Super Bowl follow-up II: The Ads

Normally no Super Bowl discussion would be complete without talking about the ads. This year they seemed pretty uneventful. Many of the commercials were just ordinary commercials. Nothing wrong with that I suppose, you just expect a little something extra in a Super Bowl commercial.

It also seemed like one long promo for upcoming CBS shows. At times I was begging for a regular commercial.

My comments on the ones I can remember:

Budweiser: You can always count on Bud for some good ones. I would consider this a down year for Bud, but I still enjoyed most of them. The rock, scissors, paper one was good (rock really should beat everything). The auctioneer at the wedding wasn’t bad. Some people liked the dog one, but I wasn’t in love with it. The fist bump/slap one I thought was dumb. The gorilla trying to steal the Bud Light was ok. The Bud Light hitchhiker with the ax I liked. The king crab one I thought was dumb. Jay-Z and Don Shula didn’t work. Where were the Clydesdales?

Careerbuilder.com: I thought the whole “do more than survive the workweek” campaign was weak. Definitely sub-par for them.

Doritos: They were one for two. I didn’t think the car crash one was good, but I liked the check out lady one.

E-Trade: Also one for two. The bank robbery one was bad, but the “one finger is very powerful” one was good.

Sierra Mist: Didn’t like the comb-over one. The others were ok. Overall I thought this was kind of weak.

Snickers: Some people thought this was hilarious, but the guy-kiss, then rip your chest hair out just wasn’t that funny to me.

Heart Association: These were just dark and spooky. A bunch of thugs beat up your heart in a dark alley. Nice. I was glad my four year old wasn’t watching. Didn’t like them at all.

Garmin: They paid money for this one? Could have possibly been more lame? Well, maybe if it had been more lame then it could have reached the “so stupid, it’s funny” stage, but this was just stupid.

Coke: These were all interesting and creative but not particularly memorable. I can’t really remember any of them the next day.

T-Mobile: This was one of my favorites just because of Charles Barkley. Simple commercial, but perfect use of a celebrity. Maybe it’s just because I like Barkley.

Emerald Nuts: Silly, but I liked it. Robert Goulet wreaking havoc in a sleeping office made me chuckle.

Nationwide: I had heard about this one in advance so I knew what was coming. But it was still good. “Federline! Fries!”. Funny, and about all he’s good for…

I know there were others, but nothing sticks out. Maybe I missed some good ones. Overall a weak Super Bowl commercial crop.

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Update:

I was reading another review of the ads (I like to see if other people had different opinions) and two things leaped out at me. First of all, this guy thought the Garmin ad was the best of the night (I guess it takes all kinds). But he had a great line on a commercial I didn’t see. Apparently Frito-Lay had an ad celebrating the fact that there were two African-American coaches. “Who’s winning?”, “We all are”. The reviewers comments:

The ad is low-key and likable. And wholly fitting, given the vital role Tostitos played in the civil rights movement.

lol.