Which Super Bowl Ads Were Super? And Which Fumbled the Ball?
Last week, I blogged here about one ad that would not air during the
Super Bowl, but I also promised to recap those that did, so here I
am!
Indeed, while most fans of football and food where concentrating on one, the other, or both, I was paying attention to the commercials. In fact, I was frantically blogging my initial reactions to them, live, as they happened. I was also monitoring reactions on Wall Street Journal's live blog, not to mention the reactions in my living room from my family: a 31-year-old woman, a 14 year-old boy, and a 13-year-old girl. Throw in myself as a 42-year-old man, and we make a pretty great focus group, with a diversity of age, gender, and interests. Not to mention the fact that we work for free. Or at least for food.
So what did we all think of this year's Super Bowl crop of adverts? Overall, not much, frankly. But a few stood out.
The Boy was impressed with the new Sonata, so much so that he exclaimed "Holy crap, I want a Hyundai! This shiny new-car dream was later eclipsed by the more attainable items that were advertised, including trailers for movies like the new Robin Hood, Prince of Persia, and Alice in Wonderland.
The Girl was more moved by the silly and the funny, specifically all those Doritos commercials.
Both kids were totally befuddled by the Super Bowl Shuffle redux. (Our generation gap is showing!)
The Fiance loved the Budweiser Clydesdale ad "Fence," which believe it or not, almost didn't air due to lackluster test response! She even liked the male-specific ads, like Dove for Men and the Dodge Charger. She also agreed with me on my favorite.
Last, and most certainly least, which ad fumbled the ball? Which company should've pocketed the $2.5 million *and* fired their advertising agency? Easily the worst commercial of the night was that abomination that Charles Barkley put together for Taco Bell. I'm still not sure what that was, but I really don't want to go watch it again to find out. You can check it out for yourself, but don't say I didn't warn you!
Super Bowl, but I also promised to recap those that did, so here I
am!
Indeed, while most fans of football and food where concentrating on one, the other, or both, I was paying attention to the commercials. In fact, I was frantically blogging my initial reactions to them, live, as they happened. I was also monitoring reactions on Wall Street Journal's live blog, not to mention the reactions in my living room from my family: a 31-year-old woman, a 14 year-old boy, and a 13-year-old girl. Throw in myself as a 42-year-old man, and we make a pretty great focus group, with a diversity of age, gender, and interests. Not to mention the fact that we work for free. Or at least for food.
So what did we all think of this year's Super Bowl crop of adverts? Overall, not much, frankly. But a few stood out.
The Boy was impressed with the new Sonata, so much so that he exclaimed "Holy crap, I want a Hyundai! This shiny new-car dream was later eclipsed by the more attainable items that were advertised, including trailers for movies like the new Robin Hood, Prince of Persia, and Alice in Wonderland.
The Girl was more moved by the silly and the funny, specifically all those Doritos commercials.
Both kids were totally befuddled by the Super Bowl Shuffle redux. (Our generation gap is showing!)
The Fiance loved the Budweiser Clydesdale ad "Fence," which believe it or not, almost didn't air due to lackluster test response! She even liked the male-specific ads, like Dove for Men and the Dodge Charger. She also agreed with me on my favorite.
Last, and most certainly least, which ad fumbled the ball? Which company should've pocketed the $2.5 million *and* fired their advertising agency? Easily the worst commercial of the night was that abomination that Charles Barkley put together for Taco Bell. I'm still not sure what that was, but I really don't want to go watch it again to find out. You can check it out for yourself, but don't say I didn't warn you!
Views: 4
Tags: Bowl, CBS, Super, advertising, marketing
Comment
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Comment by Charlene Andersen on February 10, 2010 at 9:04am
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Scott - had not seen your post or blog before. Thanks for the link.
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Comment by D. Scott Campbell on February 9, 2010 at 9:17pm -
Charlene, I couldn't agree more! Did you see my previous post all about it here?
Or here? http://thecampbellscoop.blogspot.com/2010/02/crowdsourcing-cause-ma...
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I think most dropped the ball. I think the strategy Pepsi is using to turn their advertising dollars away from the Superbowl price tag and put the money back into the communities by creating the Pepsi Refresh Challenge is a touchdown.
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Comment by Steve Boucher on February 9, 2010 at 10:52am -
Have to agree with Jason as well - the Google ad was extremely well put together and carried through a concept from beginning to end. Also have to say that I enjoyed all of the Denny's ads for the comic relief. Wonder how many people are taking them up on their free offer today!
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Comment by D. Scott Campbell on February 9, 2010 at 9:33am
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Jason, I agree with you. Google got "honorable mention" in my ratings, that is I had it ranked 4th. It was very well done, both touching and on-message. I also like the fact that they ponied up to advertise in the first place. This was essentially their first TV ad ever, and although $5 million is a lot of dough, it's nothing to a company with their market cap. Speculation is that they're just a wee bit worried about Microsoft's Bing, although I think it was just a little muscle-showing from the market leader.
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Comment by Jason C. Blais on February 8, 2010 at 8:11pm -
Okay, so I only watched a bit of the Super Bowl this year, but I have to say that the Google commercial was my favorite. It was simple, clear, and really drove home what made their resource special. In case you missed, it, they basically just showed searches and results that told the story of someone going to school abroad in France, falling in love, getting a job in France, and finally marrying. It was wonderfully to the point.
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