• by Seana Mulcahy , February 6, 2006

So what did you think of the big-game ads?

Well for those of you who know me, I wasn't as enthused with the Big Game this year, as the Pats weren't in it. Nonetheless, I was whole- heartedly watching the ads.

Was it me or did most of them well, er, suck?

I don't know, maybe I expect so much more when mere air time cost $2.5 million for a :30. Not the chili, munchies or the beer could dull my viewpoint this year. Sure I've gotten flack from my offline counterparts year after year. But hey, the fact is, I love TV ads. However, I feel like in the past few years they've gotten worse and worse. Sure, Bud ads are always clever and make us laugh. The past couple years they've mixed it up with patriotism and a sense of American pride. And they should, it's an American brand.

Can we have a moment for GoDaddy.com? I use the service for buying domains and it's great; but ewwwwwwwwwwh. Can't they come up with anything better than the poor ole bastard with the oxygen mask and the girl about to pop out of her shirt---uh, I mean have a "wardrobe malfunction?" Or maybe it's because I am a woman? Did guys find that funny? Whatever.

I think the weirdest ad was the one where people were head to toe in funky yellow protective suits. They were seen in vignettes of everyday life such as swimming, shopping, working, etc. It was for a brand I had never heard of called Practical Solutions. Although the ad was weird, I guess it was successful. I remember it and associate it with antibacterial products.

I was, however impressed by the new Escalade ad for Cadillac. The imagery and sound was slick and cool.

We all knew there was going to be another Dove ad with "real" models. What threw me is that the models were girls. The voiceover said things like, "She hates her freckles. She doesn't think she's pretty." Maybe it's because I'm a woman, but it hit me, made me think then smile.

The MotoPEBL phone ad seemed cool, as the phone blended into the rocks surfside. It probably isn't any better than any other phone, but looks like a cool brand.

I LOVED the Sprint ad, although I think the brand merging between Sprint and Nextel has been weak at best. I was happy to see that it is now Sprint with some sort of brand identity.

The guy with a ringtone for everything cracked me up. Do you know someone like that? Uh huh, me too (which made it even funnier). He even had a song for a couch on fire...it was the good ole "Benny Hill" theme song. Perhaps that shows my age--that I actually watched "Benny Hil"l (even though my strict Irish Catholic parents frowned upon it).

How funny was the streaking sheep ad for Bud? Come on, you had to laugh.

I thought the Careerbuilder ads were going to be different, as we have already seen the monkeys. They seemed to get a chuckle, but I think I'm a little burnt out on them. The tie-in with the donkeys was fitting, but still not worth it for such high production dollars in my book.

So what do you think, dear readers? Were the ads this year thumbs-up or thumbs-down? Was it me or was it uneventful? Oh, and don't even get me started with the halftime show. I'm not a Baby Boomer, but I do enjoy the Stones. However, this performance just didn't do it for me. The massive crevices in Keith Richards' face are way more offensive than any past wardrobe malfunctions in my book.