Robyn Beck / AFP - Getty Images

Facebook employees walk past a wall of graffiti at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. GM's decision to yank its ads from Facebook could be a case of the automaker not correctly seeing the potential power of the social network to build brand loyalty.

General Motors Co.’s decision to stop advertising on Facebook is like the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes. In this cyber scenario, GM, not a child, is pointing out that Facebook may be a bit underdressed when it comes to getting consumers to buy the automaker’s products.

But is Facebook really naked when it comes to providing a bang for advertising bucks, or is GM just not able to see the real potential of the social media powerhouse?

The answer may come down to what companies want out of social networking sites such as Facebook: immediate clicks on ads, or the potential for brand-loyalty building.

“GM is making a mistake, and it’s probably because they don’t have the right analytics in place and are too obsessed about short term sales effects,” said Rex Briggs, CEO of Marketing Evolution Inc., which has worked with a host of large companies including GM to measure how ad dollars are spent.

The company, he stressed, is living in the past if it expects quick returns similar to the results from television ads or rebate promotions. Social media just doesn’t work like that.

“Social media is a square peg that doesn’t fit in those round holes and doesn’t fit the traditional way marketers think about incentives,” he noted. “It’s based on people engaging with a brand and becoming an advocate of the brand.”

Consumer products companies, he continued, need a major presence on Facebook and other social networking outlets, but they also need to spend money on ads, especially things like sponsored stories, which he said bring in $3 plus for every dollar spent on Facebook.

For GM, however, the ad payoffs on Facebook weren’t enough.

“GM could not see the value and I am guessing it’s not the only one,” said Peter Cohan, a management consultant and venture capitalist. “If an advertiser on Facebook can track a user clicking on an ad to an online purchase, then – depending on the price of the ad and the value of the purchase – that advertising money would be well spent,” he maintained. “Otherwise, it’s a waste of money.”

Some social media experts think the main value in Facebook is in building a loyal fan base.

“There has been a great deal of skepticism around Facebook's advertising model, but simply relying on display ads to do the trick is the wrong approach," said Jeffrey Dachis, CEO of Dachis Group, a social business consulting firm that works with companies such as Disney and Target. “It's about engagement. Users that can interact with compelling content on Facebook will be more likely to serve as brand advocates than those who are presented with an advertisement with no opportunities for interaction."

GM, Dachis noted, doesn't plan reductions to its marketing budget for content creation and community management on Facebook. GM did not immediately return a phone call requesting information on their decision. But a story in the Wall Street Journal Wednesday quoted the company's marketing head Joel Ewanick who said on Facebook "the content is effective and important."

When it comes to building a fan base, Jan Rezab, CEO of social media analytics company Socialbakers, said the auto giant has done a crummy job engaging potential customers on Facebook, noting that Mercedes-Benz has more than 7 million likes on its Facebook page, compared to less than 400,000 for GM.

“We think that GM should not scrap their Facebook marketing strategy yet,” Rezab advised. “A lot of brands have been successful.”

Indeed, Ford Motor Company, with 1.5 million Facebook likes, tweeted Tuesday that: “It's all about the execution. Our Facebook ads are effective when strategically combined with engaging content & innovation.”

When asked to elaborate on the tweet, Ford's global head of social media, Scott Monty, told MSNBC.com Wednesday that "we’ve found Facebook ads to be very effective when strategically combined with engagement, great content and innovative ways of storytelling, rather than treating them as a straight media buy."

The company has found success with Facebook and other digital outlets, he said, including the debut of the 2011 Explorer which "yielded better results than a Super Bowl ad for a fraction of the cost."

Aside from marketing, Ford also sees value in working with Facebook in research and development. 

"Our engineers have also been working with Facebook engineers to develop unique and safer ways of integrating the car experience with Facebook," he noted.

GM, on the other hand, apparently doesn't see the potential that Ford does, moving to dump Facebook ads, just days before the social networking site's initial public share offering. Some marketing experts believe it could get other companies thinking the same way.

“A lot of marketers at places like GM continue to see Facebook as a media buy rather than a conversation tool. When you look at it from that standpoint it doesn’t look like a good media buy,” said Elliot Schreiber, marketing professor with Drexel University's LeBow College of Business. “I suspect we’re going to see others who’ve been sitting on the fence that are going to back out.”

As for more companies bailing, Marketing Evolution’s Briggs said, “you can always get another lemming to follow over the cliff, but anyone who’s studying this and thinking through the difference between planting the seed and harvesting won’t follow GM over the cliff.”

Facebook’s long-awaited initial public offering will be a long-term bet, and selling pressure on the shares after the market excitement post-IPO will “relax,” Martin Sorrell, CEO at advertising bellwether WPP, told CNBC Tuesday.

“I don’t think 900 million people can be a passing fad. A lot of people have taken a position in Facebook, it’s a self-perpetuating situation,” Sorrell told CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange.” “The $100 billion was predictable and they’re trying to build a momentum.”

Sorrell said he would buy the shares with a view to looking at them again in “15 or 20 years’ time.” He said through WPP he buys $75 billion worth of media a year, adding that he spent $200 million last year with Facebook and while he would increase his spend in the network, it would be lower than he had first envisaged.

“We’ll increase (spending) this year, but it is a social network and you interrupt a social communication with an advertisement at your peril,” Sorrel said.

Facebook has been keen to argue that its advertising revenue would form a key component of its ongoing success, saying it would make ads “more relevant, more social, and more engaging” as it looks to grow.

The social media giant hiked the widely anticipated price range of its IPO to $34 to $38 a share Tuesday with trading expected to commence Friday — valuing the company around $102 billion, Silicon Valley’s largest ever IPO to date.
Sorrell described the price range as “hard to stomach.” 

An AP-CNBC poll found that half of Americans believe that the company’s expected stock price is too high.

Crucially, the same poll found that more than half — 57 percent — of respondents do not click on the ads on the site.
Critics of the hype surrounding the highly anticipated IPO argue the company’s advertising revenue history is weak and are doubtful about the site's longevity in the competitive technology sector.

Michael Browne, fund manager at Martin Currie, agreed that Facebook was a “unique proposition” and compared it to Twitter, the rival social network which has been snapping at Facebook’s heels as it has seen its popularity and users grow.

Browne said Twitter was more about “celebrity status and the cult of following people,” whereas Facebook was about interacting with “a smaller, more closed group of people.” 

CNBC.com: As investors Fawn over Facebook, poll finds user distrust, apathy

CNBC.com quiz: What's your facebook IQ?

CNBC.com: Confidence lacking in Zuckerberg as corporate steward 

Full Facebook IPO coverage from CNBC.com  

Investors may be hot to trot over Facebook's IPO, but a new AP/CNBC poll finds the company is facing potential monetary roadblocks CNBC's Kayla Tausche finds in the video below.

Domino's

The "No" ad features the company's new Chicken & Bacon Carbonara pizza, the latest in a line of artisan pies introduced last year.

Domino's is putting its foot down with finicky customers.

The pizza delivery company on Thursday will launch a TV ad campaign that says "No!" to customers who want to add or remove any toppings from its artisan pizzas.

The concept is in line with the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company's effort to recast itself as a seasoned purveyor of high-quality pizza, with a voiceover in the ad noting that the company spent years "perfecting the balance on our artisan crust toppings."

The "No" ad features the company's new Chicken & Bacon Carbonara pizza, the latest in a line of artisan pies introduced last year. Customers can still customize any other pies.

Domino's push to improve the reputation of its pizzas began about two years ago, when the company overhauled the recipe for its basic pie with a new sauce (more red pepper), cheese (shredded, not cubed) and crust (now with garlic flavor). It also launched an in-your-face ad campaign showing customers in focus groups dissing the subpar ingredients of the past. One said the marinara sauce tasted like ketchup.

'Top Chef' star Fabio Viviani bites back at critics

The untraditional campaign by ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky was intended to generate buzz by having Domino's come clean about its many shortcomings. In one spot, CEO J. Patrick Doyle showed a pie that was delivered all smashed up and said the company simply had to do better.

Now Dominos is looking to build on the "Oh Yes We Did" tagline by crossing out the "Yes" with a big fat "No." It marks the campaign's transition from rehabilitating the company's image to exerting Domino's as a culinary authority. No, customers cannot add pepperoni, mushrooms or olives. Domino's is the pizza expert and nobody can tinker with its carefully crafted gourmet pies.

Crispin Porter + Bogusky, based in Miami, is known for its edgy campaigns, including bizarre characters like "The Subservient Chicken" and "The King" for Burger King.

Although the ads for the struggling hamburger chain were considered a flop, the campaign for Domino's seems to be helping. In its last fiscal year, Domino's Pizza Inc. said its full-year earnings rose 20 percent to $105.4 million, from the prior year. Annual revenue increased 5 percent to $1.65 billion and revenue at U.S. stores open at least a year rose 3.5 percent and while store abroad saw revenue grow 6.8 percent.

Domino's has 9,541 franchised and company-owned stores in the U.S. and more than 70 international markets. 

Share your thoughts on Facebook.

Hollywood 'bad boy' Charlie Sheen with supermodel Catrinel Menghia in the Fiat 500 Abarth commercial.

It may be small, but one thing the Fiat 500 has is a lot of attitude – all the more so since the Italian maker introduced the sporty new Abarth edition.  So perhaps it’s no surprise that what the marque’s global brand boss calls the “bad boy of the Fiat line-up” should turn to the bad boy of the entertainment world, Charlie Sheen, to draw some attention.

The spot, which was pulled at the last minute from the Super Bowl, gave Fiat officials some “sleepless nights,” a senior official admits, but after a delayed launch has been generating plenty of buzz from a brand that had barely registered on most consumers’ radar until recently.

Fiat got off to a nearly disastrous debut little more than a year ago, sales for all of 2011 coming in at barely half the initial forecast – leading Fiat to oust its U.S. marketing chief.

First Drive: Fiat 500 Abarth

Since then, the maker has ramped up its marketing efforts, first with a series of controversial Jennifer Lopez commercials, following up with supermodel Catrinel Menghia’s racy “Seduction” spot first aired during the Super Bowl.

Now comes Sheen, shown racing the Fiat 500 Abarth inside his mansion during a party – the “tiger blood” actor explaining how much fun he is having while under “house arrest.”

The maker considered running the spot — produced by Detroit ad agency Doner — during the Super Bowl but it was pulled in favor of another spot that featured Menghia alone.  It proved one of the most popular spots airing during the much-watched broadcast and has since been seen another 8 million times on youtube.

The recent, heavy emphasis on celebrity-tinged advertising is a significant shift in direction for Fiat, acknowledged Tim Kuniskis, the Chrysler marketing veteran who took over U.S. operations when Laura Soaves was unceremoniously ousted last autumn.

EV Sales Show Positive Trends Despite Volt Cutback

“We can’t sell this car as a commodity,” Kuniskis explained during an interview in Las Vegas, where Fiat was giving journalists the first chance to drive the new 500 Abarth.  “We have to click on the emotional box,” which is clearly something that the two most recent ads – with Menghia and Sheen have accomplished.

The base Fiat 500 is one of the smallest cars on U.S. roads, but the Abarth edition pumps some of what Sheen might call “tiger blood” into the minicar, bumping its horsepower count from 101 to 160.  Company officials learned a painful lesson last year after missing their 50,000-unit sales target by nearly half.

“Clearly, a year ago, it was difficult to get a clear sense of where the brand would go,” Olivier Francois, Fiat’s global chief executive, said during a recent interview.  “We just didn’t know.”

Fiat officials no longer talk hard numbers, but while the Abarth is not expected to become the volume model in the line-up it clearly is the classic halo car.

The Sheen spot, dubbed “House Arrest,” is “very clever,” said analyst Rebecca Lindland, of IHS Automotive.  “It plays up the “look-at-me element of the car.”

“No Silver Bullet” to Solve Gas Crisis, Says Obama

The sudden surge of TV ads, which began with the less successful JLo spots, marks a distinct shift in direction from the strategy former U.S. brand boss Soaves had outlined.  In fact, there was virtually no marketing at all until the fall campaign.  That was extraordinarily frustrating for the dealers who agreed not only to carry the brand – which was returning to the U.S. market for the first time in two decades – but invest in costly standalone showrooms.

“The dealers didn’t feel like they had enough of a voice,” suggested Lindland, something Fiat’s new U.S. chief Kuniskis doesn’t deny.

If anything, Fiat – the Italian partner of Chrysler Group – pointedly turned to those dealers for help in developing its all-new marketing strategy.

“They gave us a laundry list of things they wanted,” and much of that list has been incorporated in the marketing campaign – including the use of high-profile celebrities like Sheen.

Whether the new approach will work better than the original strategy remains to be seen but Kuniskis insists that most measures are showing positive signs, including traffic both on the Fiat website and in showrooms.  The challenge is still to translate traffic into actual sales.

Fiat officials admit they fell well short of their original goal – which they also call “unrealistic.”  The problem is that it will take time to flesh out the showroom like they now acknowledge will be necessary to make Fiat truly viable in the U.S. market.

But the Abarth is a critical step in that direction.  It joins the basic Fiat 500 Coupe and Convertible models, as well as the limited-edition Gucci 500, landing in showrooms just before Fiat introduces a new battery-electric version of the minicar.

The maker also has confirmed plans to introduce a stretched version, the four-door 500L, which will make its debut this week at the Geneva Motor Show.  It will measure about two feet longer than the current coupe but still remain one of the market’s smaller offerings.  Yet another model is reportedly in the works, though Kuniskis declined to confirm specifics.

Despite the slow launch, he insisted that things are moving in the right direction.  Indeed, sales jumped 21% in March, giving the brand its best month since its U.S. re-launch.

But it will take more than one or two strong months to make the Fiat brand a success, observers caution.  So, don’t be surprised to see even more in-your-face advertising from the likes of Menghia and Sheen.

What do you think of Fiat's ad strategy? Share your thoughts on Facebook.

Updated at 4:25 p.m. ET: After a firestorm of calls, posts and Tweets from angry consumers, two companies pulled their advertisements with Rush Limbaugh after the conservative radio talk show host called a Georgetown University law student a "slut" for speaking out about the current debate over birth control.

“Due to recent commentary by Rush Limbaugh that does not align with our values, we’ve made the decision to immediately suspend all advertising on that program," Gabby Nelson, company spokeswoman at mattress manufacturer Select Comfort, said in an emailed statement.

Select Comfort, which advertises its Sleep Number brand bed, was the second company to sever ties with Limbaugh over the growing controversy. Sleep Train was the first to sever ties. It sent a message out on Twitter earlier today, telling consumers, "We are pulling our ads with Rush Limbaugh and appreciate the community's feedback."

The law student, Sandra Fluke, testified before a House committee this week about the high cost of hormonal contraception and the burden this places on women who need it for medical reasons last week after being barred from an earlier Congressional committee hearing on the topic. 

Other companies are distancing themselves from the talk-show host, including some who say they don't advertise with Limbaugh, but have been overwhelmed with phone calls and online messages.

The Twitter feed of online dating site eHarmony read, "We’ve never paid for ads on Limbaugh show. We’re looking into the matter of 'network buys' and will let you know what we discover." (Updated at 4:25 p.m. ET.: Spokeswoman Becky Teraoka said via e-mail, "We do have that confirmation" that a network buy did not land eHarmony advertising on Limbaugh's show.)

Ray Pohlman, spokesman for AutoZone, said the company had never advertised with Limbaugh and was working with its media buyers to find out if any ads did air. "If a commercial ran, it was in error," he said. "We're running it down."

"We have not advertised on Rush Limbaugh's radio program in over five years," Life Quotes spokeswoman Michelle Matlock said via email.  

"We are actually not an active advertiser on the program and currently have no plans to sponsor it in the future," Megan Greuling, spokeswoman for Lending Tree, said via email. 

Some companies indicate they'll be sticking with Rush, though. "While we do not condone or agree with Limbaugh’s statements regarding Sandra Fluke, we respect his right to express his views, as well as those who disagree with him," Quicken Loans spokeswoman Paula Silver said in an emailed statement. "As an advertiser, our goal is to reach a broad audience, which we accomplish by placing ads on a number of programs across the country representing diverse views."

A statement posted on ProFlowers' Facebook page late Thursday night was more circumspect. It read, "We would like to assure you that we do not endorse the views expressed by Rush Limbaugh. We understand your concerns and value your feedback." The post was inundated with hundreds of comments from Facebook users urging the company to drop its advertising. 

Limbaugh did not reply to msnbc.com's request for a comment.

Related story: Woman called 'slut" by Limbaugh is 'outraged' 

Reality television star Kim Kardashian has taken a lot of flak for her 72-day marriage to New Jersey Nets player Kris Humphries.

But she probably never dreamed that she’d be bested by a dog.

In what is perhaps the ultimate humiliation, Kardashian has been swapped out for a French bulldog in a commercial for Skechers GORun shoes that will air during this year’s Super Bowl, USA Today reports.

The reality star appeared in a steamy commercial for Skechers Shape-Up shoes during last year’s Super Bowl, but the Skechers commercial airing during this year’s game will instead feature a dog. In the spot, the dog will wear Sketchers GORun shoes and will race against a pack of greyhounds at Tucson Greyhound Park, according to the newspaper.

(Said steamy ad is below. Post continues below steamy ad.)

But Skechers insists that the absence of Kardashian in the company’s new Super Bowl commercial is not due to backlash against the reality star over her hugely hyped wedding and quickie divorce. Leonard Armato, president of Skechers Fitness, told USA Today that "Kim got us more attention than we ever dreamed. We have to establish Skechers as more than a lifestyle company."

Armato told USA Today that while Kardashian’s contract with Sketchers expired at the end of 2011, she had a big influence on the brand’s popularity, and attributes much of the 400 percent increase in fans on the Skechers Facebook page after the Super Bowl to her star power.

Sketchers on Tuesday also announced that Mark Cuban, owner of both Landmark Theaters and the Dallas Mavericks, would make a cameo in the Skechers Super Bowl spot as GORun’s new spokesman.

Cuban told USA Today that while he’s no Kim Kardashian, “one of the things I do know is high technology and how to use it.”

Chrysler

Chrysler felt so strongly about what a Super Bowl ad could do the company bought two minutes of time for just one spot featuring Eminem in last year's game. Will other advertisers follow the long-form trend?

Another year, another record. The ad space available for next month's broadcast of Super Bowl XLVI has sold out and will likely top last year's take. Experts say companies will line up to pay millions again next year and the year after that for the privilege of being part of Super Sunday.

When will making a big buy in the Big Game stop being cost-effective? Probably never. Or at least not until people stop drinking, snacking and most importantly, watching TV.

For marketers, "it’s a huge investment, but it’s also one of the best ways to maximize their time” in front of an audience, said Brian Steinberg, television editor for Advertising Age. “Fewer TV properties have that reach thanks to DVR and the Web. The Super Bowl is increasing, rather than losing, its audience.”

This year viewers are likely to see more long-form ads (longer than the traditional 30 seconds) and more linking to social networks.

NBC will be broadcasting the game Feb. 5 from Indianapolis. The network said this week that all available time during the game is sold out, although some spots in the pregame were still available. The network coyly will not say how much advertisers are being charged, but The Associated Press puts the price at $3.5 million to $4 million for 30 seconds. Less than 20 years ago, a half-minute of Super Bowl ad time cost less than $1 million.

That money now buys the largest TV audience in the U.S. Last year a record of more than 111 million Americans watched the Green Bay Packers beat Pittsburgh Steelers, and many paid close attention to the dozens of commercials aired during game breaks.

This year analysts expect viewership to set another record.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)

“There’s nothing to compare it to. Maybe the Oscars or some of the music (awards) shows, but not really,” said Stephen Master, head of sports for Nielsen, which tracks viewership.

Master notes an upward trend that began with the 2001 game pitting the New York Giants against the Baltimore Ravens – two of the country’s largest media markets.

“Now go to last year. You have Green Bay against Pittsburgh. Two storied football programs, but not (among the largest) population areas, and you still have (double-digit) growth. That’s phenomenal,” Master said.

“The Super Bowl works for different kinds of companies. It’s a wonderful venue for companies with a new product since it builds brand awareness so quickly. But it also allows the ability to rebuild or to recast a brand,” said Tim Calkins, professor of marketing at Northwestern University.

Chrysler’s two-minute “Imported From Detroit” spot featuring rap star Eminem in last year’s game was a good example of the latter, Calkins said.

Steinberg said the success of the long ad could influence how advertisers approach the game this year.

“It probably got people (at companies) thinking ‘I can do that.’ ”

After flirting with social media, expect advertisers to go all in this year, trying to tie their spots heavily to Facebook and Twitter. It’s part of the reason advertisers are “leaking” their ads to YouTube weeks in advance of the game. The extended conversation increases the reach of the ad buy.

The recent spike in interest in the game – there was actually a lull in the late '80s and early '90s – is attributable to two things, Nielsen’s Master said.

“More women are watching. It’s not 50/50 yet, but it’s growing,” he said.

The other factor is the emergence of a Hispanic population interested in American football, a fast-growing demographic group that has been heavily courted by the NFL.

This year NBC plans to webcast the Super Bowl live, marking the first legal Internet broadcast of the game. The much-anticipated ads also will be available for online viewing, but not until after they air on the conventional broadcast.

The live webcast is expected to be more of a novelty than a major shift in the way people view the game. In previous sporting events where live webcasting has drawn large audiences, such as World Cup soccer and early rounds of March Madness college basketball, those events have featured multiple games during working hours for most Americans.

The Super Bowl is still very much a “communal activity,” Steinberg said.

“Maybe people will be watching on tablets in their attic someday,” he said.

Related:

Check out last year's best and worst Super Bowl ads

This is a scene from "Dog Park," a finalist in Doritos' 2011 "Crash the Super Bowl" contest.

By msnbc.com staff

Doritos again this year rolls out their “Crash the Super Bowl” competition which allows amateur filmmakers a chance to come up with an ad that will be shown during the big game.

The difference between this and most other Super Bowl ad tradition/stunts is this one actually ends up being entertaining sometimes. In fact, spots from the contest were rated as best of the game in 2009 (“Crystal Ball”), and 2010 (“House Rules”) by msnbc.com users.

The company announced their five finalists today for Bowl XLVI. The winner gets, as last year, a $1 million prize, the spot aired during the game, and a role in a Doritos project with Smoove-Hop-Comedy group Lonely Island — you know, the “D*ck in a Box” guys from Saturday Night Live.

Lonely Island were going to do their own spot, but it was scrapped so that two “Crash” finalists can grace the game.

View and vote on the finalists here.  We’re not enthralled by any of them in particular, but given how bumbling bros and bimbos always seem to register with viewers, we see great things for the “Hot Wild Girls” entry.

NBC reported yesterday they have sold out of spot for the game, but still have some available for the pregame show — just in case you have some millions to burn. The average cost for 30-seconds of in-game advertising this year is $3.5 million.

By Dan Carney, msnbc.com contributor

Yes, I know, this sounds like a roster of the best sushi-flavored ice creams.  The vast majority of car industry commercials are tripe, either falling in the category of my-truck-is-tougher-than-yours urination contests or bash-your-head-against-the-wall Sale-A-Brations trying to move metal for dubious “holidays” like Christmas in July.  Others try too hard, inflicting dancing hamsters on us.

But occasionally lightning strikes and we get genius.  We’ve seen it before as with this 1996 Nissan commercial, Toys.

Not everything in this year’s top ten list reaches that level, but a few of them definitely equal the spark of Toys.

10.  Cadillac, "Pioneered by Cadillac and Used by Ferrari"

We all know that Cadillac makes cushy highway barges, right?  And Ferrari is the world’s preeminent sports car builder.  Got it?  Absolutely nothing in common. But Cadillac needs to remake its image for a new generation, and it is building the slinky CTS-V Coupe to get their attention.  Turns out some Cadillac know-how also got Ferrari’s attention, as the Prancing Horse has adopted electromagnetic adjustable shock absorbers first seen on the Plodding Hearse.  Definitely makes you scratch your head.  But don’t think of taking grandma’s ’98 Deville to the track.

9.  Audi, "Luxury Prison"

When your product is not the industry standard, you make a living by knocking the king off his throne.  Audi is gaining U.S. market share hand over fist at the expense of incumbents like Mercedes-Benz and Lexus by directly targeting them in ads that make them look fusty, dull or, worst of all, common.

The Luxury Prison commercial was produced for the Super Bowl, and it paints Mercedes-Benz drivers as moldy old followers, bound to choose their car because “my father had one.”  Meanwhile the younger, hipper protagonist escapes Luxury Prison in his trendy new Audi A8.

Best of all, the stuffy traditionalists rioting in Luxury Prison are pacified by the dulcet notes of noted jazz saxophonist Kenny G, who demonstrates an unexpected sense of humor by participating in this commercial and the lengthy internet teaser which preceded it.

Honorable mention to another Audi commercial featuring former NBA basketball coach Phil Jackson.

8.  Chevrolet, "Corvette ZR1 Racing Porsche, Ferrari and BMW"          

When car companies go racing, they have to soup up their production models to levels unimaginable to the assembly line workers bolting the cars together.  Unless the race car in question is a supercharged 638 horsepower, 205-mile per hour Corvette ZR1, in which case the racing rulesmakers insist they rein it in.

As Chevrolet fights its way back from General Motors’ bankruptcy, it needs spots to convince people that it can compete with the world’s best car brands and win.  On the racetrack it can do that with one arm, and about 168 horsepower, tied behind its back, which sounds like a good start.

The flag-waving Still Building Rockets spot is another good one, reminding us that American ingenuity is alive and well.

7.  Porsche, "Engineered for Magic"

Porsche, in contrast to Chevrolet, has established its performance bona fides, but seeks to convince shoppers that its cars aren’t limited to the racetrack.  The "Engineered for Magic" spot shows the company’s famous sports cars serving in prosaic chores like driving in snow, hauling concrete from the hardware store and picking up kids from school.  Like the Cadillac commercial, it works for Porsche because it plays against type, and who doesn’t like the idea of rationalizing the purchase of a news sports car because it is practical?  You just better hope those kids don’t grow if you want to keep putting them in the back seat.

6. Fiat, "Seduction"

Fiat plays to type with this commercial for the Abarth high-performance model of the 500 minicar.  Italian performance is sexy, sultry and even seductive.  Our everyman hero is bopping along, minding his own business when he is ensnared by irresistible Italian sex appeal, which turns out to be generated by a car.  The spot is also helpful for Fiat in its attempt to reenter the U.S. market because the 500 has been struggling with an apparent “girl car” label, and the sporty Abarth and car-as-a-girl portrayal should shore up interest among male buyers.  It is certainly more powerful than the pointless Jennifer Lopez commercials for the 500, which seem more like an attempt to kickstart her career than to tout the fun little Italian runabout.

4 (tie).  Chevrolet, "Volt Gas Station 1 and 2"

The next two commercials involve a bit of corporate sniping at one another, so to avoid being caught in their crossfire or accused of favoritism, we’ll call it a tie between Nissan’s battery-electric Leaf, which uses no gas and and Chevy’s extended-range battery electric Volt, which can use some gas.  In alphabetical order, the Chevy is listed first.

Because the idea of a gas-powered electric car is confusing to most consumers, Chevy tries to explain it by having a kid pester a Volt driver who has stopped at a gas station to answer nature’s call, not OPEC’s.  See, this electric car can use gas, but only if your need too, after running low on electrons, so that, well, watch the spot’s explanation.

4 (tie).  Nissan, "Gas Powered Everything"

There is a disturbing dystopian edge to this commercial, but it certainly grabs your attention.  In an effort to shoot down the idea that the Volt’s ability to burn gas is an advantage, "Gas Powered Everything" imagines a world in which, well, everything, is gas powered.

From the tiny screaming two-stroke-powered iPods to the industrial chug of the tractor motor in the copier, this world is grease-smeared and polluted, illustrating the expected benefits of shiny, happy electric power.

The pump of the gas pedal and twist of the key is familiar to anyone who has ever driven a gas-powered car, especially one old enough to have a carburetor.  The exposed valvetrain of the antique engine powering the coffee maker lends a real steampunk aesthetic for appreciative gearheads.  Calling it “darkly memorable,” AdWeek magazine named it the ninth-best commercial of 2011.

3. Volkswagen, "Vamanos"

It is like a set-up for a Johnny Carson joke on the pre-Leno Tonight Show.  “My Passat TDI can go so far on a tank of gas.”  “How far can it go?” It turns out, according to this commercial, that after 13 hours and nearly 800 miles in the saddle listening to a Learn to Speak Spanish CD, two white-bread buddies on a road trip can emerge from the Passat at a gas station arguing in Spanish.  That’s how far it can go on a tank of gas.  Er, diesel.

2. Chrysler, "Born of Fire"

But for Volkswagen’s tour de force, Chrysler’s “Born of Fire” paean to the motor city featuring the real Slim Shady/Eminem/Marshall Mathers and the Selected of God gospel choir would have stolen the show in the Super Bowl commercial sweepstakes.  As it is, it dominated the “Best Drama” category, illustrating the real people who still live in Detroit and who remain dedicated to the city’s success even while coastal elites have long since written off Motown, its residents and their products.  Edmunds.com says that search traffic for Chrysler jumped 328 percent after the spot and AdWeek named it the third-best commercial of 2011. 

The Chrysler-sponsored Selected of God video of their version of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” is even more musically compelling.           

1. Volkswagen, "The Force"

Sometimes a baseball slugger hits a pitch so perfectly that he knows from the feel of the bat, before the ball has even gone anywhere, that he has just crushed a home run to the upper deck.  That’s how VW’s ad agency must have felt when they finished “The Force.”  The Super Bowl commercial for the Passat family sedan features a deluded kid in a Darth Vader costume who is desperate to bend objects in his world to his significant will.  After an unsuccessful day, the kid is dumbstruck by his abrupt success bewitching his dad’s car, courtesy of the remote start function on the car’s key fob.  John Williams’ “Imperial March” score has never been more powerful.   It has more than 46 million viewings on YouTube, and a “making of” video with outtakes has another four million.  Plus that whole Super Bowl thing.  AdWeek named this their top commercial of the year, saying “Few ads in history have been as charming, as clever, as perfectly paced or as well loved as this.”

AshleyMadison.com

New ad campaign by adult dating website AshleyMadison.com features presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich.

Celebrity endorsements are nothing new in the world of advertising, but one dating website is running an ad campaign that probably isn’t such welcome publicity to the famous faces involved.

AshleyMadison.com, which hooks up married people with people they're not married to, mounted a billboard advertisement in Pennsylvania last week featuring Republican presidential hopeful and former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich.

The billboard depicts a frowning, solemn shot of Gingrich, who is holding up one finger as if scolding someone. In reference to Gingrich’s two marriages that ended in divorce due to his admitted infidelities, the billboard features the slogan: “Faithful Republican…Unfaithful Husband. Welcome to the Ashley Madison.com era.”

Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond said the politician’s camp had no comment on the ad.

Noel Biderman, CEO of Ashley Madison said the billboard is meant to illustrate that, as a contender for political office, Gingrich should only be judged on his abilities as a politician, and shouldn’t be faulted for his personal indiscretions.

“We continue to take the notion that politicians who suffer in their personal lives … are people who are not fit to run our country,” said Biderman. “We have to stop this very unhealthy notion in the political arena in general that somehow these personal choices lead to character flaws.”

Some may view Biderman’s point as a thinly veiled excuse to paste a famous face on an advertisement for a website that’s taken a lot of heat for encouraging extramarital affairs. After all, this isn’t the first celebrity — or politician-themed ad for the company. It has run ads featuring California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, president Bill Clinton, Prince Charles, Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, and King Juan Carlos I of Spain, all of whom have been accused of or have admitted to cheating on their spouses.

Biderman said Ashley Madison doesn’t seek permission from politicians to use their images in advertisements, but he did receive an "ambiguous" letter from the office of King Juan Carlos I, expressing the monarch's displeasure with it, so it was taken down. And he said that the billboard operator who posted the Berlusconi ad was threatened within 24 hours of mounting it, so that ad was removed, too.

According to Biderman (who said he himself has been happily married for eight years), the whole idea to run advertisements featuring politicians started when Governor Eliot Spitzer was caught dallying with a call girl. So Ashley Madison ran a full-page ad in the New York Post, saying Spitzer could have avoided getting caught if he’d instead used the site to have an affair. 

From there, Ashley Madison began running a rash of advertisements about politicians, and on its website maintains a list of prominent politicians who have cheated on their spouses. Who might be the next one to be spotlighted in an Ashley Madison ad? “There’s always somebody,” Biderman said. “I can guarantee somebody will pop up."

Ashley Madison also recently reached out to Republican presidential ex-candidate Herman Cain, offering him a job at the company and a $400,000 a year paycheck to be a brand ambassador of sorts. Cain hasn’t responded to the request. Biderman said he’s even more interested in working with Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who has been accused of cheating on her husband but has denied the charges.

No matter, said Biderman, who added, “Nobody’s perfect. We’re not genetically engineered to be monogamous."

Related story: At Ashley Madison, infidelity is alive and profitable

What do a cat with opposable thumbs, a Sasquatch, and a pug with supersized strength have in common (aside from the fact that, as far as anyone knows, they’re all mythical)?

They’re all part of the commercials that were voted as this year's funniest on Turner Broadcasting System’s annual  “Funniest Commercials of the Year” special, which debuted Wednesday night. 

This year’s program was hosted by actor Isiah Mustafa, who is pretty familiar with funny commercials himself. He’s probably best known for starring in the popular Old Spice commercial in which he is transported from shower to yacht to horseback, bearing diamonds and “tickets to that thing” for female viewers, all because he uses the brand’s body wash. 

Viewers were able to watch and vote for their favorite commercial on TBS’s VeryFunnyAds.com, and the 10 selections garnering the most votes were presented on the show.

The big winner was a spot for Cravendale’s milk, called “Cats with Thumbs,”by advertising agency Weiden+Kennedy. The commercial shows what would happen if cats were equipped with opposable thumbs. Various felines are shown reading and turning pages in books, working on embroidery projects, and gripping a ball with one paw. The cats then form a West Side Story-like gang, complete with finger-snapping and berets. The gang use their thumbs to grip a doorknob and open the door to a man’s kitchen, then then stand in the doorway, menacingly demanding Cravendale milk.

In second place was a spot for the Norwegian bank DnB NOR called “Finally Married,”by the Norwegian agency Try/Apt, Olso. The ad features a woman who wakes up in a fancy hotel room, very hung over, discovering she got married the night before. She is puzzled as she examines a wedding dress she evidently wore and Polaroid pictures of a wedding. She is then greeted by actor George Clooney, evidently her new husband. He wants to show his new bride some homes online that he is considering buying for them. The ad tells viewers “some people are lucky in life, but for the rest of us, saving up can be smart.”

And in third place came the spot for Vigorsol gum, called "Air Action,"which was made by the agency BBH in London. In the commercial for Vigorsol's Italian audience, viewers are shown a couple in a long-distance relationship who miss each other so much the man chews a piece of the gum and blows his breath into a bottle to send to the woman. When she opens it, the bottle — ostensibly because of the extreme freshness of the gum — produces a wind so strong that the skin on her face is blown back and her pet parrot loses all of its feathers.

Here are the rest of TBS’s funniest commercials of the year. Which ones were your favorites?

4. Kia, "Share Some Soul"(David&Goliath, Los Angeles)

5. Land Rover, "Sword Collector"(Young & Rubicam New York)

6. Jack Links,  "Sprinklers" (Carmichael Lynch)

7. Snickers, "Party"(BBDO, New York)

8. Doritos, "Pug Attack"(Goodby, Silverstein & Partners)

9. SNY, "Muscles" (Ogilvy & Mather, New York)

10. Volkswagen, "The Force"(Deutsch)