You'd have to be stuck somewhere in the Back Woods not to know that last Sunday was the Super Bowl; the end of the National Football League's season, and the beginning of a wasteland for those that watch nothing but football.
Most people are probably watching it for the game. But, there are plenty who watch for the commercials, using the play clock to make trips to the kitchen.
In last year's Super Bowl blog I wrote that the game was one of the most boring I'd ever watched. However, I had really enjoyed many of the commercials. This year's rendition was reverse.
Of course, it probably helped a lot that the San Francisco 49ers were involved for the first time in 18 years. I'm normally a Raiders' fan. However, I'm perfectly happy to cheer on the 49ers if they're the only Bay Area team involved.
Unfortunately, the commercials were not up to par. In fact, they were pretty disappointing when considered collectively. Considering they cost $3.8 Million per 30 second spot, you'd have expected to have your socks knocked off with amazing creativity.
I was also surprised at the amount of promos for CBS programming and the NFLEVOLUTION.COM. I have to wonder if these were fill-ins used because some spots went unsold due to to the outrageous price tag.
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Here are some of my dislikes and likes from this year's crop:
DISLIKES
GO DADDY "PERFECT MATCH" – In the past, Go Daddy has run a campaign of showing us commercials that teased sexy subjects, and then said to go to the Go Daddy website to see the unrated versions.
Now I wish they'd kept it up. This year's commercial featured Israeli super model Bar Rafaeli kissing a pudgy wild haired computer nerd, named Walter, and how Go Daddy is the perfect match (presumably symbolized by this couple).
Perhaps kissing was too mild a description. They were full blown making out, including slurpy sounds that reminded me of the Carl's Junior $6 hamburger ads where people got all sorts of sloppy stuff on their faces. I'm sure that the FCC and CBS had plenty of hate calls over this one.
CALVIN KLEIN "FOR WOMEN ONLY" – This ad had no business being on during the Super Bowl, when it's a given that plenty of young children will be watching. I'm no prude, but this was way over the top. A female friend suggested it was finely time the NFL recognized they had women watching. While I understand the sentiment, I just think it was no more appropriate, for that time of day, than if there'd been women wreathing around in bikini briefs and underwire bras.
SUBWAY "CONGRATS JARED" – First off congrats to Jared Fogle for keeping the weight off for 15 years. I've been involved in a constant battle with the waistline so can really appreciate this amazing feat. With that said, it got monotonous hearing "Congrats Jared" over and over and over again.
To add insult to injury, this commercial, along with the Bud Light "Lucky Chair" commercial ran in two back-to-back commercial breaks. Not sure if the power outage had something to with it.
DODGE "FARMER" – I'm probably going to get flak for this one. This one was voted the best commercial by several polls. It's easy to understand. That wonderful haunting voice of Paul Harvey singing the praises of the American Farmer.
Why didn't I like it? First off, it was way too long. Secondly, it wasn't readily obvious what was actually being sold till the very very end, when we got a brief glimpse of a RAM Truck; almost an after thought. Had they had some work trucks out in the fields, or inside the barns, it would have probably made my Likes list.
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LIKES
OREOS "WHISPER FIGHT" – Lord I hope most of that was done in only one take because they pretty much destroyed the set! It reminded me of one of those Rube Goldberg machines where you trigger one item, which starts a chain reaction of other odd chain reactions until some simple task is completed. I will say the idea borrowed liberally from the Miller Lite Great Taste, Less Filling campaign of the 1970s and 1980s.
TIDE "MIRACLE STAIN" – A well done parody on all the incidents of people seeing Jesus in their toast, spaghetti, screen doors, etc. Then at the end his empire comes crashing down as his wife, a Ravens' fan, obliterates the lucky stain by using Tide!
BUDWEISER "BROTHERHOOD" – It wouldn't be a Super Bowl with a visit from the Clydesdales. Here baby horsey leaves the nest to join the team. His trainer sees him in a parade, but is sad because the horse doesn't recognize him. All is not lost though. He hears a horse apparently getting away and helps capture it. He then realizes the horse is his long lost friend coming to say, "Hi" with a big nuzzle. Sweet ending!
WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT – A very worthwhile program (taking care of our Vets), and I hope they got lots of donations from people. Thankfully, CBS donated the airtime as a Public Service Announcement. If they hadn't this would have probably been a financial disaster.
DORITOS – Doritos decided to hold a contest where the people voted for their favorite out of eight finalist videos. Brilliant idea. Most of them were pretty funny, and the two chosen were amongst the best. I would have loved to have seen the Noah commercial. But, they purchased only two spots.
KIA SORENTO "SPACE BABIES" – This was probably my favorite. Sure, it didn't really sell the car. But, it had me laughing from beginning to end. The punch line at the end when they interrupt the kid telling his friend where babies really come from was awesome.
Kia has been criticized that their ads really didn't tell us about their cars. Unfair because pretty much all the car commercials told nothing about the actual products.
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If you missed any of the spots, or you just want to relive them, there's a wonderful collection of commercials from days gone by, including this year's spots, at
http://www.superbowl-commercials.org
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