Beer out as top Super Bowl ad
ALBUQUERQUE, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. tire maker Bridgestone's Potatoheads commercial was voted the favorite product pitch aired during the Super Bowl Sunday in the ninth annual ADBOWL.
The ad, featuring Potatohead toys driving a car equipped with Bridgestone tires, was the first non-beer commercial to grab the top spot in six years, said Steve McKee, president of the media services firm McKee Wallwork Cleveland and founder of ADBOWL.
Bridgestone also took second place with its "Hot Item" ad, which showed astronauts tooling around another planet in a rover sporting the company's tires only to have them stolen.
No. 3 was Coca-Cola's "Heist," which had insects spiriting away a bottle of Coke from a picnic site while the human owner sleeps.
Anheuser-Busch's "Clydesdale Fetch," depicting one of the beer company's trademark horses retrieving a huge stick, was No. 4 and fifth was Doritos' "Crystal Ball," in which throwing a glass ball into a vending machine for free snacks worked well but throwing one at the boss to get a promotion, not so much.
The next five were a Pepsi ad showing men getting knocked silly, a Pedigree spot for pet adoption, a Monster.com ad about bad jobs, another Doritos ad about super crunchy chips and a Budweiser pitch for its light beer.
The rankings were determined by viewers voting at www.ADBOWL.com. Vote totals were not provided.
McKee said he thinks the nearly quarter billion dollars the companies forked out advertising during the big game was money well-spent
"Despite their seemingly expensive price tag, the ads reach their target audiences for just pennies per household," he said. "That's a great buy in any economic climate."
Cops force Tommy Lee's chopper to land
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- The pilot of a helicopter carrying rocker Tommy Lee was forced to land after he allegedly flew too close to a Los Angeles police chopper, officials said.
"(The pilot) was flying rather erratically and he did get close to one of our helicopters,'' LAPD Officer Karen Smith told E! News. "The tower over the area was concerned about his flying, too."
Smith said the Motley Crue musician and the pilot, whose name wasn't immediately released, were forced to land at the closest airport Sunday.
The pilot was taken to the LAPD's Van Nuys station where he took a breath test and was released without charge, pending the results.
"(Lee) had nothing to do with the situation, so he was just released," Smith told E! News.
'Camino,' Del Toro win big at Goyas
BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- "Camino" won the prizes for best film, director, actress and supporting actor at the Goya Awards ceremony in Spain during the weekend.
The movie about the Opus Dei religious order earned Javier Fesser the best director honor, Carme Elias the best actress Goya and Jordi Dauder the best supporting actor trophy. Nerea Camacho also took home the award for best new female talent, the BBC said.
Benicio Del Toro won the best actor prize for his portrayal of Cuban revolutionary leader Che Guevara and Penelope Cruz earned the best supporting actress trophy for her work in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."
"4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," a drama about illegal abortion in Romania, won the title of best European film and Jess Franco was honored with the lifetime achievement Goya for his contributions to the horror/erotica genre, the BBC said.
Man selling 867-5309 number on eBay
NEW YORK, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- A New York area disc jockey said he is selling his 867-5309 phone number on eBay because too many fans of the 1980s pop song, featuring the number, call daily.
Spencer Potter told The New York Times he initially thought 867-5309 would be the perfect contact number for his wedding and party business -- A Blast Entertainment -- when he requested it about five years ago. However, he has since changed his mind after seeing how many people call because they are curious to see who answers the phone at the number immortalized in Tommy Tutone's classic song, "867-5309/Jenny."
Potter told the Times he receives an average of 30 calls a day, and although it was fun for awhile, he is ready to pass the number on to someone else.
"Selling my D.J. company with the most famous phone number in HISTORY ... 867-5309," Potter said in his eBay listing.
He also noted that his 201 area-coded number is "one of the last remaining 867-5309 numbers in service" and said it can be transferred to anywhere in the United States.
The Times quoted Potter as saying he doesn't think the phone company will intercede since he is selling the business with the number included.
Potter told the newspaper he hopes the sale of the number will raise enough money for him to spend two months backpacking in Europe.
As of 11 a.m. Monday, 43 bids had been placed and the price was $5,101. The auction ends next week.
