What an upset that was! I don't want to talk football. I want to talk commercials. And there’s a lot to talk about: the worst commercials, irritating commercials, bizarre commercials and Maria’s Top Five commercials.
Here we go.
Every year I get more and more disappointed with these things. For $2.7 billion a pop, one would think the commercials would be amazing, carefully thought out and mesmerizing. Most were none of these things.
The worst commercials of this entire Superbowl were the Sales Genie commercials. They really bothered me. They looked poorly made and the choice of cartoons seemed a little ridiculous.
Equally ridiculous was Naomi Campbell sponsoring Sobe energy drinks. She probably gets better press being arrested for her unnecessary aggressive assaults on her housekeeper (with a bejeweled cell phone) and on others. I doubt her rendition of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" accompanied by dancing lizards will bring her any press more favorable than that resulting from her assaults on innocent people.
Another irritating aspect of some of these commercials was their lack of originality. The first Bridgestone commercial with the screaming animals was extremely reminiscent of old Bud commercials. I thought it was a beer commercial when it started. Budweiser was highly successful with their “Wassup” campaign. You'd think someone would have caught the similarities and avoided trying to ride the coattails of Budweiser's advertising success. Later on though, Bud did the same thing with their caveman commercial. Geico has been running a large and successful “caveman” advertising campaign. The "invention of the wheel" angle Bud went for wasn't even funny. If you can’t do it better than the people who did it first, don’t even try. It’s just embarrassing.
In the Coke vs. Pepsi battle, I have to say the Pepsi commercials far outdid the Coke commercials. Coke commercials in general have tended towards a very boring and cutesy trend that makes me want to gag on my spicy chicken wings as I wait for the game to return. The first Pepsi commercial for Diet Pepsi Max with the people falling asleep was pretty funny but I will always grab a Coke before a Pepsi if given the choice.
The sports drinks (especially the Gatorade "Man's Best Friend") commercials were stupid. The Shaquille O'neal Vitamin Water commercial where he rode a racehorse was pretty funny but I thought it was for a camera until the very end. The amp energy drink during the fourth quarter was somewhat disturbing (involving clamps on nipples) but pretty hilarious.
#5: Another disturbing but somewhat funny commercial was for Planter's peanuts and involved a unibrowed, dwarf-looking woman rubbing Planter's peanuts all over herself, therefore becoming an object of lust everywhere she went. Maybe I'll try rubbing some peanuts on me just to see what happens.
#4: Though most of the Budweiser commercials were a disappointment, Will Ferrell's Bud Light commercial was pretty funny and arguably the best of the Bud commercials. I doubt I'll go see his new movie (unless someone else is paying) but I did enjoy the commercial.
#3: The Victoria's Secret commercial was probably among the best spent money on Superbowl commercials. In a single commercial during the fourth quarter, a quick presentation of a half-naked supermodel with a football was a great way for the ladies to have their part in the Superbowl and remind guys that Valentine's Day is coming up and just because the Patriots lost, we ladies still deserve some loving when the game's over.
BEST ADS OF SUPERBOWL XLII:
#2: The Doritos ad where a man sets a mouse trap with part of a Dorito outside a hole in the wall and sits across from the wall eating a bag of Doritos waiting for the mouse to come out. A human-sized mouse bursts through the wall and attacks the guy in the chair. This was hilarious and made the people I was with want to eat Doritos.
#1: The E*Trade commercials. Both E*Trade commercials were unexpectedly funny. When the first commercial came on, I assumed it would be cliche and boring: how many times have people used babies to try a comical approach at something nobody is particularly interested in? The voice chosen and the perfect timing of the words and the baby's mouth made everyone pay attention. When the baby puked all over the keyboard at the end, everyone laughed hysterically. Even better was the second E*Trade commercial with the clown and the baby commenting on the clown's creepiness. I think I'll go watch it again. And the best part is, E*Trade is a pretty reputable and reliable company!
All-in-all, most of the commercials during this years' Superbowl were dumb, some were funny, and close to none will result in my pursuing of an advertised brand.The best part of my Superbowl? Seeing Noelle jump on top of Christina beating her in the chest and arm out of excitement after the Giants made their last touchdown and then seeing those two smack and hug each other screaming loudly.Sorry Andrea.
(Superbowl Commercials)
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