Commentary

Out to Launch

It's still not Wednesday, but you're closer to getting over the hump. The Super Bowl ads continue to trickle in. Let's launch!

Can you picture a Super Bowl without a GoDaddy.com ad? Or the pre-game lengths the company goes through to get a spot approved? I can, but where's the fun in that? The tenth time was the charm this year for Go Daddy. The first nine times, consisting of five different concepts, spelled rejection for the company. There is a plot twist concerning this year's ad; it's not the ad Go Daddy wanted to run, and it's a cliffhanger! A group of friends, except for one, are watching the big game in "Spot On," the approved ad. The other friend is sitting at a computer, eagerly awaiting the online launch of "Exposure," the unapproved ad starring Indy racecar driver Danica Patrick. Everyone races to the computer to see a snippet of the banned ad, featuring Patrick slowly unzipping her jacket. What's underneath? Besides the obvious, who knows? The approved ad is slated to run in the first quarter and drives viewers to GoDaddy's Web site to see what Danica's hiding. See the ad here. Will you hit the Web once the intended Go Daddy ad goes live? I think I can wait. "Exposure" spoofs a celebrity trend and was banned for its use of the word "beaver," referencing animatronics beavers in the ad. I'm guessing the ad spoofs the issue of celebs not wearing underwear. The ad was created in-house. Oh, and if Go Daddy decides to purchase additional airtime, and you know they will, they have a second ad that's already passed the approval process. "White Light" features the same game-watching crew and the lone man on the computer, but this time he's registering domain names while his friend mockingly compares the experience to that of a first kiss. The crew sees the white light, however, in the form of Go Daddy Girl Candice Michelle, who gets a little cheeky with the computer geek. Watch the ad here.

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Dell is running a pre-existing spot twice prior to the big game and one new ad in-game. More on the in-game ad later this week. "Out with the Old" launched in December and includes a new sound to a classic tune. Jennifer Terran sings "Que Sara Sara," made popular in the 1950s by Doris Day, as computer monitors of the past are smashed to bits and wrecking balls demolish hard drives. The spot ends with a lone computer standing, the Dell XPS One, "available in beautiful." Click here to watch the ad, created by Mother.

American Airlines is running an already-launched spot, "Team Building," in the New York City market during the Super Bowl. An employee seminar hoping to bring co-workers closer together goes from really bad to worse for one man. He trusts his co-workers to catch him when he falls back... and they don't. He learns the hard way that personal space is nonexistent and that playing Jenga is harder with loud distractions. He books a flight on the next plane out and even reserves a seat for another seminar escapee. Watch the ad here. TM Advertising created the campaign.

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