nominee to lend his talent to the, ahem, commercial sector. But he's far from the only one.

The nominees for Best Work in a Commercial Campaign (TV or Print) are:Continue reading...

Super Bowl XLV posts record TV audience to become most-watched TV broadcast in US history. Chrysler's Super Bowl ad continues to reverberate as Volkswagen ponders what it’s actually getting out of buzz around “Little Vader” ad. Papa John’s keeps Super Bowl pizza mojo going with game-related promotions.

AOL's merger with Huffington Post is being closely watched as media/web bellwether.

British Airways projects pact with American Airlines will boost revenues.

Chipotle comes under immigration scrutiny for workers. 

Coca-Cola releases sustainability report.

Current TV, Al Gore’s outfit, expected to pick up Keith Olbermann.Continue reading...

Super Bowl XLV was a record-breaking platform for some brand marketers.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of mediocre advertisements among the five dozen national spots that appeared between kickoff of the Super Bowl and the game’s end.

The overall entertainment level and presumed effectiveness of the event's body of work was below par.

But several spots and brands sank even beneath that low mean. Here they are, in one correspondent’s view, in alphabetical order by brand.Continue reading...

Egypt's defiant president Mubarak sacks cabinet as US threatens to cut off aid. Delta and other global carriers have suspended flights, while web, mobile and SMS services continue to block residents from the world.

Bill Clinton unites PepsiCo and Coca-Cola heads at Davos, where Pepsi's Indra Nooyi explained why Russia is key to her strategy.

BMW to bring back four-cylinder engines to US.

Chevron profit jumped 72% in the fourth quarter.

Daimler pays 125th anniversary bonus to all 260,000 employees.

Facebook's value tops Amazon, trails only Google on the web.Continue reading...

American Apparel keeps pushing limits with latest campaign. 

Apple's iPad on track to sell 15M units in first year.

BP encounters shareholder resistance in Rosneft deal. 

Candie’s replaces Britney Spears with a new face: Vanessa Hudgens.

Ford is poised to report its most profitable year since 2000. 

GM anticipates quicker-than-expected ownership exit by U.S. taxpayers. 

Goldman Sachs concerned about global over-regulation of banks.Continue reading...

Super Bowl madness is upon us, but this year's lineup of game advertisers is not nearly as interesting as the companies that aren't returning from last year.

Of course, being in one year and out the next is not unusual — Super Bowl advertisers can rotate as often as the Chicago Bears changed quarterbacks in their losing bid to get into this year's Super Bowl. But the real story in 2011 is whether or not brand marketers think ponying up somewhere around $3 million for 30 seconds (yup, that's $100K per second) is worth it.

Papa John's, for one, doesn't think so.Continue reading...

After wowing the world with its Super Bowl advertisements during the last couple of years, it appears that Hyundai of America may be taking a humorous approach when it runs spots during Super Bowl XLV.Continue reading...

Apple hopes to come up with more hits without Steve Jobs.

Boeing will begin delivering the 787 Dreamliner in Q3.

Chrysler boosts Jeep's marketing mileage.

Citigroup to name John Havens as president and COO. 

Coca-Cola, Danone and Nike rank high among consumers in emerging markets in Credit Suisse study.

Fox premieres revamped American Idol, featuring rocker Steven Tyler, tonight.Continue reading...