As you may have read last week, I was not quite super-excited about SUPER BOWL XL (and really, it lived down to that sentiment). But that didn't stop me from being excited about the Super Bowl commercials. Since that's what the NFL is after -- advertising's dollar bill -- I felt it to be my duty to hand out some awards for the SUPER BOWL XL commercials.
My base rules were that I was only judging commercials that started from the break after the first series of play and that these judgments have nothing to do with the success of the ad, just how it affected me.
First, let me reveal some trends I recognized during the game: beer is alive and well in the U.S.A.; physical, unexpected violence sells and sells well; and car ads are just getting weird. Now onto the awards.
The "We-must-establish-ourselves-early-a-la-Seattle-throwing-to-Darrell-Jackson-in-the-first-quarter" Award goes to Bud Light: With a commercial in four of the first five commercial breaks, Bud Light easily runs away with this award. Each one was effective using a comical, dramatic turn of events, with the best being the revolving wall-magic fridge spot. In the past year, I believe Bud Light has lost ground to Miller Lite in the advertising war, but, with this Super Bowl, Bud Light avoided their bad ideas (Ted Ferguson, Daredevil, to name one) and got back to their game with the funny swing of events. Good to have you back, Bud Light.
The "Most shameless use of monkeys" Award goes to Careerbuilder.com: Everyone loves monkeys, especially monkeys in ties, and when you can actually tie them in to the product ("I work with a bunch of monkeys") you've got a clear winner. That, and the second-half ad where a woman says, "Yea, well, at least you don't work with a bunch of jackasses," was out-of-nowhere funny.
The "I learned my lesson" Award goes to AmeriQuest: With two very funny "don't judge too quickly, we won't" commercials, AmeriQuest found a cool way to get across its message. The first one involved a doctor killing a bug with a heart defibrillator, then remarking to his colleague, "Well, that definitely killed him," just as a horrified mom and daughter came to visit their dad. This one definitely received the most surprised laughter.
The "Direct ancestor of Terry Tate: Office Linebacker" Award goes to Michelob Ultra Amber: Unexpected tackles are awesome. They're funny whether they're in the office, as in Reebok's Terry Tate: Office Linebacker commercials, or whether they're in this year's form: guys tackling girls. In a game of touch football, a dude lays a girl out after she taunts him before the snap. High comedy. And, for good measure, she comes back to obliterate him while he's sitting at a bar. See, tackles are funny anywhere.
The "Best use of either Chuck Norris, Vin Diesel or MacGyver" Award goes to Mastercard: The "priceless" campaign strikes again, this time showing how MacGyver needs his random household objects to save the day. And, frankly, this award only goes to Mastercard because neither Chuck Norris nor Vin Diesel had commercials.
The "WHAT?!" Award goes to herestobeer.com: Remember the "Got Milk?" ads, where dairy farmers boosted milk sales, not for just one milk company, but for the industry as a whole? Well, I think that's what "herestobeer.com" and the Beer Institute are trying to do here; increase beer consumption. Anyway, I went to the Web site and it pretty much just focuses on the greatness that is beer. Having recently turned 21, I can verify this, but, at the same time, it also made me wonder why the Beer Institute felt the need to promote overall consumption of beer. Of course, I don't get paid to make those decisions -- drunk people do.
And finally, the "Yes, it's sappy, but I liked it" Award goes to Disney: The commercial showing the different Steelers and Seahawks practicing how they would say, "I'm going to Disney World!" got a well-deserved chuckle out of me, partly because it made me feel like a kid again and partly because Joey Porter in a hot tub practicing that line is funny.
There were many more deserving commercials, but I only have so much space here. See, I knew I could find entertainment in this Super Bowl just yet.
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