General Motors captured the gold with its advertising of its new 2013 Cadillac ATS, itsBMW 3 Series-fighter. The“Cadillac ATS vs. the World”campaign launched during the opening ceremony of the London Olympic Games on Friday and continued through the weekend. Cadillac needs to establish this brand-new nameplate against the well-known and often-shopped 3 Series.

The Olympics ad campaign helped. Shopping on Edmunds.com for the Cadillac ATS, albeit from a small base, soared 351 percent after the first 60-second commercial aired during opening ceremony for the London Olympics on Friday. Cadillac followed up with 30-second spots throughout the weekend, leading to a lift in shopping consideration of 474 percent by the time Monday arrived. Shopping consideration is an indicator of marketing effectiveness, not necessarily actual sales.

The report card on Cadillac’s Olympics advertising comes a day after GM announced the departure of its chief marketing officer Joel Ewanick, who had been criticized for other GM marketing efforts, including the Chevy Runs Deep ad campaign, that failed to boost the automaker’s slumping U.S. market share.

The ATS ads are actually a series of mini-films featuring the new entry-luxury sport sedan in various places in the world to show off the car’s agility and driving capabilities. Locations include the deserts of Morocco, the streets of Monaco, the hand-chiseled Guoliang Tunnels of China and windswept Patagonia, Chile. The campaign was directed by Academy Award-nominated documentary film maker Joe Berlinger, and Jeff Zwart, an acclaimed automotive expert and film maker. The driver in the spots is Derek Hill, a champion race driver and son of Phil Hill, the only American to win the World Driving Championship. American actor and filmmaker Ross Thomas hosts the series. The ATS arrives in Cadillac showrooms later this year, with a starting price of $33,900….

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