Advertising and marketing

Want another look at the promos that aired during the big game?

The final numbers are being tallied, but based on overnight ratings, it looks like Super Bowl XLVII had record viewership. We're thrilled to know that tens of millions of people saw our promos.

In case you missed them, here they are for your viewing pleasure:

"2 Broke Girls - Spectacular"

The making of the "2 Broke Girls - Spectacular"

"Under the Dome"

David Letterman and Andrew Luck

"The Big Bang Theory"

CBS comedies

"We are the Champions"

"Thank you"

Study: People don't use or understand digital wallets

The digital wallet has been anointed by many as the future of payments. In the present, however, virtual-pay apps remain largely untouched and misunderstood.

Only 51 percent of U.S. consumers are even aware of digital payment providers other than PayPal, and a teeny-tiny percentage of people -- 12 percent spanning all brands -- have actually used applications such as Google Wallet, MasterCard PayPass Wallet, or Square Wallet, according to a new study from analytics firm ComScore.

ComScore analyzed data from a panel of 1 million U.S. consumers and two separate surveys of U.S. Internet users in November … Read more

How Oreo's brilliant blackout tweet won the Super Bowl

Anyone watching the Super Bowl this evening saw a great game -- and one of the greatest embarrassments in pro sports history: a power outage that halted play for a full half-hour.

As the eventual champion Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers -- and tens of thousands inside New Orleans' Superdome and millions watching on TV -- waited, Oreo came up with an idea so brilliant and bold that it out and out won the night.

"Power out? No problem," the tweet read, along with a hastily put-together image of an ad showing an Oreo and the … Read more

LeBron upstages Rogen, Rudd in Samsung's Super Bowl ad

Some brands will make you wait to see their Super Bowl ads.

Not Samsung.

Having teased quite brilliantly with its mockery of the NFL's strict trademark regulations, Samsung has now released the full version of the real thing.

The real thing from The Next Big Thing again features Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd.

Like Samsung's Galaxy Note, this ad is a slightly bloated but likable affair, indulgently allowing its stars to free-associate with good humor and not so much dwelling on niceties such as, well, the products.

Mr. Show's Bob Odenkirk again comes along for the ride, … Read more

Building better Super Bowl ads by watching you watch them

WALTHAM, Mass.--The makers of Wheat Thins cereal may have a hit Super Bowl commercial on their hands.

I believe this because I watched the ad on my computer while another computer watched me watching it over the Internet. The ad combined a box of Wheat Thins, night vision goggles, fear of Bigfoot when there should have been fear of the Yeti, and a thieving neighbor. It seems my "emotional valence" score -- which can be roughly translated to mean my overall emotional reaction -- while watching all this was unusually high, at least once the Yeti and … Read more

CEA gives Dish Hopper with Sling 'Best of Show' award

The Consumer Electronics Association, a trade organization that represents 2,000 technology companies and runs the International Consumer Electronics Show, announced today that the Dish Hopper with Sling HD DVR is joining the Razer Edge gaming tablet as a co-winner of the 2013 Best of Show in the CES awards program. The CEA also designated the Dish Hopper a 2013 Design and Engineering Award Honoree at CES.

CNET, which produced the Best of Show awards program under contract with the CEA, originally voted the Dish Hopper with Sling as the winner. The Dish Hopper product was taken out of the … Read more

Chinese golf resort tees off with world's largest human QR code

A gigantic QR code took form in China a couple of days ago. Mission Hills China trumpets the accomplishment with the headline, "World's Largest Golf Club & Spa Resort Creates the World's Biggest QR Code." Sounds like someone is obsessed with being the world's largest.

That headline is a little misleading, though. A Canadian corn maze turned out a 309,570-square-foot QR code last year. What Mission Hills China created is most likely the world's biggest human QR code. It certainly beat out the 1,300 people Taiwan drafted for a promotion event.

The club rounded up 2,000 employees for the massive publicity stunt. They stood in designated spots and opened red and white umbrellas above their heads. Seen from 270 feet above the ground, the formation created a scannable QR code. The code links back to an eco-tourism campaign that lets entrants sign up for a chance to win a holiday at the resort.… Read more

Yahoo's big move to mobile: Little to report just yet

When she grabbed the mic for her first quarterly earnings call as Yahoo's CEO last October, Marissa Mayer told listeners that she would ultimately move one-half of the company's engineers to assignments working on mobile. That was how vital she saw mobile to the company's future.

A lot of investors got understandably excited. After years of musical chairs at the top, finally there was a new boss who "got it." This proverbial platform change was something that could help return the pizzazz to Yahoo. Mobile could pave the way for Yahoo to use search and … Read more

Yahoo Q4 subtext: 'Marissa Mayer effect' starts to show up

After a full quarter with Marissa Mayer as its chief executive, Yahoo is showing signs of improvement.

But is it time to believe the turnaround story is for real?

That debate is about to get new life breathed into it after the company released non-GAAP earnings of $272.27 million, or 32 cents per share, in the fourth quarter on sales of $1.35 billion. Taking charges into account, Yahoo earned 23 cents per share. The consensus analyst estimate was for 27 cents per share, minus expenses connected with Yahoo's exit from South Korea. Revenue this quarter was expected … Read more