The Ads of Super Bowl XLVI: Adweek’s Post-Mortem
AdWeek

Adweek has post-mortem coverage of the commercials of Super Bowl XLVI at adweek.com/super-bowl. Check out all the commercials again, and read through the transcript of our live blog, featuring commentary from:

• Tim Nudd and the rest of the Adweek editorial team
• John Butler, excutive creative director at Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners
• Jason Elm, group creative director at Deutsch LA
• Rebecca Cullers, copywriter at JWT Atlanta and AdFreak blogger
• David Gianatasio, AdFreak blogger
• David Griner, social-media director at Luckie & Co. and AdFreak blogger
• Barbara Lippert, curator of popular culture at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners
• Patrick O'Neill, executive creative director at TBWA\Chiat\Day, Los Angeles
• Ben Popken, freelance journalist and former managing editor of Consumerist.com
• Matt Van Hoven, communications director at Vitro New York, former ad industry blogger
• Rob Walker, author of Buying In and a contributor the The New York Times Magazine

Return of the Jedi: Why Deutsch and Volkswagen Went Back to Well for SuperBowl XLVI
AdWeek

For months, Volkswagen and Deutsch debated whether—and then how—to do a sequel to "The Force," their runaway hit from the 2011 Super Bowl, for the 2012 game.

"There's not a lot of great sequels. For every Godfather II, there's a Godfather III. For every Jaws, there's a Jaws 5," said Deutsch group creative director Michael Kadin. In the end, they felt they had to go back to the material.

"To ignore it would have been glaringly obvious and strange," said Kadin's creative partner, Matt Ian. "It begged for a follow-up."

After considering hundreds of scripts, they decided to do two spots—or rather, one plus an epilogue. The ad (which aired as a :60 during the game, with a :75 released online a few days before) begins with the story of a dog who wants to chase a Beetle, then segues to the Star Wars cantina, where the motley patrons discuss whether the new ad is better than the old one. To the agency, this was an elegant solution—giving life to an authentic stand-alone VW spot (that will now air on TV without the epilogue) while also nodding, in a postmodern way, at the juggernaut of the original.

Instant Report: Super Bowl XLVI, The Pinnacle of our Profession or Deluge of Dissapointment?
AdAge

Whether you're one of the few in adland who hadn't seen 75% of the spots before the game, ran off to the powder room during a commercial break, or just want to see the spots you loved (or hated) one more time, here's your chance. Ad Age has gathered all of the spots that ran nationally during the game (excluding pre-game, post-game and halftime) in one place.

In First Quarter, Marketers Wary Amid Temperate Ad Growth
AdAge

The ad market is picking up after a sluggish start to the year, but a lot still rides on advertisers' behavior in the second quarter. So it's too bad General Motors just cancelled up to half of the second-quarter TV time it had previously committed to use. It's tempting to think the ad market should already be getting a little steadier. The U.S. economy accelerated last quarter, delivering its fastest growth in a year and a half. Last month unemployment fell to its lowest rate in three years, the government said Feb 3. Fears of a second recession are dissipating.

All that may be true, but advertisers aren't going to risk getting ahead of the recovery, meaning growth will remain tempered.

"Without the political and Olympic money, it would be a flattish year," said Vincent Letang, exec VP and head of global forecasting at Magna Global, part of Interpublic Group. Elections and the Olympics mean 2012 looks like a "decent" year.

"We are still in positive territory but with very small growth," Mr. Letang said. "I guess it's good news in a way, because six months ago some would have predicted probably a worse outlook in 2012."

Demand for TV's scatter inventory—the commercial time that marketers buy closer to airtime—was still soft as the year began, continuing to suggest that the next upfront marketplace will be weaker than in 2011. "I don't think the next upfront will be as strong as the last, but if it comes close, that will be considered a success," said Rich Goldfarb, senior VP-advertising sales at National Geographic.

General Motors' cuts to its second-quarter TV plan—which it described as the "normal course of business as we adjust our media mix to align with our priorities for the year"—doesn't augur any better for the upfront.

The good news, however, is that General Motors doesn't appear to have company in making major cancellations. Mr. Goldfarb, for one, said few advertisers were taking cancellation options. And Viacom—whose networks include MTV, Nickelodeon, BET and Comedy Central—said last Thursday that cancellations were "very low."

Brand Experience, Values Increasingly Drive Loyalty
Marketing Daily News

More than ever, the core drivers of brand loyalty are emotional rather than rational. That’s the takeaway from the 2012 Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index (CLEI), which marks the survey’s 16th year.

While emotional engagement factors have become more critical each year, the influence of two core, overarching components rose markedly in 2012: the brand’s “values” and the consumer’s brand “experience.”

In a nutshell, Brand Keys’ definition of “brand value” is what a brand stands for or means to the consumer on an emotional level, explains the consultancy’s founder and president, Robert Passikoff.

“Across most of the 83 product categories, we found that consumers’ loyalty now hinges more than ever before on the degree to which a brand has established a clear core value proposition -- a differentiator that goes beyond the basic utility of a product or service,” he says. “Today, delivering on the ‘rational’ reasons to buy a brand -- good or superior quality and value for the price -- is just the ‘door-opener.’ If that’s all a brand is doing, it’s in grave danger of being commoditized. In fact, it’s not a brand; it’s a category placeholder.”

Brand experience is closely tied to value, but depends heavily on the “delight” factor: To what degree the brand exceeds baseline expectations by delivering benefits or an emotional connection that enhances the consumer’s day-to-day life in small or significant ways, he explains.

Just as important, this year, Brand Keys found that in a significant number of categories, consumers’ expectations for brands also have risen markedly, Passikoff stresses.

Old Spice Doesn’t Respect Other Brands’ Personal Space
AdAge

Old Spice is too powerful for its own good, or at least for Procter & Gamble's own good.

Odor blocker spokes-muscles Terry Crews carves out new space for the male body spray, in a pair of spots out of Wieden + Kennedy Portland and fellow P&G brands Bounce and Charmin. They are the first ever co-branded ads featuring Old Spice.

The team recruited Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim of Tim and Eric fame to direct. The films have been released on Old Spice's Facebook page and YouTube channel and will launch on broadcast Feb. 6.