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5 Super Bowl ads everyone is talking about

New York – From a Chrysler hit to a Groupon misfire, these commercials proved their power to trigger discussion — even after the game was over

Many of this year's crop of Super Bowl ads were . But that did little to stem the interest and analysis that certain commercials provoked both during and after the most important advertising day of the year. From the clever to the cringeworthy, here are five commercials people are still talking about:

1. Chrysler's "Made in Detroit"The ad: In this inspirational two-minute spot for Chrysler's revamped 200 model, rapper Eminem, underscored by his hit "Lose Yourself," drives around his home city of Detroit while a gruff narrator asks "What does a city that's been to hell and back know about luxury?" The narrator — and Eminem — suggest that the blue-collar bona fides of resilient Detroiters herald a comeback for the hard luck city.The reaction: This ad "wasn't so much apromotion for a new model," ; "it was an editorialin defense of abeleaguered Detroit." Chrysler is hearkening back to a time when "America wasabout making things  — real, hulkingtangible pieces of machinery." And even though Chrysler hasn't always made great cars, ,the spell cast by the Super Bowl's best ad was so "mesmerizing" it"left me pumpingmy fist and pledging to buy American everything."

In Cold Shivering Silence .EP .P3klub (24 november 2006) .Self Titled .The Lurker

Australia faces weather woes with southern storms

CAIRNS, Australia – The tail end of one of Australia's largest-ever cyclones triggered wild storms and flash flooding at the other end of the country Saturday, while residents in the cyclone zone picked through what was left of their homes.

The tropical low that was Cyclone Yasi, which tore through the northeast earlier this week, was active over central Australia and making a series of thunderstorms over the southern city of Melbourne and other large towns in Victoria state much worse, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

More than 7 inches (175 millimeters) of rain fell in just a few hours overnight Friday in some Melbourne neighborhoods and winds gusting to 80 mph (130 kph) knocked down trees, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Drains were overwhelmed, causing flash flooding that covered streets and swamped some homes. The State Emergency Service said 84 people were rescued from cars that stalled in flooded streets, or from inundated properties.

A 26-year-old English tourist was taken to a hospital after part of a tree fell on the tent she was camping in, SES spokesman David Tucek said.

Many parts of Australia have suffered a summer of awful weather, including pounding rains across northeastern Queensland state that caused the nation's worst flooding in decades, killing 35 people and causing an estimated $5.6 billion damage.

Yasi ripped across the coast near Cairns on Wednesday night, tearing apart dozens of homes and damaging hundreds more, cutting power to tens of thousands of people and flattening millions of dollars worth of crops. Just one death was reported.

Police and army personnel moved through the storm-savaged coastal town of Tully Heads on Saturday, going door-to-door accounting for residents.

Officials spray painted "No Go" as a warning on the worst-hit homes. A few houses were reduced to rubble. A layer of brown sludge covered the ground, leaving a sickening smell wafting throughout the community.

The massive surge of water ripped through homes, taking out walls and pushing resident's belongings into other people's houses and yards.

Residents spent Saturday sifting through the wreckage and dragging people's possessions back to their owners.

"I'll take my container back when you're done with it!" Ian Barrett, 55, joked to his neighbor. Barrett's huge blue shipping container lay in the man's yard — about 300 feet (90 meters) from where it once stood.

Barrett's beachfront house was still standing, but was nearly empty inside. The waves ripped everything from the home: furniture, toys, appliances.

His 11-year-old daughter Natalie's bed lay a third of a mile (half a kilometer) down the road. The only thing left on the walls was the family's flat-screen TV, a recent purchase.

The family fled along with most of the community the day before the storm hit, and were now staying with friends.

"We're not gonna rebuild here," Barrett said. "We'd never be able to go to sleep again at night."

Residents and officials were amazed the death toll was not higher. The storm thrashed the coast with up to 170 mph (280 kph) winds and sent waves crashing ashore two blocks into seaside communities, as tens of thousands of people huddled in evacuation centers.

Electricity and phone service were gradually being restored, and some 4,000 troops were marshaled to help clear roads of downed trees, power lines and twisted metal roofs torn from homes. Efforts were hampered by drenching rain in many parts of the disaster zone.

Because Australia's far northeast is sparsely populated, Yasi, despite its size, didn't hit any major cities as it charged across the continent. But the isolation was making cleanup more difficult, as authorities struggled to reach out-of-the-way towns.

The government has warned that the damage from Yasi will significantly add to the damage bill the country is facing because of the floods, but that it is too early to put a figure on the amount.

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BSkyB Bid Puts Murdoch Back in Political Spotlight

For an Australian-born U.S. citizen, Rupert Murdoch casts an extraordinarily long shadow over Britain and its politics. As the owner of four U.K. newspapers, he already has a big part in the national conversation. And now his latest bid to take full control of BSkyB, the country's biggest pay-TV station, is giving the government a headache at a time when it's already suffering through expenses scandals, falling poll ratings and public anger over budget cuts. Murdoch announced the $12.5 billion bid last June and already one minister has been stripped of his job of making a ruling on the takeover after he told undercover reporters he had "declared war" on the media tycoon.

As just about anybody in British politics will tell you, declaring war on Rupert Murdoch - the "Dirty Digger," as he has been dubbed by detractors - is not something to be undertaken lightly. This, after all, is the man prime ministers and would-be prime ministers fall over themselves to woo, most notably just before general elections, in the hope of winning the support of his media outlets.

The relationship between Murdoch and Britain's leaders is currently making headlines of its own. Reports on Wednesday revealed that Murdoch had skipped the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland to fly to London while the government considers whether the bid by his News Corporation should be referred to the competition commission. The point at issue is whether, as rival media groups claim, a Murdoch-owned BSkyB - he already owns just over 30% of the company - combined with his existing ownership of four national newspapers - the tabloids the Sun and News of the World, and upmarket the Times of London and Sunday Times - would pose a threat to media plurality in the U.K.

Until Dec. 21, Business Secretary Vince Cable was tasked with deciding if the bid should be sent to the competition commission. But after Daily Telegraph reporters caught him making that combative comment, the responsibility was passed to Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who immediately gave Murdoch more time to answer concerns over his bid which had been raised by the media watchdog Ofcom.

For those already concerned about what they see as Murdoch's power over the nation's decision-makers, Hunt's act of leniency appeared to be another sign that politicians are too eager to keep the news mogul on side. And all this comes as controversy continues to boil over the activities of Murdoch's News of the World and phone-hacking of celebrities, royals and politicians by its reporters. That affair saw two employees jailed in 2007, and on Jan. 21, Prime Minister David Cameron's chief spin doctor Andy Coulson, who was the paper's editor at the time of the offenses and says he knew nothing about them, quit as the row refused to die down.

But how is it Murdoch has come to be so feared and revered by Britain's politicians? Probably because some of them have learnt the hard way what his support - or lack of it - can mean.

The most famous example was the struggling Conservative government's shock election victory in 1992, after which Murdoch's Sun newspaper, which had a daily readership of around 10 million, screamed from its front page: "It's the Sun Wot Won It!" Even skeptics were forced to accept that Murdoch's decision to back the beleaguered Tory prime minister, John Major, helped carry the Conservatives to victory.

But it was actually the Sun's treatment of the then opposition Labour party leader, Neil Kinnock, that drew most attention and allowed the paper to make its flamboyant claim. On election day, it had carried a front-page picture of Kinnock's head, portrayed as a lightbulb, under the headline: "If Kinnock wins today, will the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights."

Kinnock quit immediately, enraged by his treatment by the media in general and the Sun in particular - and Labour's future Prime Minister, Tony Blair, learned a powerful lesson. In July 1995, Blair and aides jetted to the Australian resort at Hayman Island for an annual conference held by Murdoch and his executives. It was there that Blair persuaded the audience that his "New Labour" Party was responsible and electable. Two years later, the Sun declared for Blair, who went on to win a landslide victory.

Rumors of secret deals between the two men persisted and in February 2009, former Blair-era spin doctor Lance Price seemed to confirm them in his book Where Powers Lies: Prime Ministers v the Media: "A deal had been done, although with nothing in writing. If Murdoch were left to pursue his business interests in peace he would give Labour a fair wind."

In the run-up to last year's general election, that wind seemed to change when the Sun threw its support behind Conservative leader David Cameron. The impact wasn't nearly as striking as it had been years before, thanks to the general decline of newspaper readership and the growth of new media. But it was still a blow to the Labour party, which was ousted from government when Britons took to the polls.

Little wonder, then, that those who fret about Murdoch's power over Britain's politicians are questioning whether Cameron too has decided to leave him to "pursue his business interests in peace."

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P&G and Colgate hurt by sluggish developed markets

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N) and smaller rival Colgate-Palmolive Co (CL.N) posted lower quarterly net income, hurt by sluggish sales in developed markets like the United States and Western Europe.

Household products makers have used promotional pricing and coupons to woo shoppers who shunned pricier brands during the recession. Now that consumer confidence is rising, the companies hope people will once again covet name-brand items.

High-end shoppers, at least, seem to be coming back. P&G was even caught off guard by the interest in some new premium products in the United States, straining its supply chain.

P&G did not have enough of its pricey Gillette Fusion ProGlide razors to meet demand, and had to pull back on some of its efforts to promote that product in stores, Chief Financial Officer Jon Moeller said.

P&G's sales growth came in at the low end of its forecast and below Wall Street's expectations. Still, the company said that it is gaining market share at home and abroad.

"I would call this a low-quality quarter," said Tim Hoyle, director of research at Haverford Investments, which has more than $6 billion in assets under management and owns P&G. "They're in a tough spot, really, to grow earnings anywhere close to what most investors would want to give them a premium valuation." He noted that a lower tax rate helped earnings.

While P&G and Colgate both topped Wall Street's earnings expectations, sales were sluggish.

P&G shares were down 2.9 percent at $64.19 on Thursday morning, while Colgate's shares were down 2.4 percent at $78.07.

DEMAND STRONG AT THE TOP, P&G SAYS

Both P&G and Colgate have been bringing out new goods, with P&G offering a lower-priced versions of goods like Bounty paper towels as well as premium items such as Gillette Fusion ProGlide razors that offer smoother shaves. Colgate, meanwhile, has come out with a variety of new and updated toothpastes.

"We believe that we're in the midst of a recovery," P&G Chief Executive Bob McDonald told reporters about the United States.

Growth was pretty fast in the beginning of the quarter, then slowed in December as people spent their money on holiday-related items.

"We're seeing a good pace of recovery and a good pace in January," McDonald added.

P&G is confident that Americans are willing to pay for new products, despite continued pressure from high unemployment.

P&G, the maker of Crest toothpaste and Tide detergent, earned $3.33 billion, or $1.11 per share, in the second quarter ended in December, down from $4.66 billion, or $1.49 per share, a year earlier. Much of the decline stemmed from a gain in the year-ago period from the sale of its pharmaceuticals business.

Excluding unusual items, earnings from continuing operations were $1.13 a share. Analysts' average forecast was $1.10, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

P&G's sales climbed 2 percent to $21.3 billion, while analysts were looking for $21.58 billion. The volume of goods sold rose 6 percent.

Organic sales, which strip out the impact of acquisitions, divestitures and foreign exchange fluctuations, rose 3 percent, at the low end of P&G's 3 to 5 percent forecast.

Colgate, best known for its namesake toothpaste, earned $624 million, or $1.24 per share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $631 million or $1.21 per share a year earlier.

Analysts had expected $1.23 per share.

Colgate, which competes directly with P&G in areas such as toothpaste and toothbrushes, said sales fell 2.5 percent to $3.98 billion. Analysts on average forecast $4.06 billion.

Colgate's organic sales rose 1 percent.

P&G stood by its fiscal 2011 forecasts, calling for earnings from continuing operations of $3.91 to $4.01 per share and organic sales growth of 4 percent to 6 percent.

Analysts on average expect a profit of $3.98 per share.

Colgate stood by its forecast for a mid-single-digit percentage rise in earnings per share for 2011.

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl and Brad Dorfman; editing by John Wallace and Matthew Lewis)

To 3-D or not to 3-D? 'Potter' people disagree

LONDON – Disappointed the new "Harry Potter" film won't be in 3-D? Its star, Daniel Radcliffe, feels the opposite.

Radcliffe said he is delighted that the filmmakers and distributor Warner Bros. scrapped plans to convert "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" to 3-D. He also hopes they abandon their 3-D plans for "Part 2," due in theaters next July.

"If any film doesn't need a gimmick, it's these ones, and that's for me what 3-D is," Radcliffe said in an interview. "For me, 3-D adds nothing to the story."

It does add to the box office, however. Movies available in both two- and three-dimensional projection often derive two-thirds or more of their revenue from 3-D versions, with fans willing to pay the few dollars extra it costs to put on the dorky glasses that bring the illusion of depth to the images.

The filmmakers had been racing to create a 3-D version of "Deathly Hallows" in time for its theatrical debut this week, but they said they ran out of time to do it right.

"We lavish a huge amount of attention and care on the 2-D version, the normal version of the film," said producer David Barron. "We were just not prepared to throw off what you might call some half-assed version just for the sake of trying to generate more money."

How much more money? There's no way to pinpoint precisely what 3-D would have added to revenues for "Deathly Hallows," but producer David Heyman made an estimate.

"I think 10 to 20 percent, probably. On a film that's going to make $800 million at the box office, that's a lot of money," Heyman said. "Warner Bros. are going to have to alter their fourth-quarter projections because it's not in 3-D."

As bad as that sounds for shareholders, it's a rare instance of quality trumping commerce in greedy Hollywood. Warner Bros. pushed for a 3-D version but ultimately agreed to drop it once the filmmakers convinced studio heads it would be an inferior rush job.

Director David Yates, who shot both parts of "Deathly Hallows" simultaneously, said "lots of beautiful individual bits and pieces" of "Part 1" had been converted to 3-D, but other scenes simply did not look right.

With what the filmmakers learned on "Part 1" — and nearly eight months ahead of them — they are confident they can deliver a 3-D version of "Part 2" that lives up to the "Harry Potter" brand name.

"I think it's going to be really cool," Yates said. "We've been working with people since May on the whole 3-D thing, so it's not like we're starting from scratch. I want it to work. I really want it to work."

There are moments in the 2-D version of "Part 1" where the possibilities of 3-D can be clearly seen, including a scene where a giant snake hurtles itself at the camera and another where Harry's pet owl flies away from him toward the audience.

Such images were not created for 3-D jolt effect, though, since "Deathly Hallows" was not shot with 3-D in mind. The film was well into production before the digital 3-D craze took hold last year, culminating in James Cameron's sci-fi sensation "Avatar."

Digital 3-D comes in two basic flavors: Films such as "Avatar" specifically shot with 3-D cameras that create two slightly offset images, and movies converted to 3-D after the fact.

Done well, footage converted to 3-D can look great. George Lucas showed an impressive 3-D conversion of the opening scenes of 1977's "Star Wars" to theater owners at a convention in 2005, and the technology has advanced since then.

Lucas plans to release 3-D versions of all six "Star Wars" movies, while Cameron is converting "Titanic" for 3-D release.

As meticulous as Lucas and Cameron are, fans probably can expect top-of-the-line 3-D conversions. But some recent movies converted to 3-D have come off as hasty knockoffs to cash in on 3-D mania.

Critics carped that 3-D added little to such recent hits as "The Last Airbender," "Clash of the Titans" and even Tim Burton's blockbuster "Alice in Wonderland." Some claimed 3-D conversion jobs actually can be a distraction, leaving images looking smudged and blurry.

Radcliffe is not a fan of 3-D even when it's done well. He said that Christopher Nolan's sci-fi blockbuster "Inception" was the year's best film both visually and dramatically, "and that for me puts the 3-D argument to bed."

"`Avatar,' sure, it looked amazing, but not more amazing than `Inception,'" Radcliffe said. "And I thought about `Inception' for so much longer because it was a better film, because it was a more interesting film. And I don't think that technology is a substitute for story, which I think is how 3-D can sometimes be used."

Nolan, who also made "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight," is not shooting his next Batman movie in 3-D, either.

Warner Bros., which released "Inception" and the Batman movies, may be counting on a 3-D bonanza from next summer's finale to the "Harry Potter" franchise. Yet Radcliffe would like to see "Deathly Hallows: Part 1" work enough critical and commercial magic that the filmmakers and studio bosses will change their minds.

"What I'm hoping is that this film will get a good enough reaction so they all go, `Maybe we don't have to do the last one in 3-D. People don't miss it.' That's what I'm hoping for," Radcliffe said. "But it's sort of not in my control."