2009 Superbowl ad review

Bad Bud, Slapstick and Rodents

This years ads seemed like an endless parade of people getting hit, smacked, tackled, electrocuted and punched.

There was also a plethora of animals--with an oddly high percentage of rodents. A Honda ad featured an animated squirrel, Monster had a violin playing beaver, CarMax featured a "dramatically smart squirrel, and even Visio tossed in some sort of rodent--perhaps the gopher from Caddy Shack.

Another theme in the ads this year--particularly those from Bud Light--was how difficult women make life for men. Unless they happen to have a cooler full of beer, that is.

While none of the ads this year was amazing or groundbreaking, there were a few well-executed concepts, like the Green Police for the Audi turbo diesel and the Chrysler ads with men reciting what they will do if they can drive the car they want.

The Best Super Bowl Commercials

Google

Expectations were high in the ad business for the Google ad this year, but “Search on” did a great job, cleanly and simply. Using 100% product demo, it tells a story at a nice pace, illustrating some of the best Google capabilities and showing how much Google has been integrated into our society and everyday lives. The entire spot was quiet, understated and therefore attention getting. Google has redefined themselves again.

FloTV

This was one of the finest spots to air, and so well done, it warrants watching again in slow-advance mode. A nice reminder of what TV has meant to the nation and where the future of TV will go: everywhere. Scenes from memorable TV moments throughout history, from the early TV antennae to I Love Lucy, footage of Castro, the lunar landing, Nixon, MTV, and the Berlin Wall right up Haiti--all set to the tune of the Who’s “My Generation.” Copy reads, “Where were you then? Where will you be? Don’t miss a moment. FloTV.” Unfortunately, it was shown just before half time, so there may have been some confusion or lack of attention assuming it was just an intro to the Who’s half-time show.

VW Punchbug

Even if you're too young to remember SlugBug, this spot, reminiscent of the old childhood car game of hitting each other when you spot a Beetle was a delight--and a great excuse for lots of product shots. Yes, more hitting and smacking, but with a reason, and more light-hearted than the typical slapstick of most of this year’s Super Bowl ads. Nice payoff at the end with Stevie Wonder.

Denny’s

The first Grand Slam spot was fun. Great opening shot of two hens watching TV nested on their couch. The announcement: "If you are a chicken, get out of town. If you  have an chicken vacation days, take them. The follow up "screaming chicken" ads were not quite as good, but the first one delivered a clear message delivered in an entertaining way. Free breakfast. Good news for people, Bad news for chickens.

Dodge Charger

Man’s last stand. This one really seems to get into men’s heads, proving once again how well Weiden + Kennedy grok the apex of the smart Messaging Architecture: "We understand.” Great shots of the men staring, thinking, blinking combined with perfect voiceover and copy. “I will clean the sink. I will put my underwear in the basket. I will put the seat down…but I will do these things only if I can drive the car I want.” Although a BMW or Porsche payoff at the end might have made this more satisfying, the concept and execution were flawless.

A lot of consumers complained about Chrysler spending 2 million to advertise in the Super Bowl, but with a spot this good, they are forgiven--here, at least. Bravo, Weiden + Kennedy.

Budweiser Clydesdales

In the industry buzz before the game, we heard there would be no Budweiser Clydesdales this year, but one spot did make it into the line-up.  A Clydesdale colt and adorable sweet-faced calf make friends and scramble around together, then reunite three years down the road. Very cute. Nothing especially funny or even conceptual here, but this may was certainly the classist Budweiser spot of the night.

HomeAway.com

Hotels. Valets. Hidden charges. I loved the bit about being charged for a “Complementary bottle of water.” No, one that complements the room.

This is another example of working at the top of Bill Mount's Message Architecture, and by the time we hear the point after the humor: “Rent a house for half the price of a hotel,” we're already making a mental note to bookmark that website.

Michelob Ultra wins best use of a song in the

Lance Armstrong spot: Blur’s classic pop masterpiece “Song 2.”

And the Worst Super Bowl Commercials

Anheuser-Busch really let us down this year. None of their spots were horrible, but as a whole they were  disappointing compared to the last several years. This time out, misogyny and emasculation seemed to be the theme. The new tagline of “Here we go” worked best in the spoof on “Lost.” A woman who announces, “Hey I found the radio from the plane. I think we can get off this island” loses out to the guy who finds the beverage cart full of Bud Light.

E*trade has been also been consistently good in past years, but the talking baby campaign is wearing out. The kids on the plane were the best of the bunch, but in the other two, can anyone even make out what the tots are saying? Maybe it’s time for E*trade to grow up. The concept of “so easy a little kid can do it” has been lost.

 

Doritos in the Gym     

This is the least appetizing of all the Doritos spots. Opens with two scruffy sweaty guys in a gym. One spits out the product on the floor before it kills him. More slapstick with the product as the anti-hero. I guess if it gets a laugh, Doritos considers it a success. It showed the product but t sure didn't sell the product. Give those guys a Bud Light.

 

Doritos Casket – the second least appetizing, this one has a man pretending to be dead, then falling out of a casket covered in orange chips. Another unfortunate and poorly conceived product association.

 

MONSTER.com   

Apparently, even a beaver can get a job these days. So, how is “violinist” a Precision Job Search? And ugh, yet another fake rodent ad. 

 

Emerald Nuts

Here we have an offensive creepy man in a yellow and green leotard making people do tricks for snacks. Scary stuff, but at least there’s a cute tagline payoff: Awesome+Awesome=awesomer. These folks may  make good snacks, but they’ve done better with their commercials in the past.

 

Jack in the Box is trying to sell artisan breads and healthy sandwiches using that freaky Jack man with a plastic head. No thanks. Not appetizing. Or funny. 

The Census ad: misguided snapshot of a mess.

   

KGB

More bad slapstick. Guy gets smashed by a Samurai. Should have used KGB. Did anyone think this was funny?

 

The one Taco Bell spot was a complete mess. Charles Barkley is not much of a rapper, and the scenery was nightmarish. I didn't even get the point of this one; except that they sell food in a box now.

    

Career Builder     

Casual Fridays. This was a good spot, but an lost its impact in an unfortunate pairing with the Dockers ad that followed, which featured men marching around in underwear. The message seemed to be “I refuse to wear pants” for a pants manufacturer. This one was so embarrassing, it took Career Builder down with it.

 

Budweiser

The Delivery truck is stuck, so the town forms a human bridge, eager to let a truck full of beer drive over them all set to over-the-top Copland-esque Rodeo theme music. "Bud: It's what's for dinner." Anheiser-Busch not only missed the mark on this one, they drove the truck off the road, into the ditch, over the cliff and sank the boat.

 

Sketchers Shape Ups. Not a horrible ad, but let's at least give a nod to the idea they swiped from the woman who created "Shape Up Shoes": http://www.shapeupshoes.com/

 

Go Daddy – The obligatory T-shirt tear-off seems to have become their trademark. You can count on them for that. What else could you possibly want from a web hosting site?

 

Doritos Dog. This one got a laugh from the man I was watching the game with, but I’m not a fan of electrocution humor.

 

Mars/Snickers

Abe Vigoda and Betty White get tackled in support of the concept “You’re not you when you’re hungry.” Cute, yes, but sheesh…yet more slapstick. Did someone do some research that said people getting kicked, smacked, punched or electrocuted is the key to having a hit Superbowl ad? Even the Focus on the Family "Miracle Baby” ad featured Tebow’s mother getting tackled. She pops back up, unharmed, of course, and Tebow asks her if she still worries about him. Her reply is funnier than the slapstick element: “Well, yes: “you’re not nearly as tough as I am.” In light of all the negative press FOF got, this was a pretty harmless ad and never even mentioned the word abortion. I doubt there would've been nearly so much pre-game controversy if people had seen the ad or script for it.

 

Boost Mobile Shuffle: football players dancing and something about a spray tan. What was the point?

     

Hyundai – The Sonata spot that focused on their vehicles being “Built by Hand” shows workers in Alabama carrying the chassis of a car. Passing a vehicle overhead actually makes the car look like it’s made of tin foil. Hmmm. Not the best visual message. Handcrafted may be good for jewelry and beer, but I'd rather have robots build my car.

 

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