In no particular order, here’s my cynical review of the Super Bowl ads. This year, the game was better than the ads.
Use this handy embed to remind yourselves of the commercials:
Budweiser: Fences – lame excuse to simply use the Clydesdales. Next time, have a point.
Budweiser: Bridge – follows the classic Super Bowl story model. Clever, but not revolutionary.
Bud Light: Stranded – obvious play on lost phenomenon. Humorous & clever…unless you don’t watch Lost.
Audi: Green Car – Love Cheap Trick’s Dream Police play for the theme song. Nice use of humor to make the point. And the car is cool looking.
Boost Mobile: Shuffle – so sad.
Bridgestone: Whale of a Tale – Nice nod to The Hangover…but what was the ad for again?
Bridgestone: Your Tires or Your Life – completely unexpected funny. One of my favorites.
Cars.com: Timothy Richmond – I was waiting for it to end with “I don’t drink beer, but when I do it is Dos Equis." My wife liked it, though.
Career builder – too many men in tighty-whities and fart jokes. Get a real job teenagers.
Dodge: Man’s Last Stand – smart idea. Some things are just sacred to a man–like his car.
Coke: Sleepwalker – made me chuckle.
Google: Parisian Love – smart use of story-telling as a great way to show how the product actually works…in case you didn’t know.
Denny’s: Chickens – shut those damn chickens up. I don’t need to be reminded that eggs actually come out of a chicken.
Dockers: Men without pants – again, too many men in tighty-whities
Doritos – Coffin spot, dumb. Underdog, expected. House Rules – funny.
E-Trade – talking babies are a classic. Nice job re-invigorating an old standby.
I’m done with go-daddy. The concept of having an ad send me to a website might have worked 5 years ago. No more.
Hyundai: 10 Years/Favre – smart. Appropriate for the buy. The creative actually fit the message of longevity.
Snickers: Betty White – Would have been better if it wasn’t leaked to every morning show and website before the game. Not funny the 25th time.
Monster: Fiddling Beaver – my kids liked it.
FloTV: Moments – Engaging. Showed the product well. The Who was a nice fit, too. The other FloTV spot, on the other hand, was co cliché…even with a cameo by Jim Nance.
VW: Punch Dub – where were the VW bugs? Saved by the ending with Stevie.