When Uwe Ellinghaus, Cadillac's CMO, spoke in December at a New York press event, he made it quite clear that siting the brand in New York would help Cadillac tap into the luxury culture outside its front door. "You can't deny the experience in New York of luxury outside of the automotive category, and how appealing it is." The new headquarters, near Google and the High Line, are in the heart of all that, and the new campaign, including four spots teasing the new CT6 sedan, launched during the Oscars on Sunday night, show just how New York-centric the brand …

One thing Volvo has going for it is a strong loyalty base and an unimpeachable brand reputation around safety and understated elegance. Now the company is looking to make the most out of its core assets with a laser focus on its target consumer, albeit with a limited budget. What has hurt the brand more than anything is simple discontinuity.

The Super Bowl, I'll say it, was really entertaining and tight 'til the end, and you know what that means: The advertisers who bought time in the third and fourth quarters, the fourth especially, did well. The challenge is that by then viewers are a bit desensitized, so the ads have to be that much better. Also, while a strong second half keeps people watching, it also makes ads a distraction.