Century 21 has enlisted a team of celebrities for its first-ever Super Bowl commercial.

Reality TV star and business mogul Donald Trump, Pro Football Hall of Fame member Deion Sanders and Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno will help showcase what Century 21 feels are the primary characteristics of the company’s agents: “Smarter. Bolder. Faster.”

In the 30-second ad, which will air Sunday on NBC during a third-quarter commercial break, the trio is seen participating in the home-buying and home-selling process as a Century 21 agent one-ups each of them.

“The Super Bowl offers an unparalleled stage for showcasing our agents and their capabilities, and we wanted to make sure we were taking full advantage of the opportunity to quickly impact not only the more than 110 million viewers expected to tune in, but their social sphere as well,” Bev Thorne, Century 21‘s chief marketing officer, told Mashable. “Celebrities help us do just that — not only as stars of the commercial, but by building excitement for the ad on their own social networks.”

Historically, brands and agencies have often mixed in high-profile faces into their Super Bowl commercials, which this year cost $3.5 million each. On Sunday alone, for example, actor Jerry Seinfeld will be in Acura NSX‘s ad and actor Matthew Broderick (playing Ferris Bueller) reportedly will be in another ad.

The celebrities tend to have strong online followings, which likely incite significant mentions on social networks for the brands shilling out the bucks to feature them. Trump, Sanders and Ohno have more than 1.6 million followers on Twitter and 840,000 fans on Facebook.

“All three are very active in the social space,” Thorne says. “Through social media we are able to amplify our message online.”

Philadelphia-based Red Tettemer + Partners created the ad for Century 21.

Directed by Tim and Eric from the Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!

"Old Spice Body Spray is too powerful to stay in its own commercial!"

Owners Matt and Anne Whyte have been selling home-brewed equipment in the storefront for 17 years. Asked about how the business and brewers have changed since then, Matt Whyte laughed, shrugged and said, “There’s very little new under the sun. Beer is the same four ingredients (malt, hops, yeast and water) and everything else is just an adjunct.”

A quick look around the store reveals just how much variety there is in those four ingredients, and it’s easy to imagine how a novice might get overwhelmed. Where to begin?

The Whytes help newcomers get set up.

“We bring (a new brewer) over to the price sheet and look at the equipment. You can get all the basic equipment for anywhere from $125 to $200, but very few people spend $200 their first day,” Matt Whyte said. Ingredients for a 5-gallon batch cost $35 - $40. The Whytes see more of those newcomers ever year.

While the gear and basic ingredients remain much the same, customers have grown more sophisticated. Even first-time brewers are savvier than they tended to be when the store first opened, Matt Whyte says.

“People come in generally more knowledgeable. People have a sense of what it’s all about. They know someone who’s made their own beer.”

He said today’s tastes are varied, and likes the possibilities inherent in the brewing process. “People can brew just about anything they can imagine, and that’s pretty singular to beer-making,” he said.

Anne Whyte describes how she got started.

“I was home with my kids when they were little, and I had always been a scratch cook, a gardener, a baker. We always lived with the belief that even if you don’t have a lot, you can live well if you make it yourself.

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“I got started, and the more I did it, the better the beer got. And all of a sudden I realized not only was I having fun, but we’re saving money and we’re drinking better beer, too.”

She notes said that when the store opened, there wasn’t as much support among the home-brewing community as there is today.

“But now it’s very social. People do it as a family, and it can be like a date night or a party,” she says. It’s about three hours of work, and then letting the beer ferment before the final steps of conditioning, carbonating and bottling.

Customer Jo Palmer of Underhill came into the store recently with a long list of ingredients, and hit the bulk bins to select her grains.

“My husband and I have been brewing for about two years. It’s mostly him, but he sends me out with lists of what to get,” Palmer said.

On this trip she was shopping for ingredients for a ginger ale, and was picking lager malt, Vienna malt, and other ingredients for the spicy brew.

Her father-in-law, Scott Russell, is himself a noted home-brewer and author of a popular beer-making book, North American Clone Brews. He got the couple into brewing by setting them up with the gear they needed.

“When we got married, our friends built us a ‘kegerator.’ They love that we brew,” Palmer said. (A kegerator is a refrigerated keg beer dispensing system).

She offers advice for first-time beer-makers: “Get yourself a simple set-up, get the ingredients for your favorite beer ... and then be patient.”

Just as winter may encourage drinking of darker and heavier beers like porters and brown ales and stouts, beer-making itself has seasonal preferences as well. Some yeasts do better and lower temperatures, and Vermonters with unheated basements can take advantage of these.

“Right now I’m doing lots of pilsners, since the yeast they use likes to ferment at cooler temperatures. But I never get too locked into any one thing. Whenever I’ve had enough of whatever I’ve been drinking for the season, it ends up being time to switch to the next thing,” Anne Whyte said.

When history looks back on this week in the viral video world, the only thing they'll remember is the Super Bowl and all the various online video buzz the commercials generated. The truth is, there were a lot of great videos this week, and only some of them were Super Bowl related. We have angry athletes, amazing athletes, cute animals, funny amateur short films, rap battles, and much more.

Grab a coffee--or tea, whatever you prefer--and enjoy some of the week's best viral videos.

A lot of ads from the upcoming Super Bowl have been released online early by the advertisers--which says a great deal about the power of the Internet. I wrote about a bunch of these ads here, but I thought I'd still include my favorites in this week's round up.

Volkswagen owned last year's Super Bowl with their "The Force" ad featuring a mini Darth Vader. Unfortunately, their attempts to recreate that magic are a little flat in this year's ad:

While Volkswagen's ad is a slight disappointment to me, Toyota's Camry ad may win best Super Bowl spot:

And Audi's is a dark horse candidate in my opinion, with a hilarious vampire-take on bright headlights:

But by far... the Budweiser rec-league hockey game is my favorite:

Old Spice launched Old Spice Man with a "super bowl" commercial that never even aired during the big game. So it's no surprise to see them employing a similar strategy this year. The ads are already online, but won't debut on television until the day after the Super Bowl. The new ads show Old Spice interrupting ads for other real products (also owned by P&G), and I expect the online and television portion of this campaign to get tons of attention:

Thinkmodo struck again with another buzz-worth hoax video--this time some fake flying humans in NYC to help promote the movie Chronicle:

Speaking of the Super Bowl... EA Sports is getting more of their annual online video buzz from their Madden version of the upcoming Super Bowl game:

Microsoft's Kinect teamed up with the new Star Wars game for an ad promoting them both... and the results are pretty funny:

Twitter knows the way to viral video viewers' hearts... intentionally bad production values! Here's their cheesy homage to tech company recruitment videos:

Sports videos are always going to be popular--well, at least as long as sports are popular. Sometimes it's an incredible act of athletic ability, but other times it's a colossal fail... and this week we have some of both.

If you like the NBA, you're already familiar with Blake Griffin. If you are not familiar with him, allow me to introduce you to why he's so popular:

Griffin's not the only NBA star who had a huge jam this week. Lebron James can dunk too:

Not all the NBA highlights are positive ones. And when a man misses a free throw as badly as this guy, well I have a responsibility to bring that content to you:

Here's a talented young Russian hockey player named Alexander Radulov (I've actually seen him play in person, as he used to play for the local team). In addition to being talented... he's also very angry at his coach:

This kid is probably going to go down in history as one of the all-time most talented ball boys:

Tallest high school basketballer player in the world plays like you'd expect the tallest basketball player in the world to play... with dominance:

Here's a dog in a vet's office, which is not all that uncommon. But one that has a key job to do in the business' daily operation is quite uncommon indeed:

Here's an amazing video I think a lot of you will enjoy. It's a rap battle in the UK between a 17-year-old kid and his former teacher:

Impossible pool trick shots? Yes, please:

This is as strange as talents get, and exactly why the Internet was created:

Love car explosions? You're really going to love a car explosinon, in HD, at 1000 frames per second:

What does your brand & logo say to a five year old? You may not care from a business standpoint, but your sense of humor is going to want to check it out:

Wakeboarding videos aren't really anything new--unless they're shot in Alaska like this video:

Sometimes the act of describing a video makes you feel silly, so let me just tell you that this next video is weird, and it got a lot of views this week:

I also loved a couple of short films I saw this week--both go for humor, and both succeed:

Ex NFL strongman Terry Crews reprised his role as the "Scent is Power" dude for Old Spice's Red Zone Body Spray, as three new commercials were dropped on YouTube by our favorite Internet-friendly cologne company.

I gotta admit, prior to their viral video campaign that began a few years back, Old Spice was my grandfather's cologne, an powder-scented standby in a little vanilla bottle, complete with a tall ship on the front. Since then, the company has embraced social and product awesomeness.

My boys love their body washes, and I have to admit their products have graced my shower shelves more than once. Don't judge.

In Bounce, Crews literally crashes a Bounce Dryer Softener Sheet commercial, because Red Zone Body Spray "is so powerful, it sells itself in other people's commercials". Gotta love the pec bounce sound effects...

In Vending Machine, Crews is well on track to giving your average Joe a taste of smelling like power, until the muscle-bound Old Spice pitchman gets a little sidetracked by the munchies...

In Charmin, Crews is breaking out all over to, once again, let everyone know that Old Spice is simply too powerful for a single commercial. You get the idea now, right?

I think it's pretty self-evident that Old Spice Body Spray is too awesome for one commercial, settling for nothing less than an online hat trick.

Here's a tremendous way to get your ad money's worth: stick two products into one ad and continue the insane branded insanity of some of the most popular commercials in the world.  Old Spice is known for Old Spice Man and the non sequitur commercials we all enjoy, but another, even crazier ad campaign is when they use muscular actor Terry Crews to shout and destroy things.  So Proctor & Gamble, which makes a million things, decided to marry sane Bounce and Charmin advertisements with the out-of-this-world antics of Old Spice, and decided to let Tim & Eric direct it.

The ad will debut on TV on Monday, February 6, the day after the Super Bowl, but of course are currently available online.  But the other smart thing about these ads is that they get the attention afforded to Super Bowl ads without the cost.  Old Spice ads at this point don't need a $3.5 million ad buy to get noticed.

Here is the first ad for Bounce and Old Spice:

And here's another one with Charmin:

The Old Spice campaign comes from the ad agency Wieden + Kennedy.

The Old Spice portion of these ads do overpower the other products, but, especially in the case of the Bounce dryer bar, I think people will remember that part because you can't really describe the ad without discussing how it begins.  And in the case of Charmin, while the Charmin Freshmates get upstaged right at the time you're hearing about the product, you cannot get Terry Crews' face breaking through a toilet bowl out of your head.  It's just burned in your brain.  You'll definitely remember it was a bathroom product of some sort.

I love the idea that "Old Spice is too powerful to stay in its own commercial," or "Old Spice is so powerful it sells itself 'in other people's commercials'."  But let's not forget here that Proctor & Gamble is getting two ads in one, and that's an enviable cost-effective maneuver.

It's right up the demented alley of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, who we just discussed with their movie available online, Tim & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie.  One of the hallmarks of Tim & Eric's work from their show on Adult Swim, "Tim & Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job," is taking cheap commercials and parodying them in a usually twisted manner.  So that they were hired to direct these ads makes too much sense.

This is the old Energizer Bunny tactic, only with real products.  If you're old enough to remember those old Energizer Bunny commercials, they would start with something that seemed like a regular commercial and then the bunny would come in and interrupt the ad.  Here, you have an ad that is perfectly staged, with a real product, shot exactly the way a traditional ad would be shot, and then...Terry Crews, who has ads every bit as popular as Old Spice Man's, they're just harder to emulate.

Fantastic job from Wieden + Kennedy, Proctor & Gamble, and Tim & Eric.  Chances are if you're a duo you did a good job with these ads.

Nike ‘Write The Future’ was the world’s most awarded commercial last year, the Gunn Report indicates. The ad by Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam is also the most decorated commercial in the report’s 13 years. The ad stars Real Madrid’s Ronaldo and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney. In joint second place was Heineken ‘The Entrance’, also by W+K Amsterdam, and T-Mobile’s ‘Welcome Back’ by Saatchi & Saatchi London.

Old Spice Body Wash’s ‘Questions/Boat’ by Wieden+Kennedy, Portland was in fourth spot, with Google Chrome ‘Speed Tests’ BBH/Google Creative Lab, New York and VW Passat’s ‘The Force’ by Deutsch LA/Lowe & Partners in Los Angeles sharing fifth place. The other main winners from last year were:

The most awarded print ads and campaigns

China has the winner for the first time ever.  A brilliantly art directed creation – Samsonite Suitcases • Heaven And Hell (JWT Shanghai)

2.  FedEx • Neighbours campaign (DDB Brasil, Sao Paulo)

3.  Harvey Nichols • Accessories Required campaign (Y&R Dubai)

4= Decode Bing with Jay-Z • Decode Bing with Jay-Z (Droga5, New York)

4= Land Rover • Passport Stamps (RKCR/Y&R, London)

The most awarded digital

“The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”, having conquered in film in 2010, takes top spot with Old Spice Body Wash “Responses” campaign (Wieden+Kennedy, Portland).

2.  Zenith Independent Band • Sour/Mirror (Masashi Qanta Saquoosha Hiroki,Tokyo)

3= Google Chrome • Speed Tests (BBH/Google Creative Lab, New York)

3= Mini Countryman • Mini Getaway Stockholm (Jung von Matt, Stockholm)

5.  Uniqlo • Uniqlo Luck Line (Dentsu, Tokyo)

The most awarded All Gunns Blazing

A three-way tie for top of the All Gunns Blazing table (our name for integrated, innovative, titanium et al) – Decode Jay-Z with Bing (Droga5, New York), Concert Hall Dortmund • Concert Milk (Jung von Matt, Hamburg) and the entire integrated Old Spice campaign.

4= Nike • Write The Future (Wieden+Kennedy, Amsterdam/AKQA, London)

4= WWF • Save As WWF (Jung von Matt, Hamburg)

The most awarded countries

The US won with the second-highest score ever. Australia has its best ever ranking in sixth place with 31 more points than its previous best score. Indonesia makes it in for the first time, taking the number of countries ever to appear in the top 25 up to 38.

2.  UK

3.  Brazil

4.  Argentina

5.  Germany

The most awarded advertisers

Nike wins with the highest points total in the last 12 years, relegating previous ten times winner Volkswagen to second spot.

3. Google

4. Old Spice

5. WWF

The most awarded production companies

@radical.media (New York, LA, Sydney, Berlin) tops the table for the first time, relegating MJZ, winner for the last 5 years, down to 4^th.

2.  Independent/Anonymous@Independent (London)

3.  Smuggler (New York, Los Angeles, London)

4.  MJZ (New York, LA, London)

5.  Stink  / Stink Digital (London, Berlin, Paris)

The most awarded director

Director of Nike’s ‘Write The Future’, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, was the clear winner in the director’s table.

2.  Chris Milk

3.  Thanonchai Sornsriwichai

4.  Henry Alex-Rubin

5.  Fredrik Bond

The most awarded agency

One and the same network takes the first two places for the first time ever. It’s a network with 20 times fewer offices than the rest.  At number one is Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam and number two is Wieden+Kennedy (Portland).  Wieden+Kennedy in London and Tokyo made the top 50.

3.  AlmapBBDO Sao Paulo, most awarded print agency

4.  Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi Buenos Aires, highest ever ranking

5. Jung von Matt (Hamburg, Berlin, Dortmund, most awarded agency in AGB

The most awarded digital agency

The share of total points going to specialist digital agencies, versus mainstream agencies, has declined from 54 per cent in 2008 and 2009 to 22 per cent in 2011. There was a three-way tie for the No 1 ranking – AKQA (London), BBH (New York) & R/GA (New York).

4.  Wieden+Kennedy (Portland)

5.  Dentsu (Tokyo)

The most awarded agency network

Rankings one to four are the same for the third year in a row. BBDO notched up 55 more points than second placed DDB, with only six points separating second to fifth. In the 13 years of The Gunn Report, DDB has topped the networks table twice, Leo Burnett and TBWA once each, and BBDO all the other nine times.

2.  DDB

3.  Ogilvy

4.  Leo Burnett

5.  Wieden+Kennedy

The tables in full, along with commentaries and all the winning work, as well as the 100 commercials appearing on the year’s showreel, are available to view at www.gunnreport.com.

The book of The Gunn Report and Showreel of The Year will be available early next month and will include the results of the Gunn Report for media 2011.

This entry was filed under Adland, awards.

With the Super Bowl set to take place Sunday, one thing that many are anxiously awaiting is the release of some new and funny commercials.

Let's take a look at some of the best from previous years.

1. Doritos, Super Bowl XLV

This Doritos commercial first aired during last season Super Bowl XLV. This may have been the best commercial to come out of last year.

2. Volkswagen, Super Bowl XLV

Ths Volkswagen commercial came out during Super Bowl XLV. In this clip a young Darth Vader uses the Force on his 2012 Passat.

3. Budweiser, Super Bowl XLIII

How could we leave out the famous Budweiser horses? In this commercial that first aired in 2009, displays what Romeo will do in pursuit of his love.

4. Old Spice, Super Bowl XLIV

There is no way we could leave this Old Spice classic off the list. This commercial from 2010 inspired many similar ones that followed.

5. E-Trade, Super Bowl XLII

E-Trade came up with a wonderful idea when they started using the talking baby during the 2008 Super Bowl. Since then there have been many more that have followed in its footsteps.

Super Bowl Commercial facts:

*Cost of a 30-second commercial for Super Bowl I - $42,000 US

*Cost of a 30-second commercial for Super Bowl XLVI - $3.5 million US

Related read:

More Football: Best Super Bowls ever

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But that will change later this month when Office Depot airs a new Stewart commercial (below) in select markets prior to the Daytona 500.

Check it out for yourself: