Commentary

Shop Talk: The Best And Worst Of The Super Bowl Ads

by Amy Corr , Staff Writer, February 2, 2009

Underwhelmed and fresh salsa. Those are the two tastes lingering in my mouth following the Super Bowl. The game was far more exciting than the ads. Even this non-football-watcher was glued to her seat.

Everyone's tastes differ, but here's a rundown on my favorite and least favorite ads. Whether you agree or disagree with my selection, I invite you to discuss your favorite Super Bowl ads on the Media Creativity blog.

Don't risk missing these ads with a bathroom break: Hulu. "You know they say TV will rot your brain. That's absurd. TV only softens your brain. Like a ripe banana," says Alec Baldwin, portraying an alien portraying a "TV actor" in Hulu's evil plot to destroy the world. Crispin Porter & Bogusky created the ad. I rewatched the ad on Hulu, but not before being informed that Teleflora sponsored my viewing pleasure. More on them later.

Doritos hurled a snow globe at a vending machine and I laughed. The spot takes place in an office where a co-worker claims his crystal ball, in actuality a snow globe, can predict the future. The co-worker bets that the office will get free Doritos. The vision comes true when he throws the snow globe into the Doritos vending machine, shattering the glass. A skeptical co-worker drinks the Kool-Aid and asks the snow globe if he will get a promotion. He hurls the snow globe right into his boss' crotch, guaranteeing no promotion. The ad was user-created and the winners received $1 million.

Out of the two E*TRADE ads, created by Grey New York, I enjoyed "Wings" over "401K." Anything paying homage to Mr. Mister can't be bad, right?

I enjoyed "Avatar" and "Heist," two Coke ads created by Wieden+Kennedy,so much that I downloaded the original version, sung by Elvis Presley, of "Stranger in the Crowd," the song used in "Avatar."

Bridgestone Tires did not disappoint with its two TV spots. One ad took place in outer space, with a pair of astronauts who were too busy dancing to House of Pain's "Jump Around" to notice their Bridgestone tires were stolen. The second ad starred Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head out for a drive. The only way to silence a nagging Mrs. Potato Head involved a herd of sheep and a quick tap on the brakes that caused her mouth to come loose and fall down a mountainside. The Richards Group created the ads.

I paid $3 million and all I got was this lousy ad. Stereotypes are hyped in Super Bowl ads, I get it, but Teleflora's talking flowers spot crossed the line and wound up being downright cruel. A woman gets flowers delivered to the office, but they're in a box, not a vase, which apparently makes her a "train wreck" who reads romance novels and owns a fat cat. The Fire Station, Teleflora's in-house agency, created this train wreck of an ad.

Keeping with the mean-spiritedness is Cheetos. A tracksuit-wearing woman talking on her cell phone ridicules people she's come in contact with. The customer sitting behind her gets angry and extracts revenge by sprinkling Cheetos under the woman's chair so a large group of pigeons will swoop down upon her. The avenger's actions were encouraged by Chester the Cheetah. Goodby, Silverstein & Partners created the ad.

Toyota advertised something during the Super Bowl, but the ad was so forgettable that I did just that.

Lastly, did anyone else notice that Jake the Clydesdale, in Budweiser's 60-second spot "Generations," has a Scottish accent but was born in America?

ad campaign

10 comments about "Shop Talk: The Best And Worst Of The Super Bowl Ads".

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Mike Weber from CMR Studios, February 2, 2009 at 4 p.m.
The other Doritos ad must have aired when everyone went to the bathroom. It showed the guy making wishes come true with every Dorito until the bag was empty and he got hit by a bus. Everybody I mentoined it to today didn't remember it.
For humor it was pretty well done. I'm not sure if it would sell any Doritos. Making it a cinema ad for the next "Final Destination" movie might be more appropriate.
Mike - www.cmrStudios.com
Reply

Tom Jeffrey from Hook, February 2, 2009 at 4:05 p.m.

One thing that I've noticed watching the Super Bowl year after year is that during a great game, people say the spots are so-so, in a blowout game, people say the spots are great. A good game will for the most part overshadow the ads. And, while we can all give our opinion about what spots were good or bad, we'll see more proof of what was liked by seeing how many views spots get on YouTube in the days and weeks that follow the Super Bowl.

Linda Moskal from WNPV Radio, February 2, 2009 at 4:06 p.m.

I don't like football. I don't like the Steelers. I watched the entire Super Bowl in hopes of seeing the best ads in the world since every year the media (of which I am a part) prattles on about them. If these ads were the "best," I dread having to live with the worst! They were mean-spirited for the most part, trying desparately to be funny and missing, and not one of them made me think I should go out and spend some money and help the economy. President Obama really has his work cut out for him!

Jeffrey Jones from Word.Jones, February 2, 2009 at 4:14 p.m.

There were no commercials worthy of comment during Super Bowl XLIII. It was a huge waste of placement budgets... what can you get for $3M? Not much, not much at all. Coke, Bud/Bud Light... not much viewability.

Good thing the game went down to the last minute... that kept me tuned in. Ugly, but exciting.

bob kochuk, February 2, 2009 at 4:37 p.m.

http://crankyadguy.blogspot.com/

Warren Lee from WHL Consulting, February 2, 2009 at 5:18 p.m.

Ok, so maybe I just love corny ads that jerk at the heartstrings too much, but Amy, you didn't call out the Bud ad with the dog fetching the stick. I don't really like horses but when the Clydesdale fetches the log and is called a showoff by the firemen I laughed. My hat is off to whoever created that. Nice, non-violent, didn't insult anyone, all in all a really nice branding execution for a product that I'll never buy, or forget!
Warren

Nidhi Makhija from Experience Commerce, February 2, 2009 at 8:26 p.m.

Definitely noticed the Scottish accent in Budweiser's "Generations." Apart from that, it was a good ad.

Teleflora might end up earning the highest RoI. It was bad, but everyone's talking about it and everyone now knows what it does. Some strategy!

I'm still confused about why the Half-time show targets the baby boomer generation while the ads seem to target a younger crowd.

Aaron B. from AnimationInsider.net, February 3, 2009 at midnight

Such is the plight of advertising for a predominantly male targeted event that invariably pulls in other demographics simply because said event has become such a massive, commercial endeavor.

Television viewers who watch the NFL on a regular basis probably found Teleflora's ad incredibly amusing, Alec Baldwin cute but boring, and probably figured that there were too many automobile spots.

But in the end, Super Bowl commercials are (now) pretty much supposed to be a waste of cash and nothing else. We give their producers points for cleverness, originality, and functionality... but there are probably very few individuals behind these thirty second spots actually looking to build their brand in a meaningful way.

Jonatan Andres from BAINET, February 3, 2009 at 5:58 a.m.

I THINK THAT THE ONLY WAY THAT AN AD CAN BE EXCELENT IS WHEN YOU CAN SEE WITHOUT SOUND AND FEEL SOMETHING.
IN THE LAST SB JUST THE DORITOS AD DID IT.

SLDS

Ric Jensen, February 3, 2009 at 4:46 p.m.

I liked the ad where the guy punched the Koala..It was Great fun!

Ric