As you may imagine having read some of my other posts, I was more interested in the quality of the commercials on the Super Bowl than the actual game.  Being that the average 30-second spot cost more than $2.5 million, you would assume that the ad quality would be the highest ever.  Sadly, this was not the case, although there were quite a few entertaining ads.  Over 50 ads were shown during Super Bowl XLI.

Themes

After Janet Jackson’s infamous “wardrobe malfunction” in 2004, network officials were understandably cautious about what they would allow to air during Super Bowl XLI.  CBS even rejected out of hand two sexually charged GoDaddy.com commercials (catch the banned commercials here).

So, naturally, advertisers turned to the other two features that draw eyes - violence and humor…often together.  They also turned to celebrities in order to pass along their message.  Here’s my review of the notable ad spots:

The Good

Budweiser - Budweiser ran 9 ads in total, and most were absolutely fantastic.  My favorite ones were:

Rock Paper Scissors - This commercial appealed to all ages, and featured some mischievous violence.  It was short, sweet, and to the point.  It even dealt with a situation most men have run into at some point - only one beer left, and two people who are thirsty.

Fist Bump - This ad featured non-stop slapping, and was still funny.  It was so absurd that it I will remember this one for quite some time.

Reception - A wedding is carried out quickly so the characters can drink Bud Light sooner.  While completely not believable and sort of cheesy, the actor who officiates the wedding (an auctioneer) saves the spot with great acting.

Van Heusen - Van Heusen ran 1 ad, and made it count.  It was one of the few ads that had absolutely no humor or violence in it.

A Man’s Walk - Great ad with catchy music and shooting, showcases different styles of men’s wear by Van Heusen, and the apparent success of the man who wears it.  The only problem I had with the ad is that Van Heusen is not the brand that makes me think of that “success” - it causes me to just think of other brands that do accomplish that for me. Basically, right ad, wrong brand.

E*Trade - E*Trade ran 2 ads, and one of them was just terrible.  The other one, luckily, struck its mark.

One Finger - Crude male humor which is likely to get a response from males, and maybe a bit disgust out of women.  The ad boasts that you can get all your banking done with one finger (on a mouse).  The problem: All right, just about any online banking site will let you do the same…what’s your edge E*Trade?

Sprint - Sprint ran 1 ad, and it was aimed at business people.

Connectile Dysfunction - After many ads in the past few years about “erectile dysfunction”, some mainstream brands started spoofing ads with their own version of “not measuring up”.  Geico ran a “reptile dysfunction” ad just a few weeks ago, so this one feels a bit too much like a stolen idea…and “connectile” is just a little too far of a stretch, don’t you think?

Emerald Nuts - Emerald Nuts ran 1 ad, and it featured renowned vocalist Robert Goulet.

BoogeyMan - This was just an all around humorous ad, even if you don’t know Robert Goulet (and I don’t think most people do).  Good usage by Emerald Nuts of the “natural energy” that you get by eating nuts…but once again, why should I buy these over Planter’s.  Surely Planter’s (and most other brands) are natural too, right?  So you basically just advertised the health benefits of eating nuts…the whole industry will see a lift, but you won’t necessarily see a market share gain (which you will need after the $2.5 million you spent on that ad).

Blockbuster - Blockbuster ran 1 ad, and showcased their Total Access program.

Mouse - A cute commercial, sure to make guys laugh and women appreciate the furry little creatures’ confusion about using a mouse.  The ad basically takes 10-15 seconds for humor, and then takes the other 10-15 seconds to explain their service.  This may very well give Blockbuster’s Total Access program an edge over NetFlix.

The Bad

GM - 2 ads, both horrible.  I wouldn’t want to be in that next executive meeting…

100% Quality - I get what GM was trying to do in this commercial.  Their executives were thinking, “Oh, this is so cute, people won’t be able to resist the robot, and we’ll have everyone talking about the video for weeks”.  They couldn’t be further from the truth.  When you are a company that has been in the new for laying off thousands of workers, you don’t remind people that you lay off robots…it’s just not good PR.  And, are we really supposed to think that your robots are more precise than any other automaker’s?  That either insults my intelligence or displays your ignorance.

College Ad Challenge / HHR - Once again, some GM executives were sitting there thinking, “Oh, we’ll get all the PR from college students around the country designing an ad, (Consumer Generated Ads) and then we’ll get a great, funny ad to show on the Super Bowl”.  Wrong answer, again.  The ad featured nearly naked men (a turn-off for men, in case you executives weren’t sure), and get this - didn’t even manage one clear shot of the HHR vehicle they were trying to sell!  Did I forget to tell you GM - no one knew what that car even looked like before that ad?  How did this improve our perception?

GM gave up on professionals developing their commercials and handed the responsibility over to a 19 year old female college student…who do we fire over this?

Snickers - Someone needs to seriously help them decide what’s appropriate.

Mechanic - This ad featured two men kissing while trying to eat a Snickers, who then do something “manly” to feel better.  Just tasteless humor, which no one even found funny.  And either way you choose to take it, it either makes fun of the gay population or it makes fun of the general male audience.  This ad probably earns the worst rank in the whole game (or maybe a tie with Flowmax).  A complete waste of $2.5 million.

Taco Bell - They had better publicity with their green onion scare…

New Steak Grilled Taquitos - The entire ad is annoyingly filled with some lion trying to pronounce the a word correctly.  Instead of eating the humans picnicking, or the meat they were eating, the lions were trying to speak…there’s a great idea (I’m kidding, in case you didn’t catch the hint).

Sierra Mist - 2 lousy commercials, both geared towards the idiotic young male.

Comb-over - An employee is fired because he has a beard comb-over.  And this has what to do with a soft drink?

Flowmax - Did we really need to see that?

Male Urinary Problems - “common side effects include….upon standing a sudden drop in blood pressure may occur…rarely resulting in fainting…so avoid situations where injuries could result.”

I have a few comments about this commercial.  First of all, what guy wants to hear about something like this while they are eating wings and drinking beer?  Second of all, if he has this problem, how likely is he to take action any time soon after the game? And is he going to be glad his Super Bowl buddies know about this problem?

Aside from this, while warnings for drugs are often odd, this one was just plain imbecile.  They first warn you that standing up can cause you to faint - then they tell you to avoid situations where that injury could result…in other words, don’t stand up.  Now, if you don’t stand up, and you have to go, how will you get to the bathroom?  Yes, absurd.
Other interesting info:

- Last year, about 20% of the Super Bowl ads were bought by internet companies.  This year, GoDaddy.com’s commercial was much worse than I expected…and the expectations were high after last year’s ad.  CareerBuilder.com ran a few ads, mostly featuring people who were fighting or getting attacked at their workplace (I don’t really get the relevance to finding a new job). 

- Fedex delivered packages to the moon in one ad, and told us not to judge a book by its cover in another.

- Toyota focused on the truck market, featuring their Tundra brand in a series of “Ford Built Tough”-like ads.  This is obviously an attempt to take some market share from the only area Ford still sells a decent amount of autos in - their heavy trucks.  Meanwhile, Honda, known for reliability, tried taking some of Toyota’s market share of the “green cars” by advertising their cars as the most fuel-efficient.

- Celebrities featured in ads included: Jay-Z,  Don Shula, Jessica Simpson, Carlos Mencia, Kevin Federline, Kevin Garnett, and a few others.

Want to see all of the ads?

Watch And Vote For Your Favorite Super Bowl Commercial