The 54th Annual Grammy Awards, unofficially subtitled the 2012 Adele Lovefest, is happening this Sunday. To promote it, the Recording Academy and TBWA\Chiat\Day in Los Angeles did these lovely little (mostly) animated promos, themed "We are music," featuring Foo Fighters, Bon Iver, Skrillex…and, oh look, Adele. This is the fifth consecutive year that TBWA\Chiat\Day and the Recording Academy have partnered on the Grammy marketing campaign. Three more spots, and a comprehensive look at the whole campaign, after the jump.

Ushering in the new year at the Smoking Deaths billboard above Santa Monica Boulevard in West L.A. has become a somewhat morbid yet surprisingly meaningful tradition. Each year, just before midnight on Jan. 1, locals gather to watch as the numbers, which tally the nation's annual smoking-related deaths, are manually reset to zero. Onlookers aren't necessarily drawn by personal ties to smoking or cancer. A mixture of curiosity, camaraderie and community compel most to make the scene. Gideon Brower, in an affecting piece in the L.A. Times, describes the scene this past New Year's Eve: "About 30 celebrants … watched as the huge counter on the billboard slowly turned from 420,127 to six brightly lit zeros, and then to one zero. Some people cheered. The mood was light. Even the sign seemed to join the party: For this brief moment, there was not one smoking death in America. And then, inevitably, the counter turned over. One death. Then two. Then three. After that, people walked home or drove away. … By the time I left, the death toll was up to 18." The West L.A. gathering is infinitely more intimate, poignant and real than the the bombastic, mass-media-driven ball drop in Times Square. The life-and-death nature of the sign's message seems especially in tune to the trials, terrors and hard-won triumphs of daily existence. In the 60 seconds or so before the Smoking Deaths billboard begins its countdown anew, onlookers collectively exhale, sharing a renewed determination to press on. Photo by Gideon Brower.

After seeing Samsung's spirited swing at Apple users, Amazon's continuing anti-Apple pandering just feels weak. The new ad for the Kindle Fire pits a dorky, single iPad user against a Kindle-reading mom in a bikini—the same ice queen from the 2010 spot, though now she's warmed up a bit and seems to have a couple of kids. They might as well show the Kindle riding a dragon in space if they're this desperate to make it look appealing. Gizmodo pokes some more holes in the new spot, saying that ripping the iPad for not being like the Kindle is like "making fun of a Lexus for not being a Kia." And the Los Angeles Times points out that Amazon is losing money on every Kindle it sells. Of course, Amazon is making up for that by Walmarting the publishing industry out of existence, so they won't be going belly-up anytime soon.

It's fitting that Chipotle's stirring two-minute "Back to the Start" film—released last summer on the Internet and in theaters, supporting sustainable farming practices—will make its national TV debut during this Sunday's Grammy Awards telecast on CBS. After all, "what makes the spot truly transcendent is the music," noted my colleague Tim Nudd in ranking the clip second on Adweek's list of the best commercials of 2011. Coldplay's "The Scientist," sung here with resonant intensity by Willie Nelson, sports lines amazingly attuned to the subject matter: "Questions of science, science and progress, do not speak as loud as my heart." The soundtrack adds immeasurable power and depth to the stop-motion tale (crafted by Chipotle, CAA and Nexus director Johnny Kelly) of a farmer who eschews industrial methods and releases his animals to roam and graze. Nelson's performance is achingly honest as he acknowledges by nuance and inflection the missteps of the past while looking ahead to a brighter future that's by no means assured. It's an affecting and memorable performance, one that might well upstage the selections presented on the actual broadcast.

Ah, the complex olfactory bouquet of the urban bus shelter. Trying to identify individual odors within such dense scent tapestries can be difficult, and most disturbing. That's not the case, however, at some locations in British cities like London and Manchester, where McCain Foods is installing 3-D ad panels that emit the aroma of freshly baked potatoes at the push of a button. Check out the picture. That "potato" looks like a big buttocks to me, but who am I to argue if those barmy Brits want to cop a feel or smear on some sour cream and chives? (Don't be so provincial, people!) McCain says "a hidden heating element gently warms the potato," so I suppose we'll soon be reading about one of those bus stops catching fire and roasting a few soul-crushed commuters in their own jackets. Actually, I kind of like the concept. And while we've seen some things like this in America, we could use more of it. That way, when I'm waiting for the bus and someone asks, "What's that weird smell?" for once I can honestly answer, "Not me!"

Two of this week's big themes—love and music—come together in this Doner commercial for JBL starring none other than Sir Paul McCartney. The former Beatle recently married again and wrote a song called "My Valentine" for his new wife. The song is featured in the JBL spot, which will break Sunday during the Grammy Awards, two days before Valentine's Day. "JBL is synonymous with great sound and has consistently met the standards for my music," McCartney says. "I've used JBL's professional equipment throughout my career as a recording artist and touring musician. I want my fans to 'hear the truth,' and that's what JBL delivers." So, is that Nancy Shevell lying in bed in the spot? We're guessing no. A print and online campaign for JBL will follow. JBL will also be a sponsor of McCartney's upcoming summer tour. "My Valentine" is the first single from Sir Paul's new album, Kisses on the Bottom, which was released this week.

They didn't have "memes" in Don Draper's day, but they drank and smoked 24/7 and perfected the use of pomade in social settings, so it was basically a better world. Anyway, kudos to the folks who've done such a great job tagging NYC subway posters for the March 25 return of Mad Men on AMC for its fifth season. I guess the posters qualify as "interactive advertising," with all that white space inviting people to show off their creativity by placing the "falling man" silhouette in unexpectedly kooky situations. They didn't have interactive advertising in Draper's day either, but they got into kooky situations with gals from the typing pool all the time. Variations on the meme (some from subway cards, others created online) include "Little Draper" bouncing on a playground trampoline, about to be swallowed by Cookie Monster and heading for a shapely female derriere. (Guess which one Little Draper prefers?) Flip the silhouette upside-down, and he doesn't seem to be falling anymore. In fact, it looks like he's running—hauling ass as fast as he can. Fleeing the ad biz with what's left of his sanity? Via Laughing Squid.

If your idea of a great Valentine's Day gift is passionate sex with someone other than the person you're actually dating, then Moosejaw Mountaineering has got your back. The quirky clothing retailer has created a permission slip (link goes to a PDF) that asks your loved one to officially endorse your fling with someone else. The form, offered up today to Facebook fans, begins with a description of how nature's notoriously promiscuous bonobo apes use sex to alleviate social conflict. "With that beautiful spirit in mind," the form says, "I'd like to ask you something." Applicants can request permission to "snuggle," "French," or "fully do it" with a person "you know that I've always loved." It's quite a touching gesture, one that harkens back to the brand's previous attempt at relationship support: "The Moosejaw Breakup Service." They also created an X-ray specs app that helps you view Moosejaw catalog models in their underwear. Obviously, Moosejaw's marketing research has found there's intrinsic value in keeping its customers unattached and oversexed.

Ben Stein would have enjoyed Honda's Ferris Bueller ad for the Super Bowl, if it hadn't disrespected him so badly. "They had a guy imitating my voice, they should've had me in it," Stein tells one of the goons from TMZ upon being ambushed at an airport. Frankly, if RPA passed on having Alan Ruck (aka Cameron) appear in the spot, there wasn't much chance for Stein—even though a bellhop in the ad (above) does imitate Stein's teacher character from the movie by droning "Broderick? Broderick?" Asked if he feels disrespected, Stein replies, "A little bit, yeah." He actually says he liked the spot, but adds: "Just my humble opinion, but since they used my voice ... they should give me a top-of-the-line Toyota … I mean, Honda!" At least he remembered the brand—barely.

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[Note: This is not a real FreeCreditScore.com ad. See update below.]
     Jezebel's writers can be a little overly sensitive, but they're right to heap abuse on this Courtney Stodden ad for freecreditreport.com, because it's just aggressively stupid. The "I'm so wet" line makes no sense, which the article points out. Plus, how do you even catch a mermaid with a fish hook. Plus, Stodden doesn't turn 18 until August, meaning the natural reaction male viewers might have is still technically a felony. That didn't stop her chickenhawk husband, of course (incidentally, he was the weaselly prison guard in The Green Mile), but it still sent a horrible douche chill up my spine. This ad makes GoDaddy look upscale.
     UPDATE: FreeCreditScore.com tells AdFreak in a statement: "Ms. Stodden's video is a parody on an assignment that FreeCreditScore.com initiated with PopTent. While we appreciate Ms. Stodden's enthusiasm and interpretation of the assignment, FreeCreditScore.com had no involvement in the creation or funding of her video, nor was her video approved by FreeCreditScore.com."

By David Schwab, Octagon First Call
The New York Giants won Sunday's Super Bowl, but which individual players scored in the marketing playbook? Let's look at five who did themselves proud.

—Marketing winners
• Eli Manning. Eli is now on a short list of two-time Super Bowl MVPs. He already has partnerships with Toyota (in New York), Reebok, Citizen Watches, DirecTV, Gatorade and Oreos. He'll make immediate money from this victory, as corporate programs often have bonus clauses for Super Bowl wins and MVP awards. Same goes for his memorabilia/autograph programs. He will have plenty of corporate/hospitality appearances over the off season if he is interested in doing them. His success in the game will be more impactful for his place in history than for national advertising programs.
• Victor Cruz. Victor scored the first touchdown of the game for the G-Men. He has made headlines with his on-the-field performance and his signature "salsa" touchdown dance. Because of his Puerto Rican roots, he could become a central person in the NFL's Hispanic efforts—which would open many corporate doors. He'll be considered on the short list of brands needing a non-quarterback playmaker for football programs. I am sure there are brands already brainstorming dancing- and salsa-related ideas (He was already offered and passed up a place on Dancing With the Stars.)
• Justin Tuck. He was the standout from the defensive unit with the first-play safety and last-drive sack on Tom Brady. He is already used by Subway in the marketing efforts (appeared in a USA Today ad for the chain this past Friday). Tuck has an endearing personality and runs R.U.S.H. for Literacy, a charity that encourages children to read, understand, succeed and hope. I would expect the Giants' marketing partners to consider using him more in the upcoming season.
• Mark Herzlich. Interesting one here. Mark was inactive for the Super Bowl and didn't suit up. The cancer-surviving (rare form of bone cancer) rookie Giants linebacker was undrafted out of Boston College and made the team this past year. He already does marketing work for Gatorade and Saucony's "Find Your Strong" campaign. Because he doesn't play regularly, he will not appear in football-specific programs but will considered for motivational/inspiration programs. There is a big speaker circuit world out there for him if he chooses to pursue it.
• Mario Manningham. The incredible catch on the game-winning drive will go down in Giants and Super Bowl history. It won't win him any marketing campaigns, but it will increase his hospitality appearances and autograph signings in the future.

—Missed opportunities
Unlike games where there are obvious marketing losers, I don't see that here. I do feel Rob Gronkowski had a lot to gain which will remain unfulfilled. He had an unbelievable season and will be a marketable TE in the future. But he had the ability to fast-track his appeal through a big game on Sunday (especially with the injury story line).

—David Schwab is the managing director of Octagon First Call, Octagon's celebrity acquisition and engagement division. He analyzes the value of spokespeople for brands; leading the recommendation, contract negotiations and management of the celebrity-portion of the campaigns. Follow him on Twitter: @david_schwab.

Oh look, James Franco is doing something new with a camera. The actor, etc., is adding adman to his already-crowded resume by directing a series of 10 spots for designer jeans maker 7 For All Mankind (a brand also known simply as Seven). The brand won't start trickling out the clips on YouTube until Feb. 15. But it's teasing the campaign—in which Franco collaborated with Seven's creative agency, Lipman—with a lengthy breakdown in WWD and the behind-the-scenes video below, starring the back of Franco's head and the army of gyrating, scantily clad girls that's obligatory to all fashion ads. It's not seedy, see, 'cause it's art, too—the clips are all cut from retro-stylized footage for a Franco-directed feature film, The Death of Natalie Wood, which WWD reports is a creative offspring of the James Dean classic Rebel Without a Cause. Ah yes, that strange, atmospheric brew of celebrity-endorsed artsy-naked cool, with overtones of generational angst, freedom and mortality. We can't wait.

Long has it been wondered: Where do Draftfcb creatives get their ideas? And how are Draftfcb account people so adept at dealing with clients? Thanks to the two videos below, we have our answers. It seems the creative process involves placing staffers in a "centrifuge for ideas" and extracting their insights in liquid form, before sending the workers back—wobbly but unharmed—to the creative department. The account folks have it even rougher. They're forced to scale and balance a giant, rickety, unstable "testing apparatus that simulates the client-agency relationship." You're always one wrong move from toppling the whole damn thing, but this is how you learn, though! The videos, using hilarious old '60s footage, were created for a staff town-hall meeting at Draftfcb Chicago in January, designed to humorously acknowledge the agency's roots in science but champion its current focus on talent and creativity.

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Doritos is getting used to shelling out money to the amateurs in its Crash the Super Bowl contest. Last year, J.R. Burningham won $1 million after his "Pug Attack" topped the USA Today Ad Meter. This year, not one but two Doritos directors will each pocket $1 million—following USA Today's decision to split the Ad Meter into two separate rankings. Jonathan Friedman of Virginia Beach, Va., wins $1 million for his "Man's Best Friend" spot, which was the favorite of the traditional Ad Meter panel of 286 adult volunteers on Sunday night. And Kevin Willson of West Los Angeles wins $1 million for "Sling Baby," which won the Ad Meter's broader social media vote, which wrapped up on Tuesday. Wilson, a 34-year-old former special education teacher, entered the contest twice before. "In high school I'd get out of doing papers by asking if I could do videos instead," he tells USA Today. "I was one of those weird kids in high school who figured out that I wanted to make videos for the rest of my life." Now, he'll have a chance to upgrade his workspace, at least, after working mostly in his garage. "It's freezing in there in the winter, and it's dusty," he says. "It's not a great working environment."

As always, music will be a big part of Super Bowl XLVI. Madonna is doing the halftime show, of course, and musicians will appear in a number of ads—from Elton John and Melanie Amaro for Pepsi, to Mötley Crüe for Kia, to the Pussycat Dolls for Go Daddy. Our sister magazine Billboard is keeping tabs on the night's music, so check out their collection of stories: Super Bowl XLVI: The Music Behind the Big Game.

Online film magazine Notebook's picks for the best movie posters of 2011 make for an interesting list. Most of them are for movies I've never heard of, but that's due to the international focus more than pretentiousness, I think. Chris Ware's poster for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (full image after the jump) tops the list. Melancholia's poster is boring, but Burning Man is really neat. And Super has a Burnt Face Man feel to it that I like. And while I wasn't a huge fan of the Drive poster, it is refreshing to see a picture of Ryan Gosling without that "hey girl" crap all over it. Via Kottke.

These three new Geico ads from The Martin Agency are cute, but all of them have their glaring logical flaws. The couple who save money by getting the rescue panther instead of the pricey home security system surely spent more on exotic pet licenses and shots, and plus they're now at risk of being eaten in their sleep (if they ever fall asleep). Ronald the karaoke-dating guy, intimidated by costly matchmaking sites, could sign up for OkCupid, which is free. And let's not even talk about the bevy of problems that come with a grown man hiring middle-school girls to follow him around. Insurance won't be much good when the cops show up. Geico also has a new Maxwell the Pig spot out. Says the YouTube description: "In his quest for the most extreme thrill, Maxwell tries out the street luge and cries wee wee wee all the way home. Well, or until he gets to a really big hill. Or crashes." Three more spots, including that one, after the jump.

No Super Bowl is complete without a few lingering controversies, and this year's game left us with plenty. While most of the mainstream media has been buzzing inanely about M.I.A.'s middle finger, the night's commercials sparked their share of hand-wringing and name-calling as well. Some backlash, like Chrysler's "It's Halftime in America" being ripped as an homage to Obama, has gotten time in the national spotlight while others have been simmering slightly below the surface. After the jump, we recap a few of the more interesting nuggets of negativity.

5. Chevy's World Without Ford
   
   This one began slightly before the Super Bowl when an attorney for Ford wrote a cease-and-desist letter to Chevrolet in the hope of stopping the latter's post-apocalyptic ad, "2012." In the spot, Chevy Silverado owners who have survived Armageddon mourn their Ford-driving friend Dave, who "didn't drive the longest-lasting, most dependable truck on the road…Dave drove a Ford." Chevy bases its dependability claim on industry data from the past 30 years, though Ford argues the same data shows F-150s are more likely to last beyond 250,000 miles. Whoever is right, Ford was most certainly the one condemned in the court of public opinion. News coverage all day Monday made Ford sound like a litigious whiner, which isn't exactly the position you should take when someone questions your toughness.
6. Samsung's Stylus Snafu
   
   Samsung's 90-second "Thing Called Love" cavalcade of boisterous antics for the Galaxy Note was one of the most theatrical spots of the night, but many viewers found themselves unable to get past a single line: "It's got a pen?!" By showing a stylus as an example of what makes the Galaxy Note "the next big thing," Samsung and agency 72andSunny gave Apple fanboys ammunition to mock an ad intended to mock Apple fanboys. Shortly after the spot aired, #stylus and #palmpilot were both trending Twitter hashtags, and almost any discussion of the ad was eclipsed by stylus snark. The more neutral voices in the tech community have pointed out that the stylus is actually a nice perk of the Note, which is a smartphone-tablet hybrid. But most of Monday's blog coverage about the spot wasn't much interested in that point of view, with headlines like "How Samsung Screwed Up Its Super Bowl Ad."
7. Dannon's Double Dipping
   
   Dannon's crowdsourced commercial for Oikos Greek Yogurt, starring John Stamos, was so vanilla, I practically missed it during the game. (It still managed to rank No. 10 in USA Today's Ad Meter…sigh.) But AgencySpy dug up an interesting double controversy about the spot. First off, the music is a nearly note-for-note duplicate of "Zebra" by the John Butler Trio. Fans quickly alerted the band, which announced on Facebook it would be "seeking advice as how to address the issue." But AgencySpy also notes that the ad as a whole seems lifted from a decade-old Canadian 7UP spot.
   
   
8. Pete Hoekstra's Chenglish
   
   One of the most roundly criticized ads from the Super Bowl ran only in Michigan. Republican Senate hopeful Pete Hoekstra's spot called "Now" attacked Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) with allegations that her free-spending ways are helping China's economy at the cost of America's. To convey the message, he showed an Asian woman delivering lines in stereotypical broken English, such as: "Your economy get very weak. Ours get very good." Bloggers from both parties panned the ad for being xenophobic, racist or just dumb. Hoekstra refused to apologize, telling CNN, "The only stereotyping is of liberal Democrats and their spending polices." Fun fact for political ad junkies: The ad was made by Fred Davis, the same guy who convinced Christine O'Donnell to say, "I'm not a witch."
9. Chrysler's Halftime Hope for Obama
   
   As an example of advertising craft, Chrysler's "It's Halftime in America" is simply a triumph. But Clint Eastwood's riveting narration of Wieden + Kennedy's stellar copy quickly raised the hackles of some conservatives who felt it was a re-election manifesto of sorts for President Obama. Republican strategist Karl Rove led the charge, telling Fox News he was "offended" by the ad. "I thought it was an extremely well-done ad, but it is a sign of what happens when you have Chicago-style politics, and the president of the United States and his political minions are, in essence, using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising," he said. Rove was essentially suggesting the ad was meant to justify the auto industry bailout and celebrate it as a turning point in the American economy. Obama's team and Chrysler have brushed off the allegations of political cronyism, and Eastwood himself defended the ad in an email to The New York Times: "The ad doesn't have a political message. It is about American spirit, pride and job growth."

So, what do you think? Did any Super Bowl ads get under your skin? And more importantly, after weeks of leaks, teasers and overexposure, are you just glad this year's Super Bowl ads are finally behind us?

You may have noticed OK Go briefly appeared in one of the Chevy commercials during the Super Bowl, and then showed up in an extended trailer for their new video right after the game. The latest and one of the best of the OK Go videos, it shows them successively whacking 1,157 homemade instruments—tuned to ensure they'd play the right note no matter where they were hit—with one Chevy Sonic. According to OK Go's press release, at first there had never been plans to show or feature any part of the video during the Super Bowl. "But then a funny thing happened. We finished the video, showed it to the bigwigs at Chevy and GM, and they fell instantly, head-over-heels in love with it. So much so that they immediately proposed a complete change of schedule to integrate it deeply into their Super Bowl plans." Unsurprisingly, it's already at well over 1 million views. And all those sounds are real. The only word for it is: amazeballs.

Will Ferrell's series of local Old Milwaukee ads—which were shot and aired only in Davenport, Iowa, Terre Haute, Ind., and Milwaukee—was one of the funnier and more peculiar campaigns of 2011. So, it's nice to see the pairing add a Super Bowl commercial last night. In the spirit of the campaign, it was apparently the most enthusiastically local of local buys, with Deadspin reporting that it aired only in North Platte, Neb. That is evidently the hometown of New England running back Danny Woodhead, for what it's worth. Like the previous spots did, this one makes fun of the themes and structures of advertising, with Ferrell walking, gecko-like, through amber waves of grain and then getting cut off before he even begins his sales pitch. Also like the previous spots, good luck finding a version of this one that looks even halfway decent. The brand linked to an even crappier version from its Facebook page. All in the spirit of authenticity and anti-glamour, perhaps.

See Adweek's full Super Bowl coverage here.