Bathroom breaks are for Game Time…
Thank goodness Super Bowl XLIV gave us an exciting game, because the commercial lineup this year failed to keep me entertained. The obscenely expensive spots were made up of mostly tired jokes and overused celebrities, with a smattering of pleasant surprises. Let’s start with the good stuff…
Google’s already receiving some backlash since their CEO had sworn off commercial branding in the past, but I’m personally glad the online powerhouse decided to dive into creative advertising. They do everything else so fabulously, why wouldn’t their commercials be great? The result- unexpected tenderness that had me stop, mid mouthful of chicken wings, and sigh. The fifty-second spot, titled “Parisian Love” grabs viewers with simplicity to start- presenting the clean white screen shot of Google’s homepage. The viewer is then taken on a romantic journey of one man’s study abroad trip to Paris- from courting a French girl, to falling in love, and eventually living happily ever after with a wedding and a baby- all of this portrayed through Google searches. The tagline, “Search on” turns the everyday action of “Googling” into an integral and poignant part of our lives. Somehow, they managed to make a search engine seem sentimental.
The Snickers Betty White commercial was an obvious hit because no one can hate on Betty White- especially when her snow-white bob is nearly knocked off her shoulders in a football tackle. In this spot, Betty White stands in for the idea that you’re just not yourself when you’re hungry. The idea was simple, funny, and a safe move for Snickers after last year’s spot received backlash from gay rights activists- the commercial showed two men accidentally kissing after eating from two ends of a Snickers bar and reacting in utter disgust. If Snickers was looking for safe, they chose wisely with Betty White. According to Nielsen ratings, it was also the number one favorite commercial this year, so not only was it a safe move, but a successful one as well.
Doritos deserves a nod for getting such a positive response from such a low budget. The “Crash the Super Bowl” contest asked consumers to come up with the ads and the outcome was overwhelmingly popular. Apparently the average Dorito- muncher is a pretty good copywriter- Ad agencies better watch their backs.
Unfortunately, despite the charmers I’ve mentioned and a handful of other well-done spots, I was not impressed with the commercials this year as a whole. For some reason, there seemed to be more movie premieres than ever before- spots for Robin Hood, Shutter Island, Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter, and Prince of Persia gave the commercial breaks an unusually dramatic and theatrical feel. I’m already forced to watch those for twenty minutes before a feature presentation at the movies- don’t make me watch them during the Super Bowl too!
Vizio had an interesting idea with the biggest online obsessions of the year going through a type of factory and dropping them off in one place where you can watch them all. I have to admit, I still find that kid hopped up on drugs from the dentist hilarious, so I enjoyed seeing him in there- but Beyonce? Really? Someone needs to send that girl to commercial rehab. She’s become the face of so many brands that I’m starting to think she is actually a robot, programmed to shake her booty and spout taglines.
Apparently the old E Trade baby got as sick of their commercials as I am, because it was a new little baldy- smart-mouthing and trading stocks this year. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it was the new baby’s fault, but these commercials have definitely exhausted their funny factor. If E Trade thought that adding more babies would add more laughs- they were wrong.
Super Bowl XLIV seemed to be the year of the underdog- both on and off the field. Google surprised us all by breaking into television advertising for the first time, Snickers made up for their foot-in-mouth moment from last year, and Doritos consumers proved that just about anyone with a little creative spirit can make a successful commercial.
I’m still waiting for the new millennia’s equivalent to Apple’s “1984”- a dramatic spot for the new apple computer that completely revolutionized creative advertising. Hopefully next year, things will at least freshen up a bit- someone, please change that E*trade baby’s diaper already.
