Audi has recently produced a social media effort in connection with its third consecutive Super Bowl that will focus on the benefits of clean diesel technology and highlight the company’s A3 TDI model and is simultaneously stirring a little controversy.

The A3 TDI went on sale six weeks ago according to Andrew Lipman, spokesman for Audi. The campaign objective has set out to educate consumers about the impact of their everyday actions on the environment.

As one of Germany’s oldest-established automobile manufacturers, the company has produced a series of videos for its Green Police YouTube channel, as well as a Twitter page. The group of faux police officers demonstrate the protection of the environment in both the television and social media stages of the campaign. (more…)

Dockers is inviting men to get involved with the brand’s Super Bowl ad that promotes khakis pants through the music recognition service, Shazam.

Dockers is set to debut an ad called ‘Men Without Pants’, which features a song called, ‘I Wear No Pants’. To participate, viewers can tag the track using the Shazam app on their phones in order to access a branded Dockers website. On the site they can buy the song, read about the ‘Wear the Pants’ campaign and enter to win a free pair of khakis. The giveaway runs from Feb. 7 - 15, 2010. (more…)

Companies such as Citrix, makers of GoToMeeting, have found that involving users in the creation of the commercial may not save a whole lot of money but will almost guarantee a whole new level of exposure.

GoToMeeting is holding a contest that asks users to develop a commercial for the software. This commercial may run nationally with the top five winners taking home $5,000 and the winner taking home an additional $25,000. This means that GoToMeeting is paying out $50,000 for their creative, which is likely on the low end of average for a national television spot. (more…)

Last year when the NFL and Fox Sports teamed up to develop a MySpace page that showed the commercials it was fairly static. This year they added some interaction. Using the popular social networking site, the two companies teamed up with a page called The Big Game. It gave users the chance to post comments on the website, monitor the game through the game tracker and watch the commercials immediately after they aired. Also available was the option for updates to be sent directly to your cell phone via text messages. (more…)

It’s year three of Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” contest and, judging from the top five user-generated commercials, it may be the strongest field yet. Here’s a sample.

Doritos invited people to dream up and submit a 30-second television spot to be aired during the Super Bowl. The top five videos will each win $25,000 and will compete for fan support to be picked for the big game. And if the winning video is ranked as the number one spot by the USA Today Ad Meter, Doritos will pay the creator an additional $1 million.

Check out the top five here and vote for your favourite.

Is spending $3 million on a Super Bowl ad worth it? With a faltering economy in the United States, that’s the question posed in this vlog from Pete Blackshaw, EVP Digital Strategic Services from Nielsen Online.

“One of the interesting things we’ve been looking at … is what are some of the things that happen around a major TV buy that may increase ROI,” he says. “One thing that we know from the growth of social media is that avenues for conversation, for participation, for consumer engagement have grown by leaps and bounds.” (more…)

Doritos is once again giving fans control of its advertising with its third “Crash the Super Bowl” campaign, which will put a user-generated 30 second spot on air during Super Bowl XLIII. The company also says that the maker of the ad will win $1 million if the fan-made ad is rated the best in USA Today’s annual Ad Meter.

“We’ve always believed our fans have the talent and passion to compete at the highest level, and we are putting $1 million on the table to demonstrate our confidence and also help our winner fulfill their own destiny,” said Ann Mukherjee, group vice president, marketing, Doritos in a recent news release. “Whether it goes toward funding a short film, opening an ad agency or anything in between, we’re empowering them with an unmatched stage to compete on and a motivation to make it happen.” (more…)