Shake The Haters Off: Super Bowl Commercials
The Super Bowl is the ultimate haters holiday. Every year the same haters say the same thing. The game wasn’t that great, halftime was awful and the commercials sucked. Sometimes thats true, especially the part about halftime but not this year.
Let me say that the game was well above average, halftime was insanely entertaining and the commercials were actually pretty good. I’m sure plenty of people will disagree about the halftime show but if you didn’t think that was entertaining then you’re probably taking yourself too seriously. It was weird but entirely self aware. In past years, I used halftime to go get food and talk to people about the game. This year everyone I watched with was entranced by the bizarre show being put on.
Also, for whatever reason, the love-child of Richard Simmons and Will Ferrell bouncing on the slack wire was the funniest thing in the world to me at that moment. I couldn’t stop laughing. As for the commercials, here are my thoughts.
The Big Winner
Dogs. Yes, the collective message of this batch of Super Bowl commercials was “We are America, and America loves dogs.” There were at least six commercials that featured dogs in a prominent role.
The Big Loser
Ferris Bueller and all he once stood for. At the risk of taking this a bit too seriously, it did sort of bastardize everything that character embodies. Oh well, all about the Benjamins I suppose. For what it’s worth, everyone I watched with seemed to like it. Also, if they were going to do it, why not have it be Ferris instead of Broderick. I digress.
Underrated
It’s a bit creepy but the tune is catchy, no?
Top Five
5. Bridgestone Performance Football and Basketball
I think these were also a bit undervalued. They were short, topical and made good use of their celebrities. It was nice of Bridgestone to throw sports fans a bone on a night where non-fans invade our game watching.
4. M&M’s “Just My Shell”
Did I think this was funny? Yes, I did. Am I immature? Yes, I am.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn3mktl30iw&feature=player_embedded
3. Chevy Sonic “Stunt Anthem”
Good Super Bowl commercials don’t have to be funny. That said, a solid non-comedic ad is hard to pull off. Whether it terrified you or made you jealous, this was straight awesome.
2. Volkswagen “The Dog Strikes Back”
You gotta love a 1:15 ad that manages to have layers and exist within multiple realities. And of course, it has a dog.
1. Doritos “Man’s Best Friend”
It was funny and kind of twisted. As soon as it aired, I hypothesized that market research must have conclusively shown that people generally love dogs and hate cats. This did more to reassure me of America’s future than Clint Eastwood ever could.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y3bqbJduK2w
Honorable Mentions
Kia “A Dream Car. For Real Life.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHZbXvts0LE&feature=player_embedded
Hyundai “All For One”
Skechers” Go Run Mr. Quiggly!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlYCBJSYWBQ&feature=player_embedded
