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Perhaps the folks at Verizon should have done some homework before promoting the launch of its spend-smart digital coupons as “a free digital coupon service for its wireless and FiOS TV customers that can help them save money on their next trip to the grocery store” to avoid stepping in it.

When I read the announcement here and here, my first thought was, big deal, how is this different from what anyone (not just Verizon customers) can do with Cellfire?  Giving them the benefit of the doubt that maybe there was something unique in the announcement, I went to check out the Verizon website promoted in its news release…and then I laughed! Hard.

I land on the Verizon site and what do I see? My Cellfire account that I registered with my Sprint number after my previous coupon guilt trip.

Verizon page (that I didn't log into) at top. My Cellfire account at the bottom. Hummmmmmm

I AM a Cellfire user, but I’m NOT a Verizon customer, I’m a Sprint customer.

So Verizon…can you hear me now? I’m still chuckling.

Super Bowl XLIV will be only broadcast digitally – a first.  CBS has reached its goal of selling out the commercial inventory.  Advertisers caught a break this year and paid $2.5 million to $2.8 million per commercial for one 30-second in-game spot compared to a year ago, when NBC sold 30-second spots for around $3 million each.

This year’s ad roster includes Hyundai, Audi, Honda Motor, Chrysler’s Dodge, E-Trade, Go Daddy, Dr Pepper, Coca-Cola, Cars.com, CareerBuilder, Doritos, Bridgestone and Anheuser Busch. Looks like automakers are making a comeback.

New advertisers include Boost Mobile, vacation rental service HomeAway, the U.S. Census Bureau and Christian group Focus on the Family, which is airing a controversial pro-life spot that has drawn protests.

Veteran Super Bowl advertisers not participating this year include:  Fedex, General Motors and PepsiCo’s Pepsi.  In lieu of running in the Super Bowl, Pepsi launched its Pepsi refresh project. At the Pepsi Refresh website you can submit ideas to help and make a positive impact. The ideas with the most votes get cash grants from Pepsi.

Rumored but not “officially” on the committed list is Motorola. Rumors of Motorola advertising during Super Bowl appeared end of 2009. But it’s been very secretive about any Super Bowl 2010 ad plans. Now Motorola has set up a teaser site for their commercial and it features a bath tub.  The preview merely shows a stylish bathroom with a bath tub filled with bubbles. We will see what can happen when the power of Motoblur is unleashed.

In the last few years, many companies have used a strategy of “leaking” Super Bowl ads on the web to create buzz before they actually air.  I had a chance recently to preview some of these ads.

• New player HomeAway brings back Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo as Clark and Ellen Griswold from the 80s movie National Lampoon’s Vacation.  The company is publishing a 15-minute mini movie on their site right after the Super Bowl commercial airs. Many Super Bowl viewers will miss 15 minutes of the game as the HomeAway Hotel Hell Mini Movie promises to be very funny.
• The Denny’s Super Bowl 2010 commercial is set to be funny again. A new advocate who invites viewers to enjoy a Free Original Grand Slam while warning chickens to get out of town because “it’s going to be a tough week for egg layers.”
• The “Punch Dub” VW ad is based on the classic game that kids used to play back in the original Beetle’s heyday called “Punch Buggy” (or “Slug Bug”), where the first person to see a Beetle would yell, “Punch Bug” and playfully slug his or her friend. Volkswagen also “found” the creator of the original game, Charlie “Sluggy” Patterson. This is my favorite ad so far.
• Audi leads up to their Super Bowl 2010 ad with funny Green Police spots.
• Diamond Foods will be running a whacky Super Bowl commercial for its Pop Secret popcorn and Emerald Nuts.
• Bridgestone is back at the Super Bowl with two new commercials. The first Bridgestone Super Bowl commercial dubbed “Whale of a Tale” has three guys and a giant Orca whale on a truck. Apparently the guys try to save the whale, but what really happens in the commercial is not revealed yet.
• The centerpiece of the Boost Mobile ad is an off-beat re-creation of the 1985 music video using most of the players, the editing techniques and the same look as the iconic original. Legendary coach Mike Ditka also makes a special cameo appearance in the spot.
• kgb agent ads leading up to the kgb Super Bowl ad features two Baldwin brothers.
• Dove Men+Care features one man’s journey of unsung moments from birth to fatherhood in a montage of scenes set to the ‘William Tell Overture’.

At the National Retail Federation Convention (NRF) last month, Intel demonstrated prototypes of innovative and interactive digital signage that can customize messages to viewers based on key data points determined through the use of anonymous video analytics.

As a viewer looks at the system screen, the built-in camera technology analyzes data such as gender and age, audience composition, time-of-day and other criteria, which enable the system to display tailored content and graphics based on estimated demographics. The system anonymously sends audience information to advertisers who can use that information to understand the type of content and messages that are most popular with viewers. This, in turn, helps advertisers target their advertising to maximize the impact on the audience.

Innovations like Intel’s prototype (pictured above) and NEC’s plans as reported in WSJ today, will change the way people interact with digital signage technology in environments such as stores, airports, banks and hotels.

In the Intel demonstration, multiple consumers can use this side-by-side window display simultaneously to explore augmented reality-enabled maps of each floor of the store, on which retailers can superimpose images such as coupons and sales promotions next to the product visualizations on the glass, improving the customer’s shopping experience. They can send coupons to their phones and more.

These innovations in digital signage concept bring a new opportunity for advertisers to smart target messages through the use of anonymous video analytics. Consumers, especially those with growing privacy concerns relative to data collection and behavioral targeting, may object to getting their faces scanned without their knowledge. However, both Intel and NEC stress the concept of anonymous data points and modeling.

“The program tracks a person’s age and gender and throws out the footage, keeping only the macro data, he said, adding that no individuals are singled out.” Mr. Yamamoto in WSJ story.

TruTV is revealing its first-ever Super Bowl ad. This Groundhog Day-themed spot was created by Grey and is scheduled to air in the second quarter of Sunday’s big game, near the two-minute warning.

Punxsutawney Polamalu. Odd.

I just hope Punxsutawney Phil doesn’t see his shadow today.

It seems that every year some spots are banned from the Super Bowl. But this year, CBS and the Super Bowl – which drew more than 95 million viewers in 2009 – is kicking up major political dust by allowing an anti-abortion advocacy ad in the national broadcast, nixing a spot for a gay dating service, and barring a spot featuring an effeminate ex-football player who follows his dreams as Lola, the lingerie designer.

Some believe CBS has gone too far to the political right in determining what can or can not air, while others dismiss much of the controversy as merely viral stunts that have become part and parcel of the carnival.

First it was Tebow, then ManCrunch and then GoDaddy.

The first religious-political ad CBS has approved to air in the entire history of the Super Bowl hails from the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family and is a pro-life spot featuring college football star Tim Tebow and his mother. Some women’s groups are pressuring CBS to scrap the ad.

A ManCrunch spot for the dating site catering to gay men has been officially nixed by CBS.  In the commercial, two football fans are watching a game when their hands touch in a bowl of chips. Making out then ensues.

GoDaddy, which has a history of banned spots, like the 2005 wardrobe malfunction, got another rejection this year. The banned GoDaddy ad features a retired football player, “Lola”, a big, flamboyant, effeminate, lovable man, who embarks on a successful career as a lingerie designer.

Considering they lifted a ban on so-called controversial ads in order to let in the advocacy spot with Tebow, CBS is likely to take a lot of heat from multiple groups for decisions that are perceived by some as homophobic. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation organization, GLAAD, is speaking out against CBS’s decision to deny running the ManCrunch ad.

Here’s the 2010 SuperBowl commercial lineup.

UPDATE: 6pm Monday — another day another banned spot. KGB said “This ad is in keeping with the provocative, edgy ads KGB has made since we introduced the KGB text product last year,” it tested strong and was the logical choice.  Others pundits say it’s a stunt for attention knowing that  the “head-up-the-ass”  would not clear the censors.  You be the judge.

Obama may have had more positive response in the social media chatter as a result of his first State of the Union speech, but Jobs had nearly 7 times the volume.

Great infographic in Mashable thanks to social media analytics firm Viralheat.

In the latest attempt to thwart regulators, the online advertising industry has agreed on an iconic bit of branding that will be included on online ads that use behavioral data.  The intent of this new standard “i” icon is to educated consumers about targeted ads.

When consumers click on the icon they will be taken to a page explaining how the advertiser uses their Web surfing history and demographic profile to send them certain ads.

Consumers should  start seeing this icon along with phrases like “Why did I get this ad?” by midsummer.

With data collection and integration becoming ever more sophisticated, the industry has been under increased scrutiny about data acquisition models and the impact on consumer privacy. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) threatened to step in if the industry failed to self-regulate, and several trade groups are now working on third-party systems that will help regulate behaviorally targeted ads. The new informational icon is one step toward industry transparency.

“Jules Polonetsky, the co-chairman and director of the Future of Privacy Forum, an advocacy group that helped create the symbol, compared it to the triangle made up of three arrows that tells consumers that something is recyclable.”  From NYTimes.com