If the numbers match up and a Super Bowl spot still sells for upwards of $3 million for 30 seconds, then Hyundai was heavily exposed and understandably nervous after shifting its business from the Richard Group, which had held the account since 2002, to Goodby, SIlverstein in early 2007. The Frisco shop was delighted by their win, as they had lost Saturn just a month before picking up the $600 million Hyundai biz. Still, the "Think About It" spots that they initially created willingly committed the cardinal automotive advert infraction of not showing the car (one of the reasons Saturn gave for firing the agency). A series of "Big Duh" spots followed. They displayed way more product, but didn't exactly do it in an upscale way: accompanying music consisted of well-known tunes, such as the Theme from Mission Impossible, sung entirely with the word "duh." Catchy, sure, but also weird. And certainly more a brand-awareness effort than something that could get customers stokes about product.

These spots also linked a brand that wants to compete with Lexus (some day) with the idea that you'd be stupid not to go for a Hyundai, rather than gracefully empowered to take a chance on the Korean aspirant, its rapidly improving reliability record, and it's 10-year/100,000 mile warranty. The tagline "It's so obvious—it's a no-brainer" isn't going to go down in automotive history.

Hyundai will be mixed in with Audi, Chevy, and Toyota during the big game this year. It's golden opportunity for Goodby, Silverstein to shake off last year's missteps and give their marquee car account some real momentum heading into 2008 and what may very well be a rough environment for the automotive business. We'll be watching. Expect, if nothing else, to SEE THE CAR. Actually, it's hard to understand why agencies ever manage to successfully pitch creative that fails to do this. The famous car ad of all time, inverted though its sell message may have been, still showed product. If Goodby. Silverstein needs some guidance on how to do this in an innovative way, they can always look to the work that Modernista! has produced for Cadillac, especially the Kate Walsh spots that have been running lately.

Of course, none of the bobbles with Hyundai prevented Goodby, Silverstein from locking down Ad Age's Agency of the Year. But that accolade doesn't mean they're living up to their lofty creative reputation for one of their biggest accounts—not to mention one that has an important new vehicle set to debut. (Image AP)

Hyundai ends Super Bowl dithering [Ad Age]

Being politically correct is really hard. I mean, look at the General. The world's biggest automaker's decided to stop the senselessness of a fictional robot capable of dreaming from killing itself in a dream. Did everyone follow that? No? Ok, let's break that down again — General Motors is cutting a scene from their robot Super Bowl commercial (found above in case you didn't realize it) that features the robot throwing itself off of a bridge. Apparently the suicide group has a serious issue with separating not only fiction from reality, but science fiction from reality. I'm torn between believing GM didn't have much of a choice and a call to arms for GM to get some balls. I mean, if the General bows to this type of P-Crap, what's next? Are the Depression Sufferers Of America going to go after the character of Marvin in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy? – Ray Wert

GM bows to critics, cuts suicide scene from robot ad [Detroit News]

Related:
Super Bowl Ad Watch: GM Forces Robot To Kill Self [internal]

Eew. Gross. And really, on this college kid produced Super Bowl ad for the General's Chevy brand — that's all we're gonna say about that. I think we may have just vomited in our mouths a little. Although we've got to look on the bright side — at least Johnny O'Connell wasn't in this one as well. I can take the man singing in good humor, but stripping...umm, no. – Ray Wert

Related:
Super Bowl Ad Watch: GM Forces Robot To Kill Self; Super Bowl Ad Watch: Chevy Gives Corvette Racing Driver Johnny O'Connell A Chance To Be An Idol For America [internal]

This teaser for GM seriously almost made folks here in the Gawker office cry. Despite the fact that the little guy's nothing more than a soulless and heartless robot, it's still heart-wrenching to see the little dude seek to end his life in such a way. Shame on the General for making it come to this for the little dude. What a douche-bag auto company. But we also heard the robot was sleeping around at the Pontiac factory so maybe it was just best for everyone. Oh, did we mention we'll have a poll up in a little bit for y'all to weigh in on what you think the best leaked Super Bowl auto ad teaser's been? While you're waiting, check out the other ads we've spotlighted so far — from FoMoCo and from the General's consumer-focused Chevrolet brand. – Ray Wert

Related:
Super Bowl Ad Watch: Chevy Makes Corvette Racing Driver Johnny O'Connell A Chance To Be An Idol For America; Ad Watch: Ford's Super (Duty) Bowl Commercial Teasers Are Techie Porn [internal]

One more Super Bowl ad's breached the gates at a Detroit tower of auto power. Today's break comes to us from the RenCen and it's one of the two spots from Chevrolet (the second one's going to be that college kid produced one). This commercial, called "Ain't We Got Love" features a host of stars and a bevy of non-stars singing their love for Chevy products. You've got folks like Dale Jr., and Mary J. Blige, some rapper named TI and Big n' Rich. But that's the usual silliness you'd expect to see. In our minds, the ad is both amazing and hilarious for one reason and one reason only — Corvette racing team driver and always friendly Jalopnik interview subject, Johnny O'Connell. But it's not just that it's a Super Bowl ad that features O'Connell — it's that it's a Super Bowl ad that features O'Connell singing. The thought of watching this stud of a racin' man with the most wins in Sebring history, the holder of three wins at the 24 Hours...

...of Lemans, and all-around good guy singing on national television makes us laugh harder than we've laughed in a while. It's simply epic. Come back later this afternoon where we'll show you the next pilfered ad being shown on Sunday, and then we'll be letting you vote for your fave. – Ray Wert

Related:
Ad Watch: Ford's Super (Duty) Bowl Commercial Teasers Are Techie Porn; Who's Johnny (O'Connell)? [internal]

GM Reveals Its Obsession in Super Bowl XLI Ad

New TV Spot Touts Quality, GM 100,000 Mile Powertrain Warranty

DETROIT - Everyone at General Motors obsesses about quality these days - even the robots in the assembly plants.

During the CBS telecast of Super Bowl XLI on Feb. 4, GM will launch the next phase of a corporate campaign that began last fall with the introduction of the GM 100,000 Mile Warranty. A new 60-second TV spot, called "Robot," will tell consumers about GM's continuing focus on quality.

Created with GM by Deutsch LA, the spot features a small robot that is part of a GM assembly line. Unfortunately, the robot makes a tiny mistake: it drops a screw. The line shuts down and the employees in the plant banish the little robot from the premises. The robot's anguish over its mistake helps to remind consumers that every 2007 GM car and light-duty truck is now covered by a 100,000 mile/five-year powertrain limited warranty, and illustrates GM's obsession about quality.

In addition to the new TV spot, GM will use digital media to promote its focus on quality. "Robot" will be featured online at sites such as Yahoo!, AOL and MSN, and standard banner ads will run on sites such as ESPN.com and Edmunds.com. It will also be posted on http://www.gm.com immediately after it airs. Viral seeding efforts are also planned within strategically selected blogs and peer-to-peer networks.

"General Motors is building the best cars, trucks, SUVs and crossovers in our history. These vehicles can compete toe-to-toe with anything else on the market. 'Robot' will help us continue to get the word out about the great vehicles that consumers can find in our dealers' showrooms today, the high degree of confidence we have in those products and our willingness to back them up with the industry's best warranty," said Mike A. Jackson, GM North America vice president, Marketing and Advertising.

"The spot was inspired by the commitment to quality we really have observed inside the walls of GM. They really are obsessed with getting the product right. And there's very little tolerance for not getting the product right. We just took that obsession and exaggerated it a little bit. Well, maybe more than a little bit," said Eric Hirshberg, president and chief creative officer of Deutsch LA. "By telling the story of the warranty from the point of view of the pressure it puts on this little robot to be perfect, it turns something that's really pretty rational into a thing of passion."

"Robot" was partially filmed at GM's Lansing Grand River assembly plant in Lansing, Mich., where GM and UAW Local 652 build the Cadillac CTS, CTS-V, STS, STS-V and SRX models.

GM's 100,000 Mile Warranty features expanded powertrain coverage across all eight GM brands to 100,000 miles/five years (whichever comes first), beginning with the entire 2007 model year lineups of cars and light-duty trucks. It is completely transferable and carries no deductible. GM has also expanded its 24/7 roadside assistance and courtesy transportation programs to 100,000 miles/five years (whichever comes first). Altogether, it's the best coverage in the auto industry.

About General Motors

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 284,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit , GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2006, nearly 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

About Deutsch, Inc.

Deutsch Inc. is a full-service integrated marketing and communications company. Part of the Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG), Deutsch offers clients an array of services including advertising, direct marketing, Interactive, media buying and planning, design, public relations, promotions and branded entertainment. More information is available at www.deutschinc.com.

Related:
DetroitWonk Kills Comment Spam Dead; GM 'Drafts" Ford Online; DetroitWonk Busts Cadillac's Viral Blog Comment Scheme! [internal]

We just got a note from a guy named Lawrence over at Sacred Noise, who as you may remember from yesterday, was responsible for leaving comments touting the new Escalade bits in at least three blogs' comment sections. He wrote us today, asking us to print what he called, "a retraction," so, because we're all dutiful and stuff, his apology/rationalization follows after the jump.

"Hey guys,

I saw your response to my post, and I'm pretty embarrassed.

So this whole "viral comment scheme" isn't much of a scheme at all.

Yesterday I sat down at my computer with my pastrami sandwich at lunch time and posted a link on a handful of blogs.

I viewed it as merely a chance to test our new web host's statistic monitoring software as well as show off what my friend and coworker Ravi Krishnaswami had done for the Super Bowl. I felt like a proud sibling and wanted to show off what my big brother had accomplished.

5 minutes after my finishing my final post and a root beer soda I got a call from Ray Wert. Ray asked a few questions about why we posted on his blog. I explained to him that there was no rhyme or reason behind it. Just my half-asses attempt to see if anything would happen.

Ray said that his site had relatively few readers so he was curious as to who would post such a thing on it.

Ray didn't seem to be bothered by my posting and he certainly didn't warn me. Which leads me to be a little confused as to why his follow up post said "You have been warned".

I'm sorry Ray, If the posting offended you or caused any confusion.

So that's it. No viral marketing scheme. Just an attempt to "big up" Ravi and see how our host handles browser referrers.

This half-baked idea has gotten me in hot water with superiors so if you guys could, please post a retraction on your sites? I would really appreciate it."

As a blog with a closed comments system, we don't worry about this too much, but we hate reading a thread that's disrupted by something completely marketing-oriented, which is why we called Lawrence a hoser. So you know Lawrence? We're sorry. You seem contrite. But if you ever pull something like this again, we're slappin' on the hose-hat for por vida.

Related:
Finicky About Comments [DetroitWonk]

DetroitWonk busts Cadillac's Viral Blog Comment Scheme [Internal]

[Update: DetroitWonk's commentary on the incident here.]

Okay, so we never thought we'd hear the word "drafting" and the moniker "Kermit the Frog" in the same sentence, whether it had to do with compulsory military service or NASCAR. And well, we still haven't. But AdAge just used it in talking about GM's buying up of "Kermit" search keywords 'round about Super Bowl time, so when the hung-over masses wobbled out of their beds the next morning and stumbled into the office they'd thing, "Kermit...uh...hybrid...what was that car again? A BMW? [googlegoogle] Oh! Chevy! Right!" Was it a better buy than the Ford Field thing? We're not convinced. [Thanks to CTE for the tip.]

Kermit Pitches for Ford, But GM Gets Hits Online [AdAge]

Related:
Super Bowl Sponsorships: Ford Versus GM [Internal]

Our man Ray, whose girl, as far as we know, doesn't have f-holes tattooed on her back (although an ex-girlfriend of ours does, begging the question, are we more Man Ray than our man Ray?) has busted an attempt by marketing group Sacred Noise to spam bloggers' comment sections with links to Cadillac's Super Bowl ad. So far, it's shown up here, here and here. Determined to get to the bottom of it, Ray called 'em up and they admitted it was experiment, and mused that maybe they should stop it. Yes, hosers. Please stop it.

Related:
Super Bowl Sponsorships: Ford Versus GM [Internal]

Today, Spinelli and Farago discuss a Scottish cop's distaste at Top Gear's glorification of fast driving, the battle between GM and Ford for the real Super Bowl ring (as in that of cash registers), spy video of the next-generation BMW X5 and the new Dodge Nitro set to debut in Chicago. All that and an obligatory Jill Wagner reference. Pow!

DetroitWonk went beyond the 30- and 60-second spots in the Super Bowl media juggernaut, and focused on the sponsorship battle between Ford (e.g., Ford Field) and GM (e.g., Escalade, official vehicle of Super Bowl XXXX, sorry XL) that was waged yesterday evening. Ford appears to have bested GM in the messaging game, despite the General's staggering $25 million sponsorship deal with the NFL — which according to Detroit Ray couldn't usurp Ford's existing $40 million, 20-year deal for stadium naming rights (which included covering the stadium roof with a tarp emblazoned with the Blue Oval for $175,000). Looks like creative thinking beats firing the money cannon at a problem every time.

Best Super Bowl Car Commercial...err..promotion [DetroitWonk]

Related:
Best Super Bowl Car Commercial [internal]

So the Super Bowl is upon us, our Detroit friends are marvelling that there are actually people milling about downtown (we wonder how much the world's most ghetto Ramada is charging right about now?), and the mania's in full effect. But you know, nobody really cares about the Buffalo Bills and the St. Louis Rams, anyway. What they really want are the commercials. So who in the auto world is plunking down the scrill for mad exposure?

Cadillac, Ford, and Toyota. And it's an even split between hybrids and SUVs: Cad's plugging the new 'Slade, while Toyota will apparently make some sort of awkward multi-culti Spanglish analogy featuring its new Camry Hybrid, and Ford straddles the fence by having Kermit shill for the Escape Hybrid. See? Now who cares if the Bears win? Go out and get some fresh air or go for a drive. The roads'll be empty.

Who's Buying What Ads at the Super Bowl [AdAge]

Related:
Ford Taps Muppet for Escape Hybrid Super Bowl Spot [Internal]

Apparently, Detroit's become like a second home to us Gawker types over the last month or so. First it was our own misadventure in media, stumbling around downtown Detwa like we knew what we were doing during the North American International Autoshow, and now brothers-in-Gawk Deadspin have dispatched A.J. Daulerio to the Motor City to cover the Super Bowl. Without a media pass. Or even tickets. But he is armed with a video camera and his not-inconsiderable wit. Oh man, this is gonna be fun to watch. All we can say is, there better be game-day People Mover footage or we're gonna re-ignite the Watts riots.

Live At SBXL: Hello, Detroit! [Deadspin]

Related:
Jalopnik's Detroit coverage.