The results are in… Snickers commercial voted #1 Super Bowl ad. This marks the first time Snickers’ maker, Mars, has won Ad Meter, replacing last year’s winner Doritos, which took second this year.

The ketchup packet has been around for more than 40 years, and complaints about it for nearly as long: too messy, too small, too hard to open. Now ketchup giant H.J. Heinz Co.is unveiling the first major packaging change to the to-go condiment.

The new design has a base that’s more like a cup for dipping and also a tear-off end for squeezing, plus it holds three times as much ketchup than a traditional packet.

”The packet has long been the bane of our consumers,” said Dave Ciesinski, vice president of Heinz Ketchup. ”The biggest complaint is there is no way to dip and eat it on-the-go.”

Wow your special someone on Valentine’s Day with tableside service, flowers and candlelight, in a place made famous for late night cravings - WHITE CASTLE! (No, this is not a joke)

Visit www.whitecastle.com/promotions/valentine to book your reservation.

Plus, top off the evening with a gift of Craver Gear (Pink branded White Castle T-Shirts and Plush Blankets).

Google announced our third annual Doodle 4 Google contest in the U.S. Google doodles today. Since 2008, Doodle 4 Google has given K-12 kids the opportunity to create their own logo and have it displayed on the Google homepage for hundreds of millions of users to enjoy for a day.

In addition to the winner’s art appearing on Google.com on May 27, 2010, they’ll also receive a $15,000 college scholarship, a laptop computer and a $25,000 technology grant for their school.

This year’s theme is “If Could Do Anything, I Would…” and it’s all about pushing the limits, dreaming big, and seeing what you can accomplish in life. When coming up with inspiration for this year’s contest, we turned to some of our very own Googlers, including Ed Lu, a former astronaut.

Read more and enter here

Urban legends have evolved. Facebook status messages are the new chain email.

The hoodwinks, urban legends, fairy tales, humorous tall tales, and out-and-out scams that once arrived via our email inboxes have been slowly making their way to the world’s largest social network. And as before, people are being fooled into reposting because the message always comes from a trusted friend.

Just like the emails that once promised free money from Bill Gates for participation in a Microsoft email beta test, reposting a Facebook status isn’t going to produce money from thin air anymore than forwading a chain email message would have done in years past. And yet, the same people who are now savvy enough to junk the email forwards and scams into their Deleted Items folder in their inbox are blindly reposting status messages such as these as if they’re the gospel truth.

Dockers has found a new use for a popular music identifying technology.

The technology, Shazam, was developed for smartphones to let users identify music by simply pointing their handheld in the direction of the music and clicking the “tag now” button. The technology recognizes the music and opens a Shazam landing page that identifies the song and artist, and offers other information, like where to buy the song and musical recommendations.

Dockers may just be one of the first brands to use the technology as a means to market to consumers, driving viewers of its Super Bowl ad, “Men Without Pants” to a splash page it created. During the ad, the song, “I Wear No Pants,” is sung. People who tag the song will be directed to Dockers content that includes information about its new campaign to drive sales of men’s khakis, learn about its products, purchase the “I Wear No Pants” soundtrack or enter a contest.

Read more at bigfatmarketingblog.com

Digitas New York’s 2009 Holiday e-card, “Let’s Get Flurrious” is not only a fun interactive snowflake creator, but also the winner of a Dope Flash Website Award!

Anyone can visit the site to check out the array of design tools to make unique snowflakes (you know the saying, no two snowflakes are alike). If you weren’t privileged enough to drive to work in the snowstorm this morning, you can click “Let it snow” to watch your snowflake come swirling down with everyone else’s creations.

And best of all, Digitas promises to donate $1 to UNICEF for each snowflake created and shared with a friend. No word on when this offer ends, so get creating at flurrious.com!

Source: Zoomdoggle

Lawn-care manufacturer the Scotts Company has announced a deal to start licensing the grass seeds and blends used in some of the most iconic baseball parks in the country, allowing homeowners to put a piece of Fenway or Wrigley in their backyards—without vandalizing the outfields of those famous stadiums.

Announced last week, the multi-year relationship with Major League Baseball Properties (MLBP) designates Scotts as the “Official Lawn Care Company of Major League Baseball” and extends beyond the license deals to sponsorship, national MLB-themed advertising, and partnerships with local MLB clubs.

Five MLB franchises will put their names on the first batch of Scotts “Grounds Keepers Select” grass seed  mixes, available at retail in March—in time for baseball’s Opening Day. Under those arrangements, Scotts will market blends in conjunction with Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, the Cincinnati Reds’ Great American Ballpark, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park and the St. Louis Cardinals’ Busch Stadium.

Read Full Article

Apple held a press conference and media event to announce the launch of it’s much-hyped new tablet, the iPad. Prices range from $499 to $829 (depending on hard drive size and WiFi/3G connectivity).

Notable features include capabilities to use all iPhone/iPod Touch apps, USB syncing, enhanced music browsing, PDF-viewing, and an iPhone-like “Home” screen rather than desktop/dock.

Notable MISSING features include a camera (front-facing or otherwise), Flash capabilities, and any CD/DVD drives.

Initial consumer feedback isn’t overwhelmingly positive; many (myself included) were expecting something a lot closer to the MacBook in functionality. Perhaps there will be a desire for developers to create apps exclusively for the iPad, but as of now it is mostly an oversized iPhone… without the phone.

Source: MacRumors

NYC & Company, the city’s marketing arm, will promote NYC Restaurant Week (Jan. 25 to Feb. 7) with a little red truck. Trucks serving coffee, waffles, and ice cream have become a micro-trend in New York (arguably started by the Mud Truck, which now has at least one brick and mortar café).

The Restaurant Week truck will be serving soup, though. Bearing the NYC Restaurant Week logo, Web address and the “Get Lunch on the Go” message, it will be parked during lunch at: Broadway and 50th Street between Jan. 25 and 29; 5th Avenue and 18th Street on Feb. 1 and 3; and Greenwich Street between Warren and Murray on Feb. 4 and 5.

The truck will serve soups from places like Delmonico’s, Chez Josephine, the “21″ Club and Le Cirque for $6. One dollar from each sale will be donated to The Haiti Relief Fund at the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City.

Print ads in publications like New York Magazine, TimeOutNY, New York Observer, Metro, Village Voice, and the New York Post support. There will also be a full-page spread in the New York Times; online on the Gothamist, Menupages, Citysearch, New York Magazine and others, plus out of home.

Source: Marketing Daily