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Keith Lorizio Out at Microsoft

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/31/2014 - 22:36

Veteran sales executive Keith Lorizio is out at Microsoft. The company has not provided a reason for his ouster. But according to sources, Lorizio's departure was not voluntary, and was immediate. Lorizio has been with Microsoft since 2006. Microsoft issued the following statement: "We can confirm that Keith Lorizio, vp of U.S. sales for Microsoft Advertising, is no longer with the company. Barry Dougan, gm of global specialist sales, will assume interim leadership of the U.S. ad sales organization while we conduct a rigorous and thoughtful search for a permanent replacement.

Adweek Will Be Grading Every Super Bowl Ad as It Airs, and You Can Too

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/31/2014 - 22:05

Everyone has an opinion on the Super Bowl commercials. Now, you have a place where can grade every one of them—with a single click. Adweek is launching a special site for Sunday's Super Bowl where we will be giving each spot a letter grade (from A+ to F) shortly after it airs. And we'll be asking you to do the same. You'll be able to see all the commercials in one place, too. The submissions will be averaged to give an overall reader grade, which will sit right next to Adweek's official grade—so you'll be able to see how much you as a group enjoyed each ad, versus how much we did.

Q&A: GoldieBlox Founder Debbie Sterling on Scoring a Super Bowl Spot

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/31/2014 - 21:50

Most businesses can only dream of growing big enough one day to advertise in the Super Bowl. So when an 18-month-old startup finds itself running an ad in the game for free, there's no playbook to plan what happens next. Game maker GoldieBlox recently won Intuit's "Small Business Big Game" promotion, which promised a 30-second ad valued at $4 million in this Sunday's Super Bowl.

Here's the Groovy Little Pepsi Ad That Will Launch Sunday's Halftime Show

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/31/2014 - 20:59

Pepsi famously dialed back its volume of TV ads for this year's Super Bowl to focus on its sponsorship of the halftime show. Here's the ad from Mekanism that will run right before the halftime show begins. It shows New York City springing to life with music, with its landmarks serving as instruments. NYC is such a rich, inspiring place for this kind of approach. Nothing revolutionary, but a nice little opening number for Bruno Mars.

Anheuser-Busch Is the Super Bowl’s Top Sponsor

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/31/2014 - 20:54

The King of Beers also rules the Super Bowl. According to Nielsen, Anheuser-Busch was the top spender in the last five Super Bowls, ponying up $149 million between 2009-2013. That the maker of Budweiser and Bud Light is the biggest backer of the NFL championship tilt isn’t at all surprising; on average, the brewer scoops up four-and-a-half minutes of airtime, mixing it up with 30- and 60-second executions.

At Last, Chrysler Confirms Super Bowl Appearance

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 01/31/2014 - 19:28

Chrysler finally acknowledged its return to the Super Bowl today, saying that it will unveil three new ads. In a two-sentence statement, the automaker—now known corporately as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles—said the ads would run during the first quarter, at halftime and during the third quarter. The statement failed to mention, however, which of the company's brands would be featured and which roster shops created the work. Wieden + Kennedy, The Richards Group and Doner all work for Chrysler.