…it goes to the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, the Motor City’s perennial ice hockey power who tried to whip up a bit of fan excitement in early April for their eventual failed Stanley Cup run this year with a car give-away. What’s not to like there?

Long favored as the gamers’ snack of choice, it’s fitting that Doritos has launched its own video game to complement its latest marketing campaign.

Earlier this week, geo-based social networking site Foursquare announced it surpassed 500,000 merchants. That’s over half a million businesses reaching out to the mobile-savvy generation, gleaning valuable market research and raising awareness of their brand. But this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s top dog in the mobile/social commerce sector.

The new Transformers film blew away the box office competition this weekend, bringing in $372 million around the globe, the third-biggest take ever for a summer blockbuster opening. It’s hard to know what part the barrage of #Transformers Tweets played in the success of TF3, but one thing is clear: the dark art of piggybacking on the success of a buzz-worthy Hollywood flick is alive and well.

The ROI debate still hangs over every social media budgeting discussion, it seems, but the camp of believers is growing larger and more impressive every day. One such believer is Unilever’s Selina Sykes, who handles digital and social media marketing for Lynx, the UK’s top-selling deodorant brand for men.

Two weeks ago, Google told us that the most-watched-ever advert to hit YouTube is Volkswagen’s “The Force,” a spot released six months ago during the Super Bowl. In another sign of its impressive social media savvy, Greenpeace is using the popularity of that advert against VW this week with a spoof of “The Force” that calls into question the German car-maker’s green credentials and commitment to a low-carbon future.

Last week we looked at the novel way in which PayPal UK has recruited over 100,000 160,000 Facebook fans and another 11,000 Twitter followers in a matter of a few weeks simply by dangling the chance to win a free iPad 2 to anyone who clicks the “Like” button. We calculated the cost-per-acquisition for PayPal UK is pennies on the pound, a huge bargain when you consider what it costs to lure in new Twitter followers by paying for a targeted “Promoted Account” buy.

Topshop, the trendy UK fashion retailer, launched an in-store promotion last week in the UK and Ireland (and this week in New York) backed by one of the hottest mobile apps out there: Instagram. Using the uber-cool Instagram photo-sharing app is not a first in the world of retail, but we have to wonder: after TopShop’s effort will it become the app of choice for social-savvy high street brands?

That’s how you could pretty much sum up the conversation I had this morning with Jon Bishop, head of social media for PayPal UK. For the second time in a year, the popular online payment service has amassed 6-digit gains in its Facebook following in a matter of days with a pretty cost-effective pitch: friend us and you’ll get a chance to win a new iPad 2.

npower Football League launched the ‘Every Shirt Has A Story’ campaign earlier this month to get fans passionate online for a chance to win a range of league prizes just as the season draws to a close. Technically the campaign accomplished its goal, with a respectable number of fans participating in the contest. But in terms of social media engagement, if this campaign came down to a penalty kick, you could say, it was a sour miss. Here’s what went amiss.