[via CreativityOnline]

Having been forced to watch the original Twilight movie I can relate the plot to you very quickly: A high school girl with greasy hair falls in love with a 100-year-old, but still young looking vampire whose main powers are looking moody and sparkling. Ignoring the pedophilia and concentrating instead on the fact that the two don't have sex, Christians the world over have seized on the movie as a wonderful example of abstinence (Should I have sex with a sparkle vampire? What would Jesus do?) and encouraged their pubescent daughters to obsess over the movie's star, the dreamy Robert Pattinson.

At some point during all the ridiculousness and sparkling, there's some brief message about protecting the people you love. Volvo's seized on this, pushing its products heavily in the movies and now running an ad campaign to tie in with the sequel, New Moon, which opens next week.

Ignoring for a second the bizarre Christian thing that's going to insure that a generation of girls grow up with an incredibly fucked up idea of sex, the target demographic for this teen marketing campaign movie is 12-year-old girls. Is that really the market for Volvo XC60s? We mean, they can't even drive yet!

Then there's the direct parallel Volvo's drawing between the website it's using to promote its product placement and that creepy Christian thing the movies have going on. The website's name? What Drives Edward? Would Jesus be that creepy?

It's not even uncomfortably homoerotic.

The ad was put together by the Richards Group of Dallas (who does all those great Bridgestone ads) and, according to AdAge, may be voiced by company founder Stan Richards himself.

We think the commercial is a bit much, trying to capture the Whitman-esque charm of the new Levi's commercials but, you know, while talking about a truck and not the American spirit. Either way, people who don't know who Walt Whitman is will probably be equally as moved. [AdAge]

Sorry, we had to pull the video down. We didn't realize we weren't supposed to be taking video or photos in the session. — Ed. And it's back up!

Can someone please go to Elder Ford and tell us how many of those are on the lot? Also, inside, you can meet the original Henry Ford!

(Hat tip to M0L0TOV for the vid)

No video game, no matter how good, should smack around cars like this. It's just a waste.

So, warning: The commercial below — of a 1969 Corvette Stingray and a 1988 Lamborghini Countach swapping paint on the track — contains footage that may be unsuitable for small children and, you know, anyone who loves cars. Viewer discretion is advised.

If only Dean had had more time, he'd have been like Paul Newman... only better! He wouldn't have messed around with boring ol' Datsuns, instead sticking with Porsches, and he'd have solved Africa's economic problems simply by stepping from his helicopter. Well, probably not, but at least we get to see this cool alternative ending to the famous Porsche-versus-Ford wreck. Thanks to the reader who sent in this tip; I'd give you a hat tip, but your identity has been washed away like the bits on my recently deceased hard drive.

Also remarkable as an exercise in absolutely not fucking around at all. Then again, the same could be said of Duesenberg cars themselves, both in prices and qualities of build.

And sheer noise!

Hat tip to Marton Bede.

[AdsOfTheWorld via AnimalNewYork]

The root of the problem seems more to do with the occasional vagueness of the English language more than in any outright lie. The Mercedes ad states "CO2  emissions for the range are down to 139g/km*, which means its better for the environment." The asterisk points out this only applies to the E-Class sedan with a small diesel engine and manual transmission, as the range for C02 emissions actually goes up to 261 g/km with different configurations. Out of 24 possible engine/wheel/transmission/bodystyle possibilities only two were as low as 139 g/km.

According to ASA, "We concluded that the body copy of the  ad misleadingly implied that the  whole E-Class Saloon range had emissions of 139 g/kg or similar and the claim was likely to mislead."

Mercedes argues they ensured that the claims could be substantiated, and they are, but ASA disagreed and have said the ad can no longer appear in the current form. What do you think? Does this ad cross the line or is this just another example of British speech laws being overly burdensome?

You can read the full complaint here. Here is a transcript of the copy:

"CO2  emissions for the range are down to 139g/km*, which means its better for the environment.  It also means you pay less tax.  And theres something else thats lower than youd expected as well.  The price."  The asterisk linked to a footnote which stated "CO2 emissions: 139-261/km ... Based on E250 CDI SE manual available at launch.  Model shown is a Mercedes-Benz E250 CDI Sport.

[Image via EasyCarBlog]

We signed ourselves up for the gag, but received absolutely none of this kind of prank action, at least none that we knew of. Such was no the case with Ms. Duik, who received a series of phone calls from "Sebastian Bowler," a character made up by ad agency Saatchi&Saatchi who's apparently on the run from the law with his pet pit bull in tow. A series of emails from "Bowler" to Duik led her to believe this guy, who she didn't know, was planning on using her house as a place to crash as the heat blew over from his latest escapades. Naturally, Ms. Duik didn't think this was terribly amusing, and since she's from California, where everything must be blown out of proportion, she claims to have been "constantly in tears and shaking and sobbing in emotional distress" because of this "terror marketing campaign." Accordingly, she's suing Saatchi&Saatchi for an undisclosed sum. And here we thought all that would come out of this was a wastebasket full of marketing mailers. [bnet]

Yes, even on the way to The Crusher, these 1960s and 1970s American cars just burst into song when they catch sight of the happy, low-CO2-emitting Peugeot 207. Bonus points to anyone who can identify all the singing cars. Thanks to Franzouse for the tip!

Apparently on Leno's planet it is. But take a look at the video below — the Barrymore interview begins at the end of the second commercial break — about 24:00 minutes into the show. The actual drive on the Candyland-sized and -styled race track occurs after the third commercial break — or at about 26 minutes into the show.

All we know is we really like hearing Drew Barrymore say she likes feeling anything in her face. Also, we find it sad Barrymore doesn't have a license. Very sad.

But seriously, this is such a joke — it's nothing like "star in a reasonably-priced car — and that's why this'll never work. It's like a pandering version of it. Which, frankly, is sort of like Leno's humor.

If we look closely at the 0:37 second mark of Ed Whitacre's 60-Day Money-Back Satisfaction Guarantee commercial, there's something that's definitely a Cadillac, but not one that's currently on the road. At first we thought it might be a CTS Coupe, but it doesn't quite look right. The headlights are all wrong, the turn signals on the wheel lip don't exist on the CTS, the fog lights are unfamiliar, and even more fundamental than that, the car seems to have a lower hood and a longer profile. It doesn't match up to the other art and science front-end designs — from either the XLR or the STS.

Are we looking at the very first public showing of the XTS? Nope. We're looking at the front clip of the "ATS" — a new 3-series competitor Cadillac's looking to debut in the next 18-24 months.

See it for yourself below.

What's pretty amazing is the Tesla is such a weighty car for the size. The Tesla weighs in at 2500 lbs — that's 500 lbs more than even a Lotus Exige S 240. That china's pretty strong if you ask us. [via Strada]

They're going to emphasis newer products like the Equinox and CTS-V so people don't start returning Cobalts.

The plan was introduced by GM's Bob Lutz on a phone conference with reporters.

"Everything we've launched over the last two years has been world class. Our current lineup can be compared with any volume producer's lineup anywhere on the globe," said Lutz. "The challenge is... most consumers don't know it. We need to close the monumental chasm between the lineup and the public perception of the product lineup."

These ads range from relatively tame to overtly sexual and ass-filled, so don't say we didn't warn you.

What it's advertising: Slower driving during the rain
Where it's advertising: On a billboard in New Zealand
Why it's graphic: When it rains, the child's face bleeds. To boys the same age as the kid on the billboard, possibly the coolest thing ever, but disturbing to everyone else. Particularly when you think of all the products this technology could be used to advertise (don't tell PETA or Oscar Mayer about this).

What it's advertising: A special kind of piercing
Where it's advertising: One of Rotterdam's basketball courts
Why it's graphic: The rim of the goal forms a ring around another sort of goal with a ring around it. Sexy, until you realize you're probably not physically powerful enough to reach it.

Photo Credit: The Cool Hunter via Interbent

What it's advertising: A Calcium Supplement
Where it's advertising: India
Why it's graphic: This is actually unintentionally graphic. Though it's about "strong bones" it actually looks a different kind of bone. And what are those kids looking at?

What it's advertising: Environmental protection
Where it's advertising: Over a sewer in Beijing
Why it's graphic: This is probably the most graphic of the many, many ass-themed graphic ads, showing foul smelling water pouring out of a pair of cheeks. Since this is in a country where they imprison pornographers, we assume they cover up the billboard when they power-snake the drain.

Photo Credit: AdsOfTheWorld

What it's advertising: Anti-domestic abuse
Where it's advertising: German bus shelter
Why it's graphic: When the person at this bus shelter turns away, the happy couple turns into a man beating a woman. We admire the intent, but frankly, riding the bus is plenty depressing enough already.

What it's advertising: The Peugeot 206 HDi Coupe
Where it's advertising: On the butt
Why it's graphic: We have to give credit to Pug's advertisers for thinking with their bottoms, though this ad encourages staring at taillights instead of the road. Also, it doesn't look like there's enough room for all our junk in that trunk.

Photo Credit: BestSnippits.com

What it's advertising: A strip club
Where it's advertising: On poles around London, England.
Why it's graphic: They've cleverly designed the ads to make it appear like the strippers are doing their thing along actual street lamp poles. Knowing ad guys, we're thinking this took about three minutes to brainstorm and three months to find the talent.

Photo Credit: The Cool Hunter via Interbent

What it's advertising: Finding a job
Where it's advertising: In a line for a German event
Why it's graphic: These brown-nosers are going straight for a prime brown-nosing spot. Unfortunately, it kind of makes us not want a job at all, which is counterproductive.

Photo Credit: Interbent

What it's advertising: Bustop Lingerie
Where it's advertising: On a wall in New Zealand
Why it's graphic: Basically, it's an upskirt shot on the side of a building. However, an in-depth examination of the complicated symbology and semiotics involved reveals that it's... well, an upskirt shot on the side of a building.

Photo Credit: Interbent

What it's advertising: A new Wonderbra
Where it's advertising: British bus shelter
Why it's graphic: It's been made to look like someone vandalized it by cracking holes where the nipples go. Oh, wait, no, we get it. It's extremely cold out! Or Wonderbras are made of synthetic diamond, in which case, under no circumstances should you put 'em on the glass.

Photo Credit: Telegraph.co.uk

Ford's hybrid and battery electric vehicle program team worked together with Ford Racing to develop the special BEV for the show. It took three weeks to build the car and another couple of weeks to properly tune the suspension so it could be driven fast on a racetrack. The development work was done at Ford's Michigan Proving Grounds in Romeo, Mich.

The Focus BEV built for the show has a split battery pack, with one battery in the cargo area and one underneath the car in the space normally occupied by a fuel tank. Because this Focus is built for racetrack competition, it is equipped with a roll bar and five-point harness for the driver — just like the Chevy used on the Top Gear track for the original star in a reasonably-priced car!

More pictures and the full story at Cars.com.