Volkswagen of America yesterday announced that it will advertise during the Super Bowl for the third consecutive year. The automaker will premiere a 60-second spot at the beginning of the third quarter during NBC's broadcast of Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5. The spot will feature the new Beetle. The company will launch a fully integrated digital, social media and grassroots campaign to accompany the spot. Volkswagen last year aired two 30-second spots during the game (Volkswagen). Volkswagen was one the highest-ranking ads from in last year's USA Today Ad Meter. USA TODAY’s Fred Meier noted the automaker “scored a marketing touchdown with one featuring a mini-Darth Vader for the coming redesigned 2012 Passat.” It went on to become “a pop-culture phenomena, with more than 45 million views on YouTube” (USATODAY.com, 12/19). Volkswagen said that the attention the ‘12 Passat got from the commercial “helped give sales extra momentum when the car reached the market.” The new Passat “logged more sales in its first two months than the previous model did in all of 2010” (WSJ.com, 12/19).
BACK TO BASICS: Mars Chocolate announced that its M&M's brand will be featured in a 30-second commercial scheduled to air during the first quarter of Super Bowl XLVI. This will mark the chocolate brand's second Super Bowl spot. Mars during the last two Super Bowls ran ads for its Snickers brand. The company is set to announce additional details about the ad in January (Mars Chocolate North America).
ON CLOUD NINE: Go Daddy today announced it will be using one of its two ads during Super Bowl XLVI to promote its cloud-based offerings. The ad, titled "The Cloud," will feature NASCAR driver Danica Patrick. Go Daddy's second ad will feature Patrick and fitness guru Jillian Michaels (Go Daddy).
