Overall, this year's game was exciting as all hell. It's too bad that the spot did not live up to the same quality. I'll keep this short, but the mangled concoction of playing off our nostalgia, diabetic bears and 4 minutes spots made for a less than satisfying Super Bowl ad watching experience. And as a creative who has never done tv...this is the time of years I look to for all the answers to life's questions. ALL of them. With that said, these few below managed to hit a mark within their categories. And believe me..there were categories this year. It was kinda like all the agencies got together and decided to play in the same field of nonsensical connections cough::car ads::cough, animal exploitation and time period time-lapse pieces.
1. M&M. The dance that red does "naked"....just makes me smile. Sidenote: I work with a copywriter who worked on the M&M people..and it's hysterical how many rules and quirky guidelines there are to each of their personalities.
2. Out of all of them (ahem here's looking at you Budweiser) the NFL did the best job at scanning history.
3.) Of all the animal ads.....Bud Light finally delivered a funny one after the first half, which honestly is what we have come to expect from them. So...check off.
4) Nostalgia alert....it got me. All you need to do is show me cartoons from my childhood, I'm a sucker.
5) Silly, but fun enough for the super bowl.
6) I hate Jay Leno.
And that's that. I am not gonna hate this year. But I will direct you to adfreaks top 5 most controvesial.
The good, the bad and the ugly (of what I remember). Here is Prosthought's obligatory Super Bowl Ad review.
VW "The Force."
Cute...my only problem is that the kid is too young to be that obsessed with Star Wars. This is a mishandling of generational experiences. But does it matter? It's made for our parents and us. The kid is just a prop to get us to feel nastalgic. VW is NOT the only car with automatic transmissions...let's be serious. But thiercreatives are, the only ones that could make this spot. And that's was ads are about people. And the kid unmasked...is sorta not cute. Let's stop giving him play.
Mercedes "Welcome"
Do we really want our cars to do this? Drive away aimlessly in the middle of the night. Peoples insurance must be sky high with this sh*t owning a Mercedes. And Diddy, still cant act (and he was only on the screen for 10 seconds).
Audi "Release the Hounds"
"Hit them with the Kenny G." Lol.
BMW "Defying Logic"
It does make sense that MNW would outsource to America to build cars. It's cheaper. But hot damn, cause we build it. it must be American. I'm sure they tricked the tea party. And I wouldve never shown someone clipping on that little BMW insignia piece on the hood. Makes the car look cheap.
Snickers "Logging"
Good enough. But it's no Betty White or Aretha Franklyn.
Bridgestone "Reply All"
A human truth is always funny. Accidental Reply alls is liking telling your mom about your sex life. Some things....you just cant take back.
Carmax "Candy Store"
Smart.
Doritos "Best Part."
And this....made everyone in the room cringe at once. Which means it was successful. Everyone has boundaries...and apparently sucking the cheese off of someone's fingers at work with out permission is EVERYONE'sboundary.
I guess that's it. You already know about my love for the new Beetle Spot. Bud had a good one...as usual. Timothy Hutton gave a big "Fuck you, just keep making food for me" to Tibet. The test baby was just a little disturbing. Coke was a little ho-hum this year. I love dragons as much as the next full grown man in his 20s....but this is a little wack. But I feel like I am missing something.....(I was taking shots, every time a team scored or someone said FOX, or Walt the head official was on the screen. So...I could be forgetting a spot here or there.
There were an overflow of cars spots. Chevy, VW, BMW and Mercedes must not have got hit by the recession. And if not cars....stuff for cars. Tires, insurance, etc. And if not stuff for cars, GoDaddy.com (or .co) promoting plastic surgery. Packers won, which is vindication for the Jets. And Christina Aguilera showed all of America that she hated freedom. So al-all...an ok time.
So. I'm a day late. I had some....well, some kick back from the Super Bowl that caused me to need some R&R. Though I didn't care about the teams, in general...I must say that the game was pretty entertaining. There wasn't that time in the 3rd quarter where the multiple commercial break seemingly bring the game to a halt and you are thinking about how late it's getting in comparison to how much you are drinking and how you're out of witty things to bring to the "Comment-Out-Loud" in front of strangers act that is the Super Bowl party. But...I must admit that I was high off the euphoria cuteness of Puppy Bowl for like a half an hour. But that is neither here nor there.
But let's talk about Super Bowl commercials shall we. They pretty much all sucked this year. So when I do this breakdown, you have to take it in context. The Good, the Bad and the In between. So, "The good"....metaphorically speaking would be like the skinniest kid in fat camp.
The Good.
Snickers. Betty White made this spot. The end.
Fiddling Beaver. I have a soft spot for stupid stuff like this.
Doritos: "Keep Your Hand off my momma, keep your hand off my Doritos." Hysterical. And is some cases, this consumer generated ad has way more context than alot of the bigger agency spots.
Two...seemingly alright Bud Light spots. I put these here, because when I lived in Chicago...making Super Bowl ads with BBDO for Bud light ads was a young creatives life goal. Bud light is well known for man ads during the Superbowl, but in comparison to the stuff they have put out in the past....these...well while they still have the funny, they seem to be lacking in production quality. There are funny lines. And last minute scenario twists. But the overall executions seem lacking in thought. But that's just my opinion.
The Bad
Taco Bell. Charles....you are not allowed to eat anymore Taco Bell. Have you glanced in the mirror lately? Taco Bell is not agreeing with you waste line. And taco bells...what are you stuck in contract with this dude? What part of this spot makes you think a consumer would want to see it?
Budweiser. We get it. Animal trainers are making bank. The damn horses make friends. And then the horses and the friends remember each other years later. And they hang out. I think I've seen this execution before. Lazy.
Dove for Men. This was ok. Until....(you guessed it), the end. So know that you are comfortable in your life and with yourself...you can be comfortable using a girls soap? I think not.
The InBetween
This was good....up until the end. Que, vintage car driving on a desert road otherwise known as "a scene from any given 80's film." PS...I will never throw my underwear in the basket. Cause I am Man.
Parisian Google love. As my friends texted me after the spot "So using Google will eventually lead to making babies?"
Weird, as usual. But perhaps not weird enough.
See all the Super Bowl spots that didnt make my list here.
And then there were the spots that didn'tmake it to the Super Bowl. Man Crush is getting a considerable amount of attention. I'm not sure why. I recall the Snickers man on man make-out last year. In some respects....it might not be the worste thing to not make it to the superbowl. Especially if someone who has a blog is generally comparing all Superbowl Ads to a fat camp.
About to go to a female sponsored Super Bowl party. As fearful (I mean extatic) as I am...I can only hope that there is enough booze (beer) ,food (wings and pizza) and new spots to keep my brain occupied. I kid....but no really. Pray for me.
Hi L. See you real soon.
SIDENOTE: Does it bother anyone else that the log above is visually off balanced?
I hate to say this, but this spot did a really good job at recapping my exact thoughts and concerns about this year's super bowl ads. They were all too safe, some didn't have sense and others were simply stupid. Let's do a play by play of all the memorable ones.
-Sobe Life Water..."Thrillicous" when Lizards do the MJ thriller dance with Naomie Cammbell...wrong, wrong, wrong. And Cambell isnt even doing the dance all correctly. Ughhhh.
-If the doritos ad that promised you enough cheesiness to get you attacked by a man in a mouse costume wasnt memorable enough...perhaps the indie acuostic singer on the roof rings more of a bell. Im sorry...is that a cheese dust graphic that procedes each word? I laughed once at the giant mouse. But overall...why do either of these make me want to go buy Doritos?
- Like always...Budlight delivers a hit, with the "Giant Cheese" spot. There is something about not knowing whats going on, paired with ridiculousness, paired with wine parties. It was good enough...not great. On the other hand...."the ability" camapign (I guess you could call it that if you remember the other ones b4) worked and didnt work (in context, that is). When we saw the second one, eveyone was like, did that guy just die(cause when a flying man goes through a jet engine, he normally dies). And, well...I'm pretty sure ads aren't suppose to do that.
-G2....eh?!?!?!? Who cares....the old "drink this and you become this" equation, but done to the most boring of degrees.
- You already know how I feel about the ETrade trading baby . It is a thumbs up for me. Granted its cliche and granted it was only a few steps away from the first idea (trading is so east a baby can do it), but its still cute, no? Which is probably why I should hate it. But i dont.
-And here come the big boys...Budwieser with thier same old dramatic story with a positive outcome. And FedEx, keeping up with thier superbowl wierdness trend...thank god for Mutant Pigeons, makes me think of the good old days. Coke, way to finally let Charlie Brown win one....YAY!!!!!!
- Planters Nuts...your silly. Cashews logically do not make you attractive... unibrow woman. Planters is a food you eat, it gives you protien... its not axe for women.
- "Do You Like Popsicles?" ...lol. So well acted, and legitimantly funny, Verizon Fav 5 steps up from small little chuckle to a 30 second "I can relate" smile.
-Career builder.com, you def pushed the limit. When someones heart pops out of thier chest, you get immediate interest, but then you critterized the ish out of it, which I guess is fine, a bit silly. A little scary...the...suddeness of it all. For a second, I thought her breast implant ejected itself....but the message was there and clear. I didnt like that 70's inspired, mock office building thing at the end, but hey.....
- Bridgstone...sure, screaming animals...why not. Makes sense. But did they take into account the people who dont care about hitting animals...lol, jk. I do appreciate the turtles slow-mo scream.
- Audi...the car looks really nice. But the idea...borrowed interest.
- Dell, I get it. It's pretty. Simple, simple simple. Dell I don't get it. Everyone will love you if you buy this Red Dell? Whap whap. When my party finished seeing this spot, I particularly remember someone saying, "I hate RED". Theory already dead.
-Garmin...for such crazy basement rock band music, your spot sure was lacking. Nepoleon using your equpiment to get to his own war? Did you just call the consumer stupid? I think that's a "wee". I liked your map monster from last year (which beleive it or not, I had the same idea (diff product) a few months earlier).
-Speaking of same idea. If you check my 'portfolio' from college you will see Tide to Go Ads with a man who has a stain on his shirt at an interview. If you check this super Bowl ad, you will see the sam premis. Conclusion...someone should hire me...Im atleast a year ahead of my time...it ad terms. DDB, BBDO, Leo.....see you soon.
- Vitamin Water. I still dont get why Shaq was a jockey. Big, small...who cares at all....hahaha, I'm a poet and didnt know it, I got rhymes but dont do the time, my words sound the game, and I got game....
If i had to pick a winner from this hodgepodge of mediocrity....I choose FedEx, i mean giant carrier pigoens...come on. Plus, it reminds me of the pigeons my grandpa had when I was little.
just my thoughts folks.....things that make me go Yeah...yeah...yeah (Usher reference)! Ads, the actual game, and other stuff, in no particular order.
1. My father calling me during the first quarter to tell me that I'd better root for the New York because Antonio Pierce, the LB for the Giants, was infact Bermudian. He was very excited and probably a little tipsy....but I ensured him that he did indeed just sway my vote. And we ended the convo with a hardy HAIL BERMUDA!
2.The E Trade baby. Though probably a holy nightmare to all parents in every part of the world, we could not help but to laugh as the baby spit up, just a little bit after buying some stock online. Check it out....here. I am also aware of the ad faux pas about babies and puppies. But common, this one spit up. And that's not only cute but also funny.
3. Jordin Sparks singing the national anthem. She looked scared sh*tless but did do a good job. Whether she was lip syncing or not, I did let out a "you go girl". At the end, you can see an audible "Pheww" and a mental glad I didnt fuck that up. (and after it all my room mate said "She got some Gurth on her"...he is too real).
4. Eli Manning getting out of this mouse trap of a situation. The entire room (of my super bowl party...the best one in the nation btw) was literally on fire when that happened. I mean Brady was sacked 5 times...a season high. The game in its entirety was just really entertaining, but I dont think I would be saying that if the Pats woulda won.
5. Spoons during half time. I mean, need I say more. If we didnt have enough food to feed a small nation, and if the people there weren't entertaining enough....at halftime, we played a healthy dosage of spoons. This time, there was no blood.
6. John Johnson, a Giants trainer since 1948. So in all serioussness they introduced this man on the tv screen like a normal everyday person. They just showed him, said a few comments and panned away. What was not noted was a. his awesome name and b. his potential for dropping dead righ there at the game. Thank god it's his last game. Sometimes, retirement should be mandatory. I'm sure he is glad he made it through that last TB outbreak...during the great depression, but if you yourself cannot run more than 10 yards, you shouldn't be training pro athletes...or anyone else . 7. The return of Donkey Lips. Late in the fourth an amp ad appeared on the tele, it had a fat man attaching wires to his nipples from a car...within seconds, we the crowd (we) realized that this fat man was indeed Donkey Lips from the hit show Salute your Shorts. OMG! Who at the agency was like..."we gotta call that kid from that Nick show from the early 90's, he'd be great." Cause whoever thought of that, is a genius.
8. NO ONE. Anyone who knows me...especially my roomates, know that I am in love with Alicia Keys. During the pregame show she performed her single live in some white snow leopard skin tight pants....which only could be described a "fierce." (no homo) I literally heard the song in the shower and jumped out to raise one hand in the air in my bath towel.
9. Remember that time that someone decided it was a good idea to read the entirety of the declaration of independance right before the game? I do. It was yesterday. And it was a bad idea. The entire time I was thinking...god damnit, why is this thing so long and then I felt unamerican, and then I felt like calling John Hancock and telling him to draft a revised version immeadiatly so that this doesnt happen again. 1328 words....really? Read by the average americans? It was like watching a speacial olympics mini-series.
10. Belichick's interview at the end of the game. He was really really pissed. Like he never won a superbowl before. The interviewer looked dazed and confused. I almost felt bad for him...and then I realized he had more money than my entire family put together in the past and fututre. Ass!
It's about that time of year. When the best 2 football teams of this great nation meet of the fields of truth to.........
Lets get into what superbowl is really all about. The Ads.
According to comScore the people of america voted the following brands at the top of thier game when it comes to the Superbowl Spots. They are the most memorable.
1. Anheuser-Busch 40 %
2. Doritos 23 %
3. GoDaddy.com 18 %
4. Pizza Hut 17 %
5. FedEx 17 %
Respondents were also asked to pick 3 brand advertisers whose commercials they were most looking forward to seeing during this year's Super Bowl. 44 % of respondents choose both Coca Cola and Pepsi. Edgier advertisers also rated among the most anticipated, including Victoria's Secret (21 percent) and GoDaddy.com (16 percent).
There are some serious holes in the plot here. But I dont want to over do it, cause lord knows I'll be posting like a mad man on Monday. In the mean time.....GOOOOOGIANTS!
