Are powdered turds and diamonds the new cocaine?

We were watching The Amazing Race on cbs.com and this commercial played. When the woman in the fur coat and bikini blew powder out of her hand, my wife asked, “is this for real?” But then this shot appeared:

"Are you kidding me?" I blurted. But it seems to be a real promotion for this blog post at chow.com.

UPDATE: Chow.com is owned by CBS interactive. But I’m not sure if that makes me feel better or worse about this video.

Do cross-dressing pro-wrestlers make good spokespeople?

They do if you're trying to show how tough your floor is: Pergo XP put their floor to the test versus some harsh challengers in the middle of Venice Beach, California. You can see them all at PergoXPvs.com.

Is this the best social media contest ever?

Mini Cooper has teamed up with Smith Magazine of Six Word Memoir fame to award "the best test drive ever." Submit your six word long idea, @SmithMag will judge the entries and Mini will make one of them happen.

Not every brand can pull off letting people pick their own prize, but here's two other things they got right:
-The clear contraint on the length is sure to inspire creative entries and is ideal for sharing.
-They don't force you to post, like or retweet to enter.

The fact that they also teamed up with someecards to promote it doesn't hurt either.

Here's my entry:

Submit your own at their site.

As usual with the Mini brand, design goes a long way. Even their emails look cool.

Would you rather see an ad or art?

It's a nice change to see artists displayed on Austin billboards.

You can see them all at AustinArtBoards.org.

Art has also been displayed in cabs in New York with vinyl panels and taxi top ads.