Last night hundreds of millions of people tuned in to a battle of epic proportions… oh and there was a football game on as well. Super Bowl Sunday has become known for: groundbreaking, shocking, funny, cute, endearing, and sometimes downright awful commercials. It may be the NFL’s ultimate finale but it’s also the Ad World’s purest head to head shootout. At 3 million dollars a pop (or $100,000 a second) and a reported viewership topping 111 million people the stakes are extremely high. In fact Super Bowl XLV became the most-watched U.S. TV program in history. Here is our breakdown on the winners and losers in last-nights 30sec throw down.
Winners!
1. VW
Volkswagen has always been at the forefront of advertising and hit on not one but two great ads featuring Lil’ Darth Vader and a Bug. While yes any Star Wars themed commercial is going to score high just due to the iconic nature of the franchise “The Force” takes a very different approach. It’s not about tech its about people and the little things that make a difference. This simple concept of imagination and child like wonder can’t help but make you smile. Frankly just being able to navigate the copyright/licensing issues with Lucus deserves an award.
“The Force”
“Black Beetle” is again a simple concept executed perfectly “the new Beetle will be cute, fun, and fast”. Subtle touches with the shot selection and soundtrack pay homage to racing movies and give this spot energy. More importantly there is a payoff at the end, you get it, there is a new Beetle coming soon and it’s going to be fun!
“Black Beetle”
2. Chrysler
Chrysler made a emotional long format spot driving home the “We’re here and fighting right along side you” message. The nod to Detroit and all of America weathering the storm and still having what it takes resonates well.
“Imported From Detroit”
3. Doritos
Doritos went with the quantity approach creating three separate ads (plus more online) all using slapstick and shock based humor. They did a good job towing the line between funny and ewww.
“House Sitting”
4. Bridgestone
Both spots were solid; they achieved a nice balance of funny, entertaining, memorable and wait for it… actually showed the product in action delivering something of value to the consumer. Reply All was my favorite mostly because when he freaks out and starts ripping the wires out of the wall I laughed out loud.
“Reply All”
5. Motorola
First off I’m a happy iPhone user and am waiting patiently for the iPad 2 but hats off for taking a shot right at the heart of “The Man”. I love the concept but the execution seemed light footed. What made Apple’s original 1984 spot so good was it was confident, brash and willing to take the world on. Motorola seemed like they weren’t fully committed to going all in. I wish there was more payoff at the end, a better tagline or something to really leave us thinking.
“Empower The People”
Losers!
1. Groupon (all 3 ads)
Where do we start. I’m not really sure what they we’re thinking… maybe they saw all the success Go Daddy has had in the past producing offensive commercials but all three spots not only fell flat but actually caused serious damage. Taking advantage of Tibet, Rainforests, and Endangered Species making light of all three serious social issues to promote your goods smacks of Elitism and a general disconnect with society. They should have consulted with Kenneth Cole about how to enrage tens of thousands of potential customers using social media and saved themselves the 10 million plus they threw at those spots.
2. Pepsi Max (all 3 ads)
Trying to cover up poor concept with brute force by producing not just one bad commercial but three doesn’t work. They all feel like a bad 8th grade class projects with the same maturity level. Why would I want Pepsi Max? I still have no idea but I do feel insulted somehow.
3. Go Daddy
“New GoDaddy.CO Girl”
I should not feel dirty watching a commercial about domain name registration. Yet every year I do.
