A few people have asked me what I thought about this year's Super Bowl ads, so I wanted to take a few minutes to give my professional (at least I think so) opinion on what I saw, what I loved, what I hated, and what I would have forgotten, had I not been a huge ad dork and wrote everything down.
My top pick for the Superbowl ad that was the most entertaining had to be a toss up between the Snickers "accidental kiss" spot, and the Sierra Mist Free ad that featured a man that didn't fit into the workplace due to his cutoff shorts and BEARD COMBOVER. Both ads had me in stitches, but if I had to pick, I'd pick Snickers because it made me remember the product, whereas the Sierra Mist spot was a little harder to remember what was actually being advertised.
Here's the Snickers ad for your satisfaction:
I should mention that this ad and the corresponding Web site www.afterthekiss.com were discontinued because it offended many gay rights activists. I'm not sure - it didn't seem derogatory to me, but who am I to judge?
I also really liked Sprint Mobile Broadband's "connectile dysfunction spots." I thought the message was strong and very well executed. The use of humor was slightly low-brow, which I enjoy, but it wasn't over the top. It did a great job of communicating the product's unique point of difference. I have to say that I was not impressed by USA Today's best pick, Budweiser's "Crabs." I forgot about it before the game was over, and even when reminded, I didn't know which beer maker produced the spot.
So who were the big losers in my mind? I thought Coke's spots were boring (sorry, Joe - my brother-in-law who works for Coke) and uninspired. I thought GoDaddy's spots were lame and predictable. I didn't get Chevy's HHR commercial. Schick gets two thumbs down for using spots that I had already seen for the last 8 months, and the same goes for Acura. Toyota's Tundra spots were bland, especially for a brand new product launch!
On the local front, several big advertisers ponied up for spots during the Super Bowl, but I have to admit, none were any good. Most of them LOOKED like local spots, and didn't really do a great job of communicating their message. Particularly bad were the Maryland Lottery spot and the 1st Mariner spot. Both very forgettable. Mr. Hale - if you're looking to run some solid ads for the Superbowl next year, call me!
I really hope next year is better. I want to see some innovation...I want to see someone truly use a multiple media approach to advertising (for example, use a billboard campaign as a teaser, TV spots, and the payoff on a Web site). I want my mind blown like I expect it to be come Superbowl time.
The order is tall. I'll revisit this post after Super Bowl XLII to see if any of these advertisers redeemed themselves.
I'll leave you with this spot that was also pretty solid from E*trade:
Garret Ohm
Ad Dork
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3 comments:
I always like any ad that concludes with "Give all your money to the Tellers"!
Nice blog.
Jim T.
Thanks, Jim for commenting on our blog!
Your snickers pick is among my top rated too. I really wonder how much the agency and snickers really thought about how the ad would be received by superbowl watchers, parents, and the gay community. They had to have some notion that as funny as it is, they'd get some heat for it. That said, perhaps they went with the ad knowing they'd get extra attention for it...good or bad.
I was also extremely bitter about the top pick from USA today as the crab spot from budweiser. Come on! It felt the oscars where some movie wins that you didn't even see, nor have you ever heard of. As a superbowl viewer I felt robbed by that pick as a top choice.
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