Even if you don’t know (or don’t care for) the teams in the recent Super Bowl XLII, never you mind. Because, increasingly, what a number of football fan look forward to aren’t the touchdowns but the TV commercials.
And why not? Marketers know you can only launch a product or service once. Ever since Apple’s Orwellian-inspired “1984” Macintosh launch, the Super Bowl has been regarded as the premier occasion to break new material for broadcast. So what if it now costs $2.7 million per 30-second spot? With nearly 100 million viewers, the endless replay value courtesy over the internet, plus the irrepressible buzz of many a blog, the financial outlay seems almost justifiable.
Here, then, is the play-by-play of selected ads from the event. Several scored well with the viewing public, while some fumbled, and a few who shouldn’t have bothered showing up.
< width="500" height="33" src=" touchdown. " alt="" />
< align="left" alt="" src=" pepsistuff. " />Pepsistuff.com “Magnetic Attraction”
Singer Justin Timberlake is mysteriously pulled through windows, dragged through streets, tossed underwater, and catapulted into the air—even crashing an all-girls soccer team and into one strategically placed mail box post.
The culprit behind his dilemma? A cute, bikini-clad twenty-something whose sips of Pepsi magnetically draws the singing heartthrob closer to her. Finally together, JT then lays on the charm but suddenly get decked out of nowhere by a plasma TV.
“Every sip gets you closer to Justin Timberlake MP3s, CDs, HDTVs and more…” relays the announcer, and all you need to do to get the goodies is sign up at the Pepsistuff website.
Hilarious and very well edited. And you just have to love the way JT deprecates his lady killer image.
< width="144" height="107" align="left" alt="" src=" hyundai-genesis-copy. " />Hyundai “Genesis”
Asia made its presence felt thanks to the South Korean carmaker. The ad starts off with the typical beauty shots of the high-end, 375 horsepower Genesis smoothly coasting on a mountainside road while the VO compares it to the veritable Benzes and BMWs.
Enter the twist—literally, as the announcer declares “you are probably expecting a twist” and making you assume that something spectacular and SFX-driven will happen. But then the TVC smoothly cuts to the Hyundai logo. Yes, the German-trumping Genesis is a Hyundai!
This ad is part of the company’s recent “Think About It” campaign which tries to get viewers to rethink how they view the (unfairly perceived) “budget” badge. A solid and well-written effort.
< align="left" alt="" src=" budweiser---wheel-suck-copy. " />Bud Light “Wheel Suck”
Long associated with funny Super Bowl ads, Bud Light again does not disappoint.
One brilliant caveman invents the wheel to help his friends transport a case of Bud Light to a party. Of course, being Neanderthals, they carry the huge stone disk like a gigantic tray with the beer on top. One of them mumbles “Wheel suck!” on the way.
The closing scene tops the comedy quotient as another caveman crushes a beer bottle with a heavy rock then grumbles “Bottle opener suck!” One of the top Bud Light commercials of the night. And there were quite a lot.
< width="144" height="107" align="left" alt="" src=" diet-pepsi-max-copy. " />Diet Pepsi Max “What Is Love”
Apparently, enough Americans have seen “A Night at the Roxbury” to warrant the production of this TVC. (If you’ve seen film starring the inimitable Chris Kattan and now-ubiquitous Will Ferrel, then you’ll get a kick out of the punchline.)
The ad features several vignettes of people nodding off to sleep, heads a-bobbing, as the movie’s “What Is Love” signature theme song plays on. Thank the caffeine gods for Diet Pepsi Max! After only a sip, everyone’s up and moving their necks to the beat. So what’s so special about all of this? Why the Chris Kattan cameo, natch. Best hit up YouTube or your BBDO connection to view this clip.
< width="144" height="109" align="left" alt="" src=" tide-talking-stain-copy. " />Tide To Go “Silence the Stain”
A guy goes for a job interview and, while replying to his potential employer’s query, the unassuming stain on his shirt comes alive and starts chiming in nonsensically. Great understated acting for both the lead talent and the stain! Plus, a very subtle way of making wardrobe cleansing appeal to the untapped male demographic.
< width="144" height="108" align="left" alt="" src=" doritos---mouse-trap-copy. " />Doritos “Mouse Trap”
Watch Mr. Deadpan try to trick a mouse out its house with a Dorito chip. No spoilers here lest you haven’t seen it yet. But rest assured that it’s the ending is shocking, silly and certifiably superb! Hard to forget!
< width="144" height="105" align="left" alt="" src=" fedex-carrier-pigeons-copy. " />Fedex “Carrier Pigeons”
An ambitious office worker has taken a decidedly avian approach to delivering important packages. Alas, things go awry as packages get dropped, giant feathers go a-flying, and Birdzillas lift cars off the street. Should’ve have used Fedex, his boss advises.
The special effects in this ad were seamless, and certainly helped foster believability in the hyper-real tall tale while effectively reinforcing the reliability of the package carrier.
< width="500" height="33" src=" penalty. " alt="" />
< width="144" height="108" align="left" alt="" src=" sobe-life-water-copy. " />Sobe “Thrillicious”
Sobe’s signature lizards and supermodel Naomi Campbell together dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” OK…. Seems that nobody told they guys behind the “life water” drink that their ad should have at least a droplet of an idea. The less said (and seen), the better.
< width="144" height="104" align="left" alt="" src=" underarmor-copy. " />UnderArmour “TNP”
The athletic wear brand marks its entry into the athletic shoe market with a ho-hum effort. Imagine the lovechild of Frank Miller’s “300” with a Nazi youth rally set in a modern industrial timeline and you get the idea. Bad acting, uninspiring script, and seen-them-before effects. Note to UA: Nike did all of these more than a decade ago. And did it tons better.
< width="144" height="108" align="left" alt="" src=" SunSilk-copy. " />SunSilk “Madonna, Shakira and Marilyn”
If you’ve seen the SunSilk billboards along EDSA, then you already have an idea how the Super Bowl TVC versions ran, albeit this time connecting the rise of the respective careers of Marilyn Monroe, Shakira and Madonna with their hair. Talk about blonde ambition. Nothing against the three talents, but the association/co-relation of their respective careers to their hair seems tentative and taken for granted. Should’ve stayed a print ad.
< width="500" height="33" src=" WTF. " alt="" />
< width="153" height="114" align="left" alt="" src=" careerbuilder---firefly-copy. " />An unsatisfied office worker wishes for a better job. Lo and behold, along comes a singing firefly who prepares to make his rank-and-file’s corporate dreams come true! But midway through the duet, a not so itsy-bitsy spider scoops up the poor Jiminy Cricket wannabe.
Cut to a close-up of the spider’s several eyes, winking back at the poor guy. Eeew, gross. While the ad’s effectivity may be suspect, the intended shock value wasn’t. You wouldn’t want to watch this again. Unless you’re an entomologist, and unemployed one at that.
SalesGenie.com “Panda” / “Genie”
Both animated efforts were advertising masterpieces…if you were targeting desperate, fifth-grade salespeople. Maybe they should have used the $5.2 million for something else. Like a competent creative team, for starters.
| There were lots more advertisers—Audi, Victoria’s Secret, bridgestone, e*trade, etc.—but the aforementioned were the standouts. Still, expect advertisers to go like gangbusters for the limited Super Bowl XLIII spots when those become available. For a few dollars more, of course. |
