• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, February 7, 2011

Super Bowl watchers didn't see another Google ad this time around, but they did get a look at a BMW ad touting a continuous investment in America. That's an interesting message sent by the first Super Bowl ad BMW ran in more than 10 years. Voices of the company's associates at its manufacturing facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina tell the story.

Not one, but two BMW commercials ran during the Super Bowl on Sunday night. The second showcases BMW's advanced diesel vehicles as efficient alternatives to other cars. The company will carry the message through both campaigns throughout the year.

The last Super Bowl featured ad ran details of the company's first X vehicle, the X5, which began production ten years ago at the Spartanburg plant. The company filmed scenes in January around Spartanburg landmarks, including Mabry's Simple Simon, Morgan Square and Spartanburg High School, as well as a cargo ship in the Port of Charleston. Real-life BMW associates and citizens in the local community, including the Spartanburg High School football team, were featured in the commercial.

BMW's commitment to U.S. manufacturing totals $1 billion, but the ad does not appear to resonate with searchers on engines. The search strategy seems lacking in punch. Run a search on the keyword "BMW and you" will find that in the past seven days "South Carolina" was the No. 1 regional interest, but there isn't enough volume on Google Insights for Search to identify trending topics for any length of time. New Jersey came in at No. 2, followed by Arizona, California and Georgia. The top search terms were "2011 bmw," "bmw usa," "bmw m3," "bmw for sale," and "audi."

Last year's Super Bowl set a new record for the most-watched program in television history, bringing in a whopping 106.5 million viewers across the U.S., according to Efficient Frontier. But does TV advertising help build online traffic? Super Bowl ads fuel a spike in awareness, but it takes time to build. Efficient Frontier analysts believe impression trends closely tie to the trend in TV ad spend. A well-established brand with a high degree of awareness will see a smaller jump in online traffic during a TV flight than a small brand. A big TV ad campaign will lead to a bigger impression spike than a small one. Typically, a TV ad causes between a 60% and 80% jump in searches for the brand terms and between 40% and 60% for generic terms.

BMW Group's direct and indirect economic strategy related to the ad pegs its employment in America at more than 50,000 jobs. The commercial underscoring BMW's commitment in America, dubbed Defying Logic, showcases the company as a significant contributor to the economy and a vital part of the American automobile manufacturing industry. It was filmed at BMW's Spartanburg, South Carolina manufacturing facility where all BMW X3, X5 and X6 vehicles are produced and exported to 130 markets worldwide.

BMW also ran a Facebook promotion. "Like" the fan page and enter to win the BMW X3 once daily through Feb. 11. The Facebook contest ties into the BMW X3 American commitment ad. The contest, The X3 Matchup, gives viewers the opportunity to guess the configuration of the BMW X3 featured in the advertisement for a chance to win a Grand Prize two-year lease on the vehicle. The winner receives a trip for two to BMW's Spartanburg manufacturing facility to pick up their vehicle and attend a two-day performance driving school at the BMW Performance Center.

Buzz on Twitter finally picked up more than an hour after the game concluded. The commercials were developed by kirshenbaum bond senecal + partners, the media buy was coordinated by UM and online components created by Dotglu. How about a better search strategy?