My take on the adverts from 2009’s Superbowl.
1st Quarter
Bud Light – Office Meeting
Good concept, well executed, and great ending!
Audi – Transporter
Gratuitous use of Jason Statham that frankly did not really translate very well in terms of really presenting the brand of Audi rather than the brand of The Transporter. It made want to watch the movies again, but not necessarily want to look into an Audi.
Pepsi – Forever Young
Brilliant spot and juxtaposition of the icons from older generations and how we continue the themes with the present ones. The song is catchy as well. It’s the type of advertising that can really unite a wide target audience.
Doritos – Snow Globe
Good fun, and presents a certain irreverence that the brand wants to align itself with. The hit in the groin gag, although often used, is still funny. The secret to the gag weighs heavily in the quality of the sound effect at the point of impact.
Bud Light – Conan
Great comedic short, and perfect for our present YouTube environment in which we can all have our 15 minutes of fame for the most inane things. The fact that the product shot’ headline is in Swedish is indicative of the strength of the spot, and the brand.
Toyota – Venza
A good advert, aimed at the late 20’s, early 30’s crowd, with some interesting insights into the likely genesis of design elements. A good piece in terms of taking the viewer on a journey of reflection about what it is that influences us in the design of our own personalities.
Bridgestone – Potato Head
Good ad, although I wish they would have used the voice of Estelle Harris (Mrs. Potato Head in Toy Story 2). For some reason, I associate the character with the voice, and to hear it as someone else just bothered me to the point of distraction.
Castrol – Grease Monkeys
What would SuperBowl adverts be without at least one spot with chimps. I like the conceptual alliteration with the “grease monkeys” — even if chimps are actually apes. They also manage to get enough technical jargon in there for you to be impressed and make the association with Castrol. The use of the the line “liquid engineering” also wins big points because of the fact that it gives the sense of a higher quality product, even if all oil is likely just as engineered. It’s one thing to be something, and another to tell everyone about it!
Doritos – Bus
Fun concept, but not entirely memorable, even with the brief use of a monkey.
GoDaddy.com – Shower
It was a fun ad, in the tradition of American Pie. Great job in getting you to go to the website to see the ending. The only problem is that once you get there, the whole things into a really amateur snorefest, and essentially undoes whatever good marketing you may have creating in the TV advert. This is not to say that I expected some soft-porn scenario in the online version, I just wish it had continued to be entertaining.
Budweiser – Fetch
Great advert that plays on the idea of the Clydesdale as being the true mascot for Budweiser. Great job at maintaining the brand recognition with hairy hooves!
2nd Quarter
Budweiser – Horse Love
Although an interesting story-line, it wasn’t as good as the fetch spot. What was interesting though, was that I immediate thought of Budweiser as soon as I saw the hairy hooves on the horse within the first 20 seconds. Definitely a good follow-up to the fetch spot, but likely not as strong on its own.
Gatorade – Mission G
Ok, the use of Jason McEllwain in the spot is absolutely a brilliant move, especially since he has been one of the better feel-good stories in the past while. ( see http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=ngzyhnkT_jY ). It relates the brand to the warrior spirit in all of us in the way that Nike has done in the past. The shift from Gatorade to G is also a timely refresher to a brand that was in need of a good boost. It’s also a memorable spot.
Cars.com – Doctor
A very cute story that generates a narrative that highlights the pain point that a lot of us likely share… lacking confidence when buying a car. I would have brought the logo screen a little earlier though, to let it sink in a bit more before moving on.
Hyundai – Genesis
Great spot! Way to play on an existing pain-point (the mispronunciation of the name) and use it to your advantage. I love the alliteration to “Sunday” especially since it played on one of the most notorious Sundays of the year! It also manages to mention the name 11 times in the advert, with most of it not in English. Well done!
eTrade – Babies
No chimps? What’s interesting about this is that it likely echoes the way a lot of us feel right now in terms of the stock market – like babies, at the mercy of financial parents. However, although clever, it is not entirely memorable.
Bud Light – Skier
Great way to introduce a new verb that will likely be the new buzz word in bars amongst the target audience. Product placement was good throughout the ad. The blue bottle was nicely contrasted throughout.
H&R Block – Grim Reaper
Awful sound quality, made death’s dialogue too muddy. It was one of those ads that shows a lot of promise but ends up being not too memorable.
Teleflora – Rude Flowers
This advert is great at presenting the value of personal service over generalized service. Great visual contrast between the dismal blue-grays of the office, and the super-warm, almost saturated colours of the flowers being delivered. Funny follow-up at the end.
Cheetos – Gossip Girl
Fun advert that manages to unite the audience against the plastic gossip girl. In a strange way, it associates the brand with the empowerment of sincerity in living.
Nextel – Roadies
I had already seen this, but it was good nonetheless. Nextel has done a great job of owning the electronic trill that the phones make as they communicate, and the use of the Blackberry at the end certainly updates their image to make it more current with existing technology.
