Stupid Super Bowl commercials

C

c.g._eads

Veteran
You know, it's sad. Super Bowl commercial evolution has, in a lot of ways, mirrored what's happened in Hollywood. So much money is on the line that everyone takes the safest route. Who wants to bet that this year's crop will have a lot of monkeys, cavemen, clueless women with large breasts, beer commercials that aren't funny, and one commercial that will celebrate how cheap it was .

It used to be that when you said, "I'm looking forward to the commercials just as much as the game," it was a legitimate statement. Now people just say that because it's tradition. I hope that, like Hollywood, a few commercials will sneak in there and take a chance. Maybe we'll get another 1984 commercial.
 
I've only seen them up through the first half (had to head to the NICU for a feeding), but they weren't very good. I thought FedEx's homing pigeon was funny, although probably not quite as good as the stuff they've been running in their regular rotation of late. Otherwise, uhhhhhh, I dunno. A lot of crap from Sobe, Go Daddy and Bud. The fire breather for Bud Light? I liked it better the first time I saw it three years ago for Dairy Queen. The Bridgestone spot with the squirrel was decent, although the cadence of the screaming animals was oddly similar to the Wazzup spots.

I'll have to catch the second half spots on my DVR or online.
 
Meh, don't bother. As someone who's been in the ad biz for almost 15 years, I'd say the Super Bowl is becoming less relevant as an ad event each year.

My vote for best ad goes to the FedEx "Homing Pigeon" spot. Bud's "Rocky" spot was pretty clever. The Pepsi spot with Justin Timberlake was good for a laugh (the shot of Andy Samberg was the highlight).

But overall, the entire package of spots felt light on imagination and very, very low on impact.

--SM
 
Yeah, I thought that most of the commercials were crap. The bud light fire-breathing thing was a stupid rip-off of DQ... (BTW... I think I have some KILLER ideas for advertising campaigns... how do I make a presentation or turn my ideas into $$$?)

OK... but one ad campaign really worked for me... the baby running E-TRADE stocks... you can't tell me that wasn't PYP funny. I liked the first one best, but both were devastatingly clever. One of the things I admire in advertising is when the entertainment value is equal to the substance.

E-Trade's message is "so easy a baby could do it" without stating that directly... like the Geico commercials (which I'm in the minority in not seeing the brilliance). When that baby pukes I literally fell to the floor laughing... man, now THAT was a risky choice... but I'm sure that will also be the commercial lauded for how cheap it was to produce.

OK... now how do I present my advertising ideas to somebody? PM me if you really can help!
 
I remember when Super Bowl spots actually meant something. Watching these ones, I didn't think they were very good or were different than regular, everyday commercials. Disappointing is an understatement.

-Kegan
 
Matt,

From experience, your best bet is to produce them yourself as spec ads and present them to the agency (or perhaps the client's Director of Marketing) yourself. Problem is that agencies get a bit defensive about outside "creatives" stepping on their turf. So, I'd say take your great ideas, adapt them for local clients who run advertising (but not good advertising), and present them as storyboards or spec spots to the client directly. You won't get rich on the first project, or even the second, but build a reel and a reputation, and more work/money might follow.

-SM
 
I dunno, I laughed at quite a lot of commercials. They were definitely "safer" this year, but there were still some good ones. Is it just me or did they show last year's Doritos commercial contest winner again this year?
 
i liked the justin timberlake commercial. my favorite parts were Andy Samberg and at the end when he gets hit with the tv.
 
I liked the Godfather take-off, the Garmin Napoleon, Victoria's Secret Adriana Lima (I'd watch her read the phone book).

The screaming animals sounded exactly like the "wazzup" ads. My sister shouted out "oh it's Budweiser" right before it was revealed it wasn't
 
I also greatly enjoyed the e-trade baby commercials. I liked when Timberlake got clocked in the head with the TV. I enjoyed the Rocky training spoof.

But yeah, in general I was rather disappointed with this year's offerings.
 
I did like the Godfather parody and the Coke parade floats. Nice use of Charlie Brown. But may I reiterate the need for a tactical nuclear strike against GoDaddy and SalesGenie? Seriously.
 
I liked the Dorito's ad with the mouse trap and the huge guy in a mouse costume flying out of the wall and beating the stew out of the dude. I think someone said it might have been a rerun, but it got a good laugh from me. I also like the e-trade commercial that got a cheap shot on creepy clowns. I'm always good with making fun of clowns.
 
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