A while ago we brought you word that Alka-Seltzer was reviving their "Plop plop fizz fizz" campaign and that, as part of that revival, they were looking for people to submit their own versions of the famous jingle. Well the company just announced that a guy by the name of Josh Anderson has won and will have his version of the diddy used in a spot directed by Nigel Dick that will air during the pre-game Super Bowl broadcast. Anderson is a Greensboro, NC radio DJ. You can check out the press release for Anderson's lyrics and go to PlopPlopFizzFizz for a preview of the tune.

Just because you put your video ad on YouTube does not mean you don't have to meet guidelines for truth and accuracy according to the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. The watchdog agency for the first time ruled on the existence of ads on video-sharing networks and said the rules aren't all that different. The ruling came as a result of a complaint from Euro-Pro, a vacuum cleaner maker who said that videos on YouTube from Dyson were inaccurate when making comparisons between the two brands. Dyson pulled the ad before the ruling. The case established an important precedent as more marketers use video sharing sites to connect with their consumer base.

If the TV networks think long and hard enough and convince themselves that the Super Bowl will remain untouched by DVR ad-skipping and that they can still charge outrageous prices for ads it just might come true.

It's a little hard to reconcile the two main points of this article, which is that on the one hand CBS is having a hard time selling the in-game inventory it has but, on the other hand, ad time is expected to rise in terms of sheer minutes.

As I'd mentioned before, Toyota is buying a pair of Super Bowl spots to promote their Tundra pick-up. That's just part of a $100 million campaign to try and double sales of the model.

Yes, the point of Chevy's contest for consumer-generated ads to air during the game is to attract real people and not necessarily suck up to other ad folks. Thank you. We know that.

Try and convince me - just try - that the announcement of Katie Couric's inclusion in the pre-game broadcast doesn't have something to do with boosting viewership as well as ad prices.

Dove is moving away from the "Real Beauty" campaign that has brought it such great press in the last year or so and instead is focusing on glitzy award shows. The brand is heavily sponsoring the awards season coverage sections of Moviefone (which, like AdJab, is owned by AOL). continuing with the awards ceremony theme, they've also asked their audience of "real women" to create an ad that will be aired during the Academy Awards broadcast. The winner will announced next week by "Grey's Anatomy" star Sara Ramirez. Dove is obviously hoping that this connection with celebrity glamour will pay off for it as much as their featuring of real women with non-model bodies.

Pepsi has announced two new campaigns, one revolving around the Super Bowl and one not, but both involving futzing with their packaging.

The first is this push, scheduled to launch in February, that will have the soft drink company changing the look of its packaging every few weeks in 2007. Considering that's three times more than the look of the drink has changed in over 100 years, that's a big deal. The constantly shifting packaging is part of an attempt to become more of a "cool kids" drink and will also include asking people to design a billboard that will be displayed in New York City's Times Square in April.

The Super Bowl-related promotion also involves Pepsi's packaging, but in a much different way. As part of its sponsorship of the game's halftime show it's asking people to register and get a code at SuperBowl.com/pepsi. The person with the winning code wins not only Super Bowl tickets for life but also a jewel-bedecked can valued at $100,000. That's right, a $100,000 piece of Pepsi bling. If this is the rec room conversation starter you've been waiting for go register and good luck to you.

The Wall Street Journal gives a high-level recap of all the consumer-generated commercial contests being launched right and left. Some of these companies are doing it better than others but they're all at least trying to tap into this phenomenon.

Unfortunately the NFL ad created by Arkansas student Vanessa Rouse did not make the cut. Rouse, though, is thrilled with the exposure she's already gotten by making it to the top 12 in this particular contest. The description of the spot makes it sound really cool though, about a deaf boy getting to see his first football game.

The Lexington Herald is holding a contest of their own looking for people to create their own 30-second spot talking about how much they love the state.

The Daily Illini profiles the creator of the "Checkout Girl" spot for Doritos contest, a spot which did not make the cut for the final review process.

The Ball State Daily News profiles Franklin Hines, an alumnus who entered Doritos "Crash the Super Bowl Contest" and, because he was selected as among the top five entries, has already won $10,000. He's also still in the running to have his spot aired during the big game on February 4th. The final winner won't be known until the game actually airs and the spot debuts. Hines and the other finalists will be together for the unveiling since Doritos is flying all of them down to Miami to watch the game together.

Would it be too much to ask to get an awards-show-style camera in that screening room? I want to see the reactions of not only the winner but the false graciousness of the losers when the winning sput is unveiled. Someone needs to make this happen.

Time for another Super Bowl round-up.

MediaPost reviews some of the consumer-generated ads commissioned by Alka-Seltzer, Chevrolet, Doritos and the NFL itself that are competing for a Super Bowl spot. Nina M. Lentini, who writes the article, really likes some of the work being done for the NFL and Doritos, saying they show a great deal of talent and professionalism.

Jeff Beringer at the Golin Harris agency blog Next Fifty Years is talking about all these contests, wondering how the Super Bowl will exist as an ad platform 50 years from now. (My guess: Underwater)

AdAge reminds us for the 4,398th time that some big companies have some big money to spend.

The Northwest Indiana Times has some details on an Allstate spot that was shot in Chicago by director Phil Joanou. The commercial will feature a Cutlass Supreme that takes a header off the famous Marina Towers and into the Chicago River. It's an homage to the Steve McQueen movie The Hunter and there also might be footage reminiscent of The French Connection's L chase, also shot in Chicago.

Once again the question gets asked as to whether or not the money spent on a Super Bowl ad is actually worth it or not. The conclusion of this article would lead to the "Yes" answer to that question. [via Kate]

Oooo tons of good stuff today regarding the upcoming Super Bowl.

First, Jon Fine reminds us all that the only reason we in the ad industry still cling to the Super Bowl like a surrogate mother stand-in that is made of carpet as opposed to the one that is barbed wire but gives food is because it's the one TV program that still draws a large audience. Peter Himler uses Fine's piece as a starting point for his comments.

There's another omnibus piece from the New York Times that manages to use a lot of words to say very little that's actually news.

Doritos has announced the five finalists for its "Crash This Spot" campaign where it was looking for consumer-generated commercial submissions. The Random Culture blog isn't a fan, though, saying that the finalists obviously are professionals and not the non-professionals that are usually associated with CGC.

Finally, Andrea Learned spells it out in a very clear and easy to understand way what advantages there are for the brave company that sponsors the "My Super Proposal" guy's bid to pop the question to his girlfriend via 30-second Super Bowl spot. Specifically Learned points out that this is a great opportunity for a company looking to connect with the female audience.

What, no agency? No client? No billion-dollar red carpet cigar-smoking creative suits to tie it all together. Nope, not a one. It has more to do with Time's person of the year, you. Power to the people! Mentos and Diet Coke and flying off the shelf because of a simple video you have most likely seen. The one with the guys in white coats who shoot off a bunch of mentos and diet coke rockets for "science." This form of non-advertising is boosting the sales for the products because people watching are having fun with the stuff. The other reason sales have gone up is that "it's cool." This explosive phenomenon gives people the feeling of danger, being a bit reckless, and does it all quite within the law (most times). As marketing professionals, we should take note of the simple yet powerful evidences in this video when we are creating advertising and trying to reach the masses. Here they are for those who are just joining us:

1. If it is clear that you can have fun with this product (perhaps in unconventional ways) people will buy it.
2. If people can do something themselves, hands-on to see how cool your product is, whether it is supposed to or not, they will buy it. This is a bit oldskool, like back in the fifties, when product demonstrations were all the rage. This example is just a bit more homegrown.
3. People crave adventure, danger, fun, and genuine excitement. Another movie explosion won't do it. A real-live backyard explosion will do it, and not just once. Several times. I can't imagine how many teenage kids (and dads) are outside in the yard right now shooting the next 100 videos of domino-type mentos explosions, because they can.
4. Obviously, don't encourage consumers to break the law, very bad idea. Since this doesn't break the law, you're good here.

In conclusion (yes, I am trying to write my ad thesis here, if you were wondering) if you can get your potential customers to see the adventure or fun in your product in a unique, creative, organic way via a medium that speaks to them (video, etc) you will win big in the ad game. Isn't that what we all are trying to do?

Oh my goodness, what are advertisers to do?!?! There's a crisis they're facing in a new media world where consumers sometimes create better ad messaging, companies are looking for specific tasks to be performed as opposed to all-encompassing media planning and the tools to do all of that are cheaper than ever before. Yes, there are still limitations but they'll likely disappear inside of a year or so. And besides, even the biggest, most full-service agency has some limitations, if not in their offerings than sometimes in their thinking.

As I've said before, creativity is to be applauded but it needs to be tempered by the ability of created content to effectively sell the product being marketed. A creative campaign that results in no sales is a flop, even if it wins some naval-gazing industry awards. A boring campaign that sells products is a success, even if it is generic in nature and lacks flair. It's not that tough.

In an attempt to bring the "quit smoking" message to smokers in a more personal and hopefully relate-able fashion, GlaxoSmithKline cast real former smokers to share their stories. The spots are for GSK's Commit nicotine lozenges. The company equipped four Los Angeles area residents with video cameras and had them document their efforts to quit smoking over the course of 13 weeks during 2006. Those videos are going to be edited and purposed for use as TV spots, internet videos and even a feature-length documentary. The consumer-generated tactic is born of research that shows that smokers respond more strongly to the stories of others who have tried multiple times before successfully quitting.

The TV spots will take a serialized form. The series of spots involving Lisa, one of the people who quit on camera, will air during specific programs, with the next "chapter" in the series airing each week. This is being done so that a targeted group of viewers is sure - or at least as likely as possible - to see the full story. A fifth person was filmed but he eventually started smoking again and so will not appear in any Commit ads.

In an attempt to bring together the small but loyal and powerful community of hybrid car owners, Toyota has created a site devoted to their hybrid models that features testimonials from some actual owners and encourages others to submit their own. Toyota, a spokesperson says, is monitoring and filtering but not editing the videos that are submitted.