Critics are panning the Super Bowl commercials.
The New York Times said Americans can add this year’s ads to growing list of things that disappoint and appall them, like Wall Street, banks, Detroit, the geese at La Guardia etc.
I agree with three exceptions:
A vaguely uplifting spot from Pepsi featuring Bob Dylan;
A Bud Light commercial about an office brainstorm session that begins with a funny premise, but quickly falls apart;
And the coup de gras, a Doritos ad that made me laugh out loud because it was so unexpected—except the end, which nearly ruined the whole experience. Can we all agree that watching a man getting hit in the crotch is no longer funny?
If you want to see all the commercials, Ad Age has assembled them in one place.
PS—The 3-D glasses were the most disappointing part of the whole extravaganza, unless of course you’re a Cardinals fan.
UPDATE: A fellow Ragan-ite brought a Monster—not Career Builder, as I earlier noted—commercial to my attention. This ranks among the top ads.
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Comments (23)
As I'm not interested in football, I didn't watch the game. But I did view several of the commercials on the Web. I understand that the Doritos commercial was the top-rated, but I was offended by it. The commercial essentially condoned stealing (the ball broke the vending machine and everyone grabbed Doritos). I understand it is a fantasy designed to promote a product, but is stealing something a product manufacturer should approve?
Posted by Bill Spaniel | February 4, 2009 11:02 AM
Posted on February 4, 2009 11:02
The Star Trek movie trailer.
Posted by John | February 3, 2009 2:29 PM
Posted on February 3, 2009 14:29
I didn't watch the game as football holds no interest for me. But I did check out several of the commercials online. I was appalled by the Doritos commercial, which I understand has been rated the best of the lot. The commercial essentially condones stealing. I realize that the commercial is a fantasy and an effort to get buzz for a product. But couldn't they find a more "legal" way to promote it.
As far as the Clydesdale/Bud ads, bucolic images of horses and dogs are nice. But why should I drink the beer?
Posted by Bill Spaniel | February 3, 2009 12:29 PM
Posted on February 3, 2009 12:29
Absolutely loved the Clydesdale commercial. The best commercial ever
Posted by Denise | February 3, 2009 10:48 AM
Posted on February 3, 2009 10:48
"Can we all agree that watching a man getting hit in the crotch is no longer funny?"
No. I will never agree to that.
The SoBelieve commercial was the best. Random stuff that makes no sense? Okay, I don't get that. But the effect in the last 1 second of the commercial makes it worthwhile.
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=8y0H3UhIoTM
Posted by Anonymous | February 3, 2009 8:29 AM
Posted on February 3, 2009 08:29
I was monitoring the Twitter stream #superbowlads and it's clear that most people were disappointed in this years ads, but the big story was the storm of protest from women against the GoDaddy ad that resulted in hundreds of people switching their accounts away from GoDaddy to Network Solutions and other providers http://kdpaine.blogs.com/kdpaines_pr_m/2009/01/this-could-be-a-record.html
Posted by KDPaine | February 3, 2009 7:16 AM
Posted on February 3, 2009 07:16
It was clear to me that the Super Bowl committee (or whomever makes the ad decisions) made the conscious decision to choose commercials that wouldn't upstage the game itself. Some were visually appealing, but not exactly funny or clever. Although I thought the Doritos commercial was the best pick and the only one that made me laugh, all the commercials this year were lackluster at best. Just my two-cents-worth.
Posted by Linda | February 2, 2009 7:33 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 19:33
I liked the Career Builder ad with the repeated examples of when it's time to look for a job (screaming as you drive into work, co-worker saying "Hey, Dummy," crying, desire to punch small animals). I laughed all through it.
Posted by Joe the Plumber | February 2, 2009 6:32 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 18:32
Aside from the Clydesdale Budweiser commercials, which were OK but necessary (it's not a Super Bowl without one), none of them were memorable or worth the cost. Most of them ranged from boring to annoying. Finally - a Super Bowl with bathroom breaks!
Posted by Debra Bethard-Caplick | February 2, 2009 3:51 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 15:51
I thought most of them were pretty lame. I liked the Coke ad where the bugs worked together to steal a coke from a guy sleeping in the park--that was imaginative and fun to watch (and I even remembered the product name!). Like Ria said, the NBC promo with the singing was fun. The Hulu ad with Alec Baldwin was twisted, and therefore fun, and the product name was front and center. I also liked the Hyundai ad where all the car manufacturing dudes from various countries are screaming in their native tongue about Hyndai winning North American Car of the Year. It wasn't too imaginative or exciting, but got its point across well to SELL the product. (Imagine that!)
Posted by Bonnie | February 2, 2009 3:09 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 15:09
Personally, I thought they mostly sucked. I remember one Coke (or Pepsi I can't remember which was which) ad that I thought was kind of good, and then another one (for the other brand) that was absolutely horrible.
Other than that, they were pretty abysmal IMO.
I think they get worse every year.
Posted by chris | February 2, 2009 3:05 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 15:05
Have to disagree on the Doritos commercial. The conclusion left all the adults at my Super Bowl party rolling. Sure, it was a cheap shot (in more ways than one) but 1) you know it's going to happen, 2)you cringe/yell/hoot when it happens and 3) you talk/laugh about it the next day.
It almost seemed like a Dilbert strip come to life.
The A-B ad with the Clydesdale bringing back the "stick" was a hit, too.
Most of my group felt "eh" with the movie and car ads - as always.
Not the best year for commercials, but hey, with a great game like that, the commercials took second place. (Seems to happen whenever Kurt Warner takes a team to the big game, win or lose.)
And did it seem like many of the ads pushed the "adult" button a little harder this year?
Posted by Scott Kelly | February 2, 2009 3:04 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 15:04
The Sprint/Nextel "roadies" are getting short shrift in everything I've read today. I thought they were among the best ads this year.
Posted by Jim | February 2, 2009 2:50 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 14:50
I loved the Budweiser ads, even though I am not a fan of the brew itself. They've done Clydesdale stories before, so it's not an original concept for 2009, but the story lines were charming.
Posted by Elaine S | February 2, 2009 2:49 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 14:49
The Career Builder ad was hilarious, I'm so surprised no one is talking about it. The "if you feel like hitting cute animals" part really got me. That koala bear is classic.
Posted by Emily | February 2, 2009 2:47 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 14:47
If someone can't remember whether it was Monster or Career Builder, it's not an effective ad.
Posted by Judith Brower | February 2, 2009 2:45 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 14:45
Am I the only one who liked the Budweiser adverts? Especially the one with the lovesick Clydesdale?
Posted by Beverly | February 2, 2009 2:42 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 14:42
I still love the e-trade baby. Something about that sweet face and the voice over that work so well together. I liked the one with the baby and the old guy in the clubhouse after playing golf.
Posted by Anonymous | February 2, 2009 2:16 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 14:16
Despite being forced to admit that the shallow male in me was sparked to life with the Victoria Secrets commercial, I think Bud Light was my fav.
Posted by Rob Mark | February 2, 2009 1:36 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 13:36
Three quick notes to Super Bowl advertisers:
Budweiser ... time to put the Clydesdales out to pasture.
Godaddy.com ... save your money, please, you're gonna need it - tight economy, don't you know.
And finally, to answer the question posed to us readers on the page: "Can we all agree that watching a man getting hit in the crotch is no longer funny?" No, we cannot. That's fried gold, baby. Thank you, Doritos.
Posted by Scott | February 2, 2009 12:29 PM
Posted on February 2, 2009 12:29
The Coke ad was delightfully Disneyesque. And the H&R Block death's taxes ad was my second favorite. Nothing earthshaking in the rest of them, but this was far from the worst Superbowl ad collection.
Posted by Drew | February 2, 2009 11:57 AM
Posted on February 2, 2009 11:57
interestingly, the moose ad you quoted as "career builder"'s is actually for monster.com! (i made the same mistake during the super bowl; career builder has clearly done a better job promoting their brand.)
this commercial was the highlight for me -- and, coincedentally, better than the career builder ad (http://adage.com/brightcove/single.php?title=8696907001).
Posted by beth | February 2, 2009 11:38 AM
Posted on February 2, 2009 11:38
My favorite was NBC's promo featuring the cast of Heroes, Medium and Chuck singing "Feeling Alright."
Great song, great concept!
Posted by Ria Davidson | February 2, 2009 10:20 AM
Posted on February 2, 2009 10:20