Super or Not-So-Super Bowl?

Usually the Super Bowl glues me to my seat. Even if the game isn't that good I never want to miss a play or a commercial break. This year, things were a little different. First off, the game was great complete with momentum swings and a nail biting finish. In between the action on the field, however, there was little to get excited about.

Considering that advertisers paid a record high $3 million per 30 seconds you'd think this would be the best or the best. Instead it felt like they justified the $3 million media buy by only putting about $3 into the concepting and production of the spots. Of course, there were still some winners and losers, here's my take:

The Best:

1. Careerbuilder with it's repeating montage of reasons you hate your job. The lady riding the dolphin had myself and everyone in the room rolling on the floor laughing every time it was shown. Oh, and punching Koala bears is always a recipe for success. Always.



2. Denny's Mobsters commercial was not only a good commercial but did anyone see the news coverage yesterday of the free grand slams? Talk about ROI. Denny's took their commercial beyond just the Super Bowl and created an event out of them. People weren't talking about what the best commercial was at work on Monday, they were making plans to sneak out on Tuesday for a free meal. The question is, did Denny's impress all those customers that flooded into it's stores? We'll have to wait and see.



3. Doritos Crystal Ball - Can you believe this was made by two unemployed brothers for $2,000? And that they won $1 million for it? Doritos has continued with their user generated commercials for the Super Bowl and this might be the best one yet. It combines all the classic Super Bowl ad tricks: office setting, crotch shots, sophomoric humor but yet does it better than some of the major brands that pull out those same tricks year after year (looking at you, Budweiser.)




The Worst

1. Go Daddy - Ok, we get it. Go Daddy is the domain register site for dudes who like boobs. And most dudes like boobs, so it's great right? Wrong. You could try to class it up a bit, like the classic boob, uh I mean, beer commercials of the past. Remember the cat fight in the fountain commercial? Gets to the same point, but with a little (and I do mean a little) more class. Why not just save some money and offer an alternative to the Super Bowl by showing a live webcam of Danica Patrick's boobs during the game?



2. Budweiser Clydesdale's - Sometimes a brand will just take a concept and stretch it too far. The Bud Lizards had a great story and could survive beyond the Super Bowl into many, many commercials. The Bud Clydesdale's, while a favorite last year with the Rocky inspired spot, don't really have that same power. I really don't care about the horse's great grandfather. Or about the horse playing fetch. It doesn't make me laugh, think, cry, or want to buy / use anything. And therefore fails.



3. Sobe 3-D - Does anyone at Sobe know what 3-D is all about? It's supposed to add another dimension to a normally 2-D medium. Therefore, things should be created with that in mind, i.e. having something flying towards the user or showing the depth of something. Really anything other than a bunch of dancing lizards and humans. That's about as flat as it can get. Sure, the lizards did look more "rounded" and 3-D like, but that didn't really add anything to it all.

The Toss-Up
Miller 1-second spot - I was the only one in the room who saw it. Everyone else thought it was a glitch. Granted, I then had to talk to everyone and explain what just happened, but I think they would have been better off putting 10 seconds of porn on the air.