I had high expectations for this year’s Super Bowl XLV commercials.
Mostly because I had no real stake in this year’s matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers the Green Bay Packers. I really didn’t care who won — the Packers did, taking home the Lombardi, 31-25 — in a game that turned out to be more exciting than the commercial break.
Which was too bad for the millions of people who tuned in — many of them on Twitter (#brandbowl, #superbowlads) — and were undoubtedly disappointed.
The beer ads were weak. Many — eTrade, GoDaddy.com — used old gimmicks. And some — Groupon’s controversial ignorant use of Tibet in a multimillion-dollar ad — just weren’t thoughtful.
But there were some standouts, including this ad starring a mini Darth Vader for Volkswagen’s Passat, which got 14 million views on YouTube:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0
Mini Darth Vader in Volkswagen commercial
This ad ranked third on USA Today’s 23rd annual Ad Meter, following two ads that featured dogs — Doritos and Anheuser-Busch.
I thought there were too many animated ads that didn’t work, too many recycled marketing ideas that we’ve seen before, and too many celebrities that didn’t add anything to the ads.
Today’s audience was something creative, funny and, above all, interesting. Many companies failed at all three.
Good thing the game was exciting!
Other highlights:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKL254Y_jtc
Eminen in a tear-jerker ad for Chrysler
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpjaOUjUPUc
Pug attack for Doritos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO_uJVL8KkA
Roseanne Barr gets logged in this Snickers ad
Got a favorite Super Bowl ad? Or did you prefer the game — and half-time show with the Black Eyed Peas — better?
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33 Comments
Yeah, the mini-Darth Vader and the Eminem ads were my favorite. I watched all of them at https://www.youtube.com/user/adblitz, because I was curious… and you’re right, most of them sucked.
@chant808 That’s what I told people who said they were watching the game for the commercials. They’re already online; just watch them at your leisure!
@Sushi @chant808 I saw most of them over the weekend BEFORE the Super Bowl. Too bad. No anticipation.
VW “Darth Vader” and Doritos “Grandpa” were my two favorite ads. That was one hell of a game too!
@nathankam Aw, yeah! Forgot about the “Grandpa” ad. There were a lot of creepy ads this year, don’t you think?
My faves
1. the Beiber/Ozzy Best Buy
2. Doritos man sucking fingers
3. mini Darth Vader
4. Snickers Rosanne
Seems like the commercials got more boring as the game went on.
@nkvball ACK! The sucking fingers ad was CREEPY! I did like the Bieber/Ozzy ad, especially when Ozzy asked, “What a Bieber?” I laughed out loud.
@Cat @nkvball epecially when the other kid says “looks like a girl!”
game sucked. my Stillers looked baaaad. commercials were pretty meh, as well.
7 days until pitchers and catchers report to spring training!!
Since my team was out of it ( Patriots ), I was hoping for a great game, and for the most part it was.
I’m glad the Steelers didn’t roll over, and played tough till the end.
But the 3 turnovers were hard to overcome.
But they won it 2 years ago
Good for Green Bay.
The ads?
I like the Darth Vader ad the best
It was cute, clever, nostalgic.
Good stuff! I thought Doritos ads were up there with the funniest this year. VW Darth Vader was a great spot as well. 🙂
Did you folks notice any patterns in this year’s Super Bowl messaging? I noticed that most spots were tagged with their Facebook pages at the end or just a simple Twitter and Facebook icons.
Also noticed lots of movie trailers this year! Fast Five, Super 8 and Battle: LA look great!
@johngarcia YEAH! Lots of movie trailers — for movies that aren’t going to be in theaters for MONTHS! Most of them were “not yet rated.” Goes to show how powerful ads are!
@johngarcia Disappointed that a lot of the trailers were just short teaser trailers, though. Would’ve been nice to see a full-length spot.
Meh is right. Dogs and people getting hurt. Sometimes both in the same ad. Talking babies? It wasn’t funny or interesting the first nine times. I’m a little surprised the Doritos finger-sucking ad didn’t get banned. I’m no prude, but I’m sure everyone but the very youngest made the connection to something not so innocent.
The only ad that made me laugh was the Bridgestone tires “you hit reply to all” spot. I was amused by the guy grabbing all the laptops and hitting cell phones out of peoples hands (including some guy hiking in a forest!) but seeing him ripping out bundles of ethernet cables at a network data center was what did it for me. For anyone who’s ever wished they could retract an e-mail, this one hits home. His expression as his co-worker corrects himself is priceless. But in the end, this ad, like so many, has the viewer wondering what they’re pitching.
@hawaii2000 I did like the “reply all” ad. I mean, we can ALL relate to that fear! But I couldn’t connect it with Bridgestone and that’s where I think it failed. Great concept, though, but not for that product.
I don’t know… wasn’t into the commercials this year. When commercials came on, it was
a) bathroom break time
b) check e-mails/facebook time
c) get a beer and snacks time
As sushi said, they’re online, so I found other things to do rather sitting through them all?
As for the game, I absolutely cared who won… even though I’m not a fan of either team. I just didn’t want someone who has walked TWICE from sexually assaulting women (the last one really was rape) to win a super bowl. I find it curious how Mike Vick is still villainised for his dog fighting ring even after paying his debt to society (and don’t get me wrong, it’s tough to forgive), while Ben Roethlisberger seems to get a pass in the public’s eye. Can someone explain this to me?
@MaxMaxMax I’m not a sports guy at all. But like you, I rooted for the Packers for that very reason. And like you, the public’s acceptance, if not adoration, of someone like that stupefies me.
Like everyone I LOVED little Darth Vader! wonderful ad! nice one VW! everyone is talking about it today at work.
Chrysler is the other one everyone likes my only question being was it an ad for a car or for the city of Detroit (I’ve been there and it needs all the help it can get).
Missed the mini Countryman ad but just watched it on YouTube. It was described to me as “frickin’ hilarious!!!!” I wouldn’t go that far but it is funny. Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDnVE58Z9VA
@TrishONeill I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t think the VW ad was all that. I’m also probably the only one to imagine the car accidentally slipping into gear and running little Darth Jr. over. Seriously. Although it probably could never happen, as a parent, I don’t think I would start my car up remotely knowing my kid was standing directly in front of it.
@hawaii2000 @TrishONeill
GLAD I’m not the only one unimpressed with Baby Darth. boring car, product feature that is NOT anything new. yawn.
Saw this from Mini Countryman in NYC:
https://blog.cincinnatimini.com/2011/02/mini-countryman-in-times-square/
This is more in line with their brand, I think. The “cram it” spot I guess was trying to compete w/ Bud Light and the like.
Love my peeps from Motown but it will take more than a car ad to save that town. Sorry y’all ……
You know, there weren’t that many fast-food ads… And Coke did have that one ad — the border patrol — but that’s it. Interesting the companies that shelled out the cash — and those that didn’t.
My son likes football so I watched the first Super Bowl I’ve watched in 20 years. And I thought the pre-during-and post game hype was over the top 20 years ago… now it is so over the top and so out of touch it is dreadful. It was a good game, didn’t get me excited, sort of ho-hum. Saw Super Bowl 1-2 when I was a youngster so it was fun in that respect to see Green Bay win again. and no, I haven’t a clue who played last year. Frankly I was rooting for the Packers for the same reason others mentioned.
As for the commercials, loved the snicker’s one as who hasn’t wanted to see Roseanne creamed by a log. The Chrysler 200 ad with Eminem was excellent, been to Detroit on business a few times over the years and from my first trip in 1987 until now the place has fallen off the side of the planet. It is not a good story. The Jetta ad was cute but everyone with kids cringed a little on that one including me. I loved the Ozzy ad… it was a bit clumsy on what it was about but funny anyways.
The one ad with the guy licking the fingers and the pants… GROSS time 1000. I might not eat Doritos for a month. However professional ad reps will tell you there are two types of memorable ads and that was bulls-eye for that type. Still hate them though.
OK, Green Bay has a little over 300,000 residents. So when is Honolulu going to get its own pro football team?
Love the Darth Vader/VW one, of course. The NFL spot featuring TV shows from past and present celebrating Superbowl/football moments was great, too. CG was impeccable. But the Chrysler/Detroit/Eminem spot stood out from the rest of the silliness, though. Inspiring. Love the tagline, too: “Imported From Detroit.”
@valdezign Yeah, that tagline really worked. Hit home.
after watching the Darth Vader ad twice online, i still couldn’t tell you what the car was. somehow that it even was a car ad eluded me.
i guess the next female icon to be road-runnered will be Helen Mirren,as the Queen, dragged over the moors by a Range Rover.
@turkfontaine The great thing about the mini Darth Vader ad was the young boy’s body language. He had no lines, a helmet on his head and a cloak over his body… yet he acted his heart out and nailed it. All of his movements were so believable as a child deeply engrossed in play.
@MaxMaxMax he did nail it. and with a very skilled comic bent. i wonder if that was really a child actor Danny Woodburn? Danny played Mickey Abbott on Seinfeld, and he has all those great moves you saw in the commercial.
@turkfontaine @MaxMaxMax looks like it was actually a kid…https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/07/max-page-darth-vader-commercial-volkswagen-super-bowl_n_819701.html
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Christina’s anthem gaffe. It’s one thing to screw up a word, but to leave out entire lines, maaaaaaaaaaan… Plus, her vocal runs on the notes were cringe worthy. I was really expecting to hear a good rendition knowing how talented she is… but what I didn’t expect was for her to blow it big time.
As for the Black Eyed Peas… I think fans are returning their upcoming concert tickets in droves. I don’t think I’ve seen that poor of a performance at the Super Bowl since… since… since… ummmm, I guess never!
@MaxMaxMax I’m torn about her flub. Yes, she was selected to sing the anthem at the hugest sporting event of the year with millions watching so she should have the lyrics down. But at the same time, this is a song with especially difficult lyrics that I’d venture to guess less than 1 in 4 Americans know by heart. So maybe we shouldn’t be too hard on her. As for her actual singing, I agree, it was disappointing given how talented she is. But at least it was her real voice and not auto-tune. Whitney 1, Christina 0.
@hawaii2000 I get your point, but… Christina has sung it dozens of times at dozens of events. Honestly, I think she was thinking more about her runs and improvisational vocals that she got lost. But, she’s a professional, and should have nailed it.
You really think only 1 in 4 Americans know it? I figured it’d be around 90%, but hmmmm… maybe you’re right. Not that I ask everyone I see, but I’ve yet to come across a person who admitted to not knowing the lyrics.
Guud evening Cat,
I must be the only person who didn’t watch the game….