What the heck is going on at Mercedes-Benz? The latest high-rotation US campaign from the elder statesman of auto luxury has opted for downright aggressive, almost violent, messaging and imagery.  

For a brand most associated with classic, tasteful luxury, it appears to have slammed too much Red Bull. Or maybe it got divorced, got its ear pierced and started wearing Ed Hardy t-shirts.Continue reading...

Ikea introduces a nursery… for men. Australian men. We're jealous.

Below, don't miss Tata's "car chase to end all car chases" spot (and more campaigns).Continue reading...

"Unbig. Uncar." That's it? The slogan at the end of the the first-ever national TV spot in the US for the Smart auto brand is a little underwhelming — pardon the pun. The whole point of the ad seems to be that Smart is, well, different — that there's virtue in simply being small while everyone else emphasizes how great it is to be big.

Even so, this is no VW "Think Small." The proposition comes off rather unconvincingly, sort of like those Nissan Leaf commercials that lionize electric vehicles for the simple and unadorned reason that it would be awful if everything in the world ran on gasoline — although at least Leaf hired a winsome polar bear.

Yet the effectiveness of the campaign per se isn't of utmost concern to the brand, which is owned by Daimler AG. Awareness is the whole point of this commercial and another that is to follow it next month. Finally, Smart USA branders hope, Americans will be able to put into a larger and more familiar context those funny-looking, stylish little runabouts they see here and there on our streets and roads.Continue reading...

They aren't exactly hurling bratwursts at one another yet, but the Big Three auto makers of Germany — Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW — certainly are ratcheting up the world-domination rhetoric these days. From their rosy projections and concomitant saber-rattling, you wouldn't know that these companies will be challenged as their German taxes help to bail out a bankrupt Greece for the next several years, or as the global economy continues to teeter on the precipice of a double-dip recession.

Volkswagen — with hopes high for the 2012 VW Beetle — plans to sink $86 billion over the next five years into plants, vehicles and R&D to bolster its much-discussed bid to overtake Toyota in global sales volume by 2018. Those projected outlays are up a tad from what VW previously was planning. The company "is investing a record amount in forward-looking projects to achieve its goal of becoming the world's best automobile manufacturer," CEO Martin Winterkorn stated in an announcement timed to last week's Frankfurt Auto Show.

One likely landing spot for an increase is its new U.S. manufacturing operations in Tennesee. Getting a much bigger share of the American market — despite its maturity and how highly competitive it is — is considered key to VW's plans for global domination. And Volkswagen of America CEO Jonathan Browning told brandchannel that the U.S. arm of the company is doing its part. "We can make sure we're offering vehicles and services that represent great values in the marketplace and really biuld on inherent strengths that consumers recognize" in the VW brand, he said.Continue reading...

Pepsi returns to musical roots in spots for tonight's debut of The X Factor on Fox, while the UK version of the show copes with criticism over treatment of contestant. Meanwhile, analysts say that PepsiCo shareholders could reap big gains if the company executes a strategic split-up.

SABMiller gets Foster's to accede to a deal.

Burger King's post-King advertising clicks with consumers.

AOL needs Patch to turn a profit.

Apple schedules Oct. 4th press conference, presumably for iPhone 5 reveal.

CBS scores huge ratings for first episode of Two and a Half Men with Ashton Kutcher, including setting a Canadian TV record.

Chipotle sees strong growth potential from ShopHouse Asian eateries.

Chrysler seeks to keep lid on UAW pay through 2019.Continue reading...

First it was Target and its Make Summer "Funner" tagline. But we excused Target, giving it the benefit of the doubt and assuming the retailer was in on the grammatical gag (kind of like Maker's Mark's "Maker's-er").

But, Mercedes, this we cannot excuse. "Less doors?!"

It seems that George Clooney has finally gotten married... In a commercial for Norwegian bank DNB NOR. The video starts off, a la The Hangover, with a disoriented bride in a trashed hotel room. She looks around, finds her dress, and realizes she had been married the night before.

Franticly looking for clues to what happened, she goes through pictures of her with an unknown groom. All of a sudden George walks in claiming he didn't want to wake her up. They look at online real estate, and the commercial ends with the voiceover, "Some people are lucky in life. For the rest of us, saving up can be smart."

Sorry bachelorettes, although it was just a commercial, Clooney is currently dating someone (WWE star Stacy Keibler). But there's enough of him to go around... in commercials at least.Continue reading...

If you're BMW and Mercedes-Benz, you're taking lots of sideways glances at the other brand these days, because the German luxury leaders are locked in a tight competition for the crown of best-selling upscale brand in the U.S. market for 2011. A flurry of new-product introductions by each brand during the last few months of the year promises to make the finish even more exciting than the start.

But another place their brand executives are looking is the rear-view mirror. That's where they'll find Lexus, last year's segment champ in the last of a long string of annual victories. And while the Toyota luxury marque most likely won't be able to make up sales of the tens of thousands of extra units in the United States that it would take to pull off a stunning, come-from-behind victory in the second-half and nip Mercedes-Benz and BMW, Lexus is definitely making German executives nervous again at the Frankfurt Auto Show this week.Continue reading...