Thoughts
Another Super Bowl, Another Super Bowl Ad Review
By Greg Hansen
Not only do we get to look forward to all the new Super Bowl ads each year, but now we also get to look forward to the countless reviews of those ads.
Here is another one.
To summarize first, I’ll say that this year’s crop of ads was the most disappointing ever. There wasn’t anything great that got everyone talking, and there really wasn’t anything controversial — just a lot mediocrity. It seems to me that the placement costs so much now, $2.6 million for 30 seconds, that advertisers can’t afford to make a good ad.
So let’s talk about the bad first.
Salesgenie.com
Need I say more. A colleague said that is their shtick, to make bad ads. The problem is, they weren’t bad enough to be “bad” funny. They were just bad. And it seems that they might be a little bit racist. I think we should be more upset that they were just bad.
E-trade.com
How many times can we re-hash the talking baby? How many ads have we seen with a talking baby? How many failed sitcoms have we seen with a talking baby? How many bad movies have we seen with a talking baby? Let’s give the talking baby a rest.
Gatorade Dog Bowl
All I can say is “What?” This seems like an ad from POWERade/Coca-Cola trying to make Gatorade look bad. I want ads with cool colored sweat, not dog drool. This ad wasn’t even close to Gatorade’s brand.
There are a few ads that I am on the fence about. Are they good (or OK), or are they bad?
Pepsi Max
I kinda chuckled at this one. The homage to “Night at the Roxbury” brought back the good ol’ days. But does the new “Pepsi Generation” even know who those guys were?
CareerBuilder.com Heart
Is it gross? Is it cool? I can’t decide. But I did remember CareerBuilder.com.
Audi “Godfather”
This ad wins for best production values. But will it pay off? That was a lot of money to spend on an ad and placement with a very niche audience.
Then we had a bunch of forgettable ads. I would talk about them, but I can’t remember what they were or who they advertised.
So how about the good ones? There were a few. Not ground-breaking, but somewhat memorable.
FedEx Pigeons
I enjoyed the giant pigeons. Especially the one pecking away at the overturned bread truck. FedEx always does well with their Super Bowl ads. Not earth-shattering, but entertaining and memorable.
Cars.com
The wrestler and witch doctor ads got my attention and gave me a chuckle. Doesn’t everyone hate car salespeople?
Doritos Mouse
I hated to put this in because it was a viewer-submitted ad. That’s painful to admit. I’m an ad guy after all. But I justify it this way: this was one of the actual ads submitted in the Dortios contest from last year. Obviously this guy is involved in the creative business somehow. He’s not just your average Joe off the street. He probably is in advertising, just not with Doritos’ agency. Or maybe he is? Hmmmm.
Tide-To-Go Stain
My favorite ad this year. This ad was different for Tide and stood out in the crowd. I actually went to the website (sorry GoDaddy.com.) I found myself saying, “that is what it’s like when someone has a big stain on their shirt or a big piece of lettuce on their tooth.” It just screams at you.
My other favorite from the Super Bowl goes into the promo category. The story of Chester Pitts, “Mr. Oboe.” I was riveted and entertained. The entire player story promos from the NFL are great, but this one really stands out.
I’m sure there are some I left out, and you might not agree with my observations, but I’ll see you here next year for another Super Bowl, another round of Super Bowl ads and another review.
And remember this, it’s just like my mom always told me, “If you don’t have any money left after spending $2.6 million on media to create a great ad, don’t do one at all.”
Thanks, mom.
You can view all of the Super Bowl ads and see how they ranked at www.usatoday.com.
E-mail the author: Greg Hansen