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Toyota and Mercedes begin the Super Bowl ad teases with dads and hares

Advertising Age says pregame buzz is where Super Bowl advertisers really build momentum for their Big Game commercials, so let the teasing continue. We've seen the 30-second spot for the Lexus NX, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota are next out of the tunnel with campaigns that focus on a fable and fathers, respectively. The Mercedes tease gets former NFL wide receiver Jerry Rice lining up a talking-heads debate with eight-year-old Andrew Hunter about whether Hunter's hare could beat a tortoise in a race, but it's a disaster before it even begins. In what will be a continuing storyline, a social media component lets people side with #TeamTortoise or #TeamHare, with "a Big Race viewing party" going to a lucky winner. Mercedes also promises there'll be a hero at the end, which we imagine will something in the Three-Pointed-Star family as opposed to the Testudinae or Leporidae families. Toyota's all about the biological family, rolling out a series of tweets and Vine videos showing off ex-NFL'ers and their kids to hype the "One Bold Choice Leads to Another" campaign for the Camry. The profiled paterfamiliae will be examples of those "who have contributed to their families' lives in bold ways." A 60-second spot during the pre-game will feature Paralympic athlete Amy Purdy, then those stand-up dads will get their own 60 seconds during the second quarter. The social media tag for this one is #OneBoldChoice. You can watch Mercedes' opening salvo above, and check out a Toyota tweet with ex-quarterback Kurt Warner below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req., Mercedes-Benz, Toyota via YouTube (M-B), Twitter (Toyota) Celebrities Marketing/Advertising Mercedes-Benz Toyota Super Bowl Commercials Videos

Mercedes widens luxury sales gap on strong early CLA demand

Mercedes-Benz CLA sales have been booming, with the Stuttgart-based manufacturer moving 2,300 of the sleek four-doors in its first week on sale. That is astonishing. Mercedes moved nearly twice as many CLAs (which start at $29,900) in one week than Jaguar, a brand that is on a very solid roll, sold in all of September. Ignoring the price differences between the Jag line and the CLA, that is still wildly impressive.
Mercedes has been pushing the CLA in television ads, using a shortened version of its Super Bowl spot, which starred William Dafoe, Usher and Kate Upton. "As the bargain entrance into the Mercedes portfolio, we weren't sure how luxury buyers would react," Kelly Blue Book auto analyst Alec Gutierrez told Bloomberg.
The CLA push was just part of MB's 6.7-percent increase in September sales, which were also helped along by a 17-percent jump in E-Class sales. That surge has allowed Mercedes to widen its 2013 sales lead over its rival, BMW, to 2,491 cars, according to Bloomberg. If CLA sales continue at this rate, we can only expect that margin to grow.

Recharge Wrap-up: Nissan reveals GT-R LM Nismo, NRG plans eVgo expansion

Nissan has officially revealed the GT-R LM Nismo LMP1 car. The hybrid Le Mans racer uses a biturbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 up front to power the front wheels, plus a kinetic energy recovery system for an extra boost. Football fans likely caught a glimpse of the car in Nissan's With Dad commercial that aired during the Super Bowl, but the company has a couple more videos that show the car off quite well provided below. "This is innovation that excites," Says Nismo president Shoichi Miyatani. "Sustainability is at the top of our agenda, and the technical regulations for Le Mans give us the freedom to pursue new ideas in this area." Read more at Green Car Congress, or in the press release below. The NRG eVgo charging network now operates 120 DC fast charging stations in California. 60 of those are "Freedom Stations," offering both CHAdeMO and CCS charging cables, and 52 more of these are in the works. NRG plans to expand the eVgo network to 25 US markets in the next two years (up from the current 10), including chargers in Tennessee, as well as linking cities along the near entirety of the East and West coasts. Read more at Green Car Reports. Tesla has opened its 20th Supercharger station in the UK. The company says it will offer full UK coverage by the end of 2015. As of now, the Supercharger network extends as far north as Edinburgh, southwest to Exeter, and to Maidstone in the southeast, which is just up the road from access to mainland Europe through the English Channel Tunnel. Tesla operates more than 1,600 Superchargers worldwide at over 300 stations, with 129 stations and more than 670 Superchargers in Europe. Read more at Hybrid Cars. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Nissan reveals Le Mans challenger during Super Bowl - First glimpse of race-ready Nissan GT-R LM NISMO during Super Bowl XLIX - Innovative new LM P1 racing car is like no other Le Mans car - TAG Heuer, Motul and Michelin revealed as Nissan LM P1 partners YOKOHAMA, Japan Í– Nissan today declared itself ready to take on the world's best sports car manufacturers after revealing a glimpse of its Le Mans challenger – the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO – during the commercial break for Super Bowl XLIX. Last year's Super Bowl was the most watched television program in U.S. television history with over 110 million viewers.