QUICK, FIND THE COMMERCIAL.

These days, it’s not about when advertisers pre-release their Super Bowl commercial – it’s about how. To put a twist on this year’s Superbowl pre-release, we created an interactive game on Facebook called, “Race the Light,” where we release 60 one-second clips of our Audi Super Bowl commercial. The mission of the game is to find all 60 clips (which are hidden) before time is up. If you succeed, then you unlock the full commercial and can enter a contest for a trip to the Audi Sportscar Experience. So click here to see if you’re up to the challenge.

THE SUPER BOWL AND THE SOCIAL NETWORK.

Facebook is going to be a Super Bowl marketer’s best friend this year as the social network is set to edge out YouTube for ad searching and sharing, VB&P found in results from our third annual Super Bowl survey published in today’s Mashable.

“Facebook has been critical to game day and post game marketing for a couple of years now, but for the first time in our study we are seeing the site bypass YouTube and brand sites as the first place Americans search online for ads pre-game,” said Lucy Farey-Jones, partner and head of strategy, VB&P.

Almost one in five (19%) Americans searched for ads before the game in 2011, about double (11%) who did in 2010. Of that group, 48% searched for ads on Facebook, putting the site just ahead of popular video sharing site YouTube, brand sites, and media sources as the lead destination to find ads. As Audi of America’s agency of record and creator of five years’ worth of Super Bowl spots, VB&P is taking advantage of this trend in this year’s game. To learn more, visit Audi’s Facebook page on January 25th.

Facebook will also be the place where Americans share ads. More than a third (36%) of Americans plan to share their favorite ad via social media. Of that group, 87% will share via Facebook, which is more than emailing with a YouTube link (6%) and Twitter (4%). Facebook will also be the place where Americans share ads. More than a third (36%) of Americans plan to share their favorite ad via social media. Of that group, 87% will share via Facebook, which is more than emailing with a YouTube link (6%) and Twitter (4%). Theoretically, this means that if 111 million people watched this year’s game, there could be 35 million posts on Facebook about Super Bowl advertising and with the average Facebook user having 130 friends, those collective posts could result in over 4.5 billion incremental impressions. Overall, digital engagement during the Super Bowl has experienced double-digit increases from 2010—2012, proving Americans are increasingly multitasking during the big event.

For more information on the study or to schedule an interview with Lucy Farey-Jones, partner and head of strategy, please contact Meredith Vellines at meredith.vellines@venablesbell.com.

THE UNSTOPPABLE ONE.

Tragic hero, check. Arch nemesis, check. Epic battleground, check. No, these aren’t the ingredients for another Harry Potter sequel. It’s simply our latest spot for Audi quattro™, the world’s top selling AWD system. To pay tribute to its 30-year legacy, we turned to one of the all-time classics in American literature for inspiration. Filmed on location in Alaska in sub-zero temperatures, the aptly titled “Ahab” re-imagines Herman Melville’s epic struggle between obsessed sea captain and elusive white whale to bring the legend of quattro to life. If you watch closely, you may even find quite a few hidden references to the timeless tale. Along with TV, additional episodes are running online. Watch them all here.

LABYRINTH.

This week we launched our first work for Google in the form of a video that re-imagines the game of labyrinth as a massive handcrafted version of Google Maps. The game-like structure of the piece showcases many fun things about Google Maps that you may not know existed, while also illustrating that getting from point A to B can be a journey of unexpected fun and exploration. In addition to breaking on Mashable, Adweek named it the “Top Spot” of the week and it earned “Ad of the Day” by Creativity.

KATIE COURIC IS A FAN.

Yes, that Katie Couric. As it turns out, Ms. Couric is quite the fan of our work for Audi, specifically our most recent holiday-themed commercial promoting the Season of Audi. She appeared on The Tonight Show With J. Leno and credited the spot with influencing her to buy her mom a new Audi A4 for the Christmas, and then proceeded to recite it by memory. Thank you, Katie, we’re flattered.

SETTING RECORDS.

I guess you could say Christmas has come a little early for our clients eBay and Audi. eBay’s CEO John Donahoe recently told the Wall Street Journal that they’re off to a record holiday shopping season with some eBay merchants reporting a 15% increase in sales on Black Friday. The company also reported a record Cyber Monday, with PayPal seeing a 514% increase in payments made on its mobile devices. Overall, Coremetrics said eBay shoppers purchased 2½ times as many items using its mobile app, eBay Mobile.

Things are moving right along for Audi too. Not only did the car brand report a record year for sales a month ahead of schedule, but transaction prices are $5,000 higher this year than last year with its higher-end models (A6, A7, A8) representing 27% of the sales mix (up from 15% three years ago). Impressed yet?

TEN DOLLARS.

To celebrate our 10-year anniversary, we’re giving away some office space for $10 a year. Maybe it’s one desk. Maybe it’s 11. Who knows? Let’s see who’s out there. The price is just our gift to a few entrepreneurs because we know it’s not always easy to get things off the ground. We started our business during a recession too. Interested? Visit here.

INTRODUCING LUMBERYARD.

Today, we officially announced the opening of our new fourth floor space, “Lumberyard,” a studio that will produce advertising and content to be used in digital and traditional media channels. The space encourages experimentation with new technology and is equipped with a bunch of new tools that will allow us to truly geek out. To make sure it’s legit, we brought in veteran pro Deva Ferar to run the whole thing. And, no, his title is not “Head Lumberjack.”

TOYS TO THE WORLD.

Snow. Awkward gift exchanges. And really cool window displays. The holidays are indeed magical. At VB&P, we thought they’d be even more magical if this year there was a window display that let you give the cool stuff you see, to a kid in need.

So we made it happen.

Today, eBay and Toys for Tots launch the GIVE-A-TOY STORE. An interactive window display in New York and San Francisco that lets you donate a toy by scanning its tag with the eBay mobile app. Once scanned, the animated toys come to life, encouraging passers-by to get into the holiday giving spirit.  And, for those of you who can’t stop by in-person, the GIVE-A-TOY STORE also lives on eBay.com and Facebook allowing you (or your Great Aunt Sue in Iowa) to donate wherever you feel inspired.

A VERY ACID WASH CHRISTMAS.

Every family has an Uncle Dale: that one relative who clearly puts no thought into your holiday gift beyond, “Where’s the nearest convenience store?” Luckily, VB&P and eBay have provided the anecdote to bad gifts with the new spot “12 Days of Christmas.” Watch as eBay mobile prevents another disastrous gift exchange, entirely in festive musical form. Uncle Dales of the world: you’re officially on notice.