[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] Bottom of the hour. You are watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Bruno Mars is on a roll. Superstar performance last night the Super Bowl halftime show, he is hot on iTunes, especially this morning. Three songs in the iTunes top 100 and picked up a Grammy just last month. CNN's Christine Romans has more on the newest superstar to rock the music biz.
[Christine Romans, Cnn Chief Business Correspondent:] The real Super Bowl winner, Bruno Mars. He took the biggest stage in music in front of more than 100 million viewers and saved an otherwise dull game. So who is this Super Bowl sensation? Born Peter Hernandez to a musical family in Hawaii, he started as the world's youngest Elvis impersonator. He struggled as a performer and was dropped from Motown Records then changed his business plan and began writing and producing songs for other artists. His big break came in 2010 doing vocals for two songs he helped write, "Nothing On You" and "Billionaire." His debut album was a success. And landed "Mars" two number two hits. Album number two reached number one and the accompanying tour brought in $46 million so far. All together "Mars" has sold 115 million singles worldwide. Landed five number one singles faster than any male singer since Elvis. The 28-year-old was Billboard's artist of the year last year. He landed his second Grammy, this one for best pop vocal album of the year on Orthodox Juke Box. Outside the studio, he has invested in Chromatik, a startup that makes digital sheet music and electronic cigarette maker, Enjoy, which he uses to kick the habit. The business of being Bruno Mars is indeed super. Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
[Baldwin:] Can't help but be bop along here. Let's talk Bruno Mars and other hits and misses of Super Bowl XLVIII. Joining me now are Peter Shankman, a branding consultant, Rachel Nichols, host of CNN's "UNGUARDED" and Robert Tuchman, a sports marketer. Guys, welcome to all of you. Peter Shankman, Bruno Mars has come a long way from the Elvis impersonating of his youth, yes?
[Peter Shankman, Branding Consultant:] I tweeted out the group looked like the group from the enchantment of back to the future. They did a phenomenal job. The Super Bowl really needed this. They have not had a good halftime show in a long time. Of course, this was the 10-year anniversary of Nickel Gate. So they really needed something to come up and really shocked at the next level. You're right. It saved the Super Bowl.
[Baldwin:] I have to say though it was awesome seeing the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I'm a huge fan. I enjoyed Anthony Keatis. I know there have been mixed reviews. Rachel Nichols, are with me on that?
[Rachel Nichols, Host, Cnn's "unguarded":] Come on, Beyonce last year didn't do it for you. 14:35:14 Prince singing Purple Rain in the rain a few years, there were some decent Super Bowl halftime show in the last decade, but this was a good one.
[Baldwin:] OK, Rachel, let me start let me continue with you because we have to talk about this fur monstrosity that was the Joe Namath coat thing. Two different Twitter handles, I checked today. Is that what got in the way of the coin toss? What was up with that?
[Nichols:] I think look, Joe is 70 years old. So he went to flip the coin before either team called heads or tails, which is a problem because if it hits the ground and it shows whether it's heads or tails, makes it easier to know whether you should pick heads or tails. Jump in and get to the coin before it hit the ground and do it all over again. It gives us more time to endure Joe Namath's coat.
[Unidentified Male:] It's so great.
[Nichols:] You have to remember. This is the kind of coat that hopefully is not the same coat that he was wearing in the late 60s. Maybe it was. It was
[Baldwin:] It was a nod.
[Nichols:] He was wearing in the late 60s when he was famous player. There were a lot of people watching who let's just say weren't around at that time. For them this was a new experience to see Broadway Joe. For the older set it was a nice trip down memory lane.
[Baldwin:] OK, Robert, let's talk about the hit ads. We were talking about this Friday. Let's watch two commercials that scored starting with, I love this one, the Radioshack poking fun at itself. Watch.
[Unidentified Male:] Love it. What? The 80s called. They want their store back.
[Baldwin:] You know, Mary Lou Retton, Chuckie, Elf. I feel like nostalgia really won people over.
[Robert Tuchman, Sports Marketer, Goviva:] I loved it. That was my favorite commercial of the entire Super Bowl. I mean, any time you get Hulk Hogan, I thought I saw kid in play back there. That was the theme of the Super Bowl, but by far also my favorite commercial.
[Baldwin:] But then also you had and this is another warm and fuzzy category. Budweiser with the puppy love ad and I thought it was interesting just watching this year. First of all, I really wasn't wowed by a lot of the ads. Let me just throw that out there, but Peter, I saw less, you know, suggestive, sexy ads and more nostalgic and sweeter ads.
[Shankman:] Yes, Go Daddy, really took the cake with that where they actually created an ad that focussed on making money as opposed to a sexy one. One of the things no one notice is Danica Patrick was actually wearing a muscle suit in the ad about the spray tan. Another interesting thing is the Twitter and Vine and realtime marketing really took the cake here with those responding to the Vine about Tide gets it out. It turns out they were tweeting with mittens.
[Baldwin:] They got all for free. They were talking on national TV. The final question though, to you, Robert, because listen, it wasn't much of a game. Rachel is there. She knows. Let's say post Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bruno Mars, what if you were one of companies who had their ad in the fourth quarter. Are they out of luck all that money?
[Tuchman:] Absolutely. What I have been told is it's tough. It's $4.5 million.
[Baldwin:] For 30 seconds.
[Tuchman:] If the game is not within two touchdowns, people turn it off. This one was far beyond two touchdowns. People turn it off and this one was far beyond two touchdowns and I really do feel bad. A lot of those advertisers spent a lot of money and a lot of people turned it off and started talking to people next to them and unfortunately, you know, that's what comes with a blowout.
[Nichols:] But this is the gamble that you take, right, because if it's a close game like it was last year or the past two previous years, the fourth quarter is where you want to be. Everybody is glued to their TVs.
[Baldwin:] Robert Tuchman, Peter Shankman, Rachel Nichols, to the three of you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Coming up, the Olympic games begin Friday and Sochi is not ready. Have you heard? Hotels are not finished. Credit cards, can't use them. We'll take you there and explain. You're watching CNN.