Another Super Bowl has come and gone, and once again we’re left discussing and reviewing the most important parts of the game - the halftime show and the commercials.
The Super bowl is the biggest spectacle on American TV, and once every year people come together to watch a football game, a concert, and hundreds of little sponsored stories all in one. This year, the Super Bowl was shown to a record audience, breaking the old barrier set by the finale of MASH. That’s right, this year’s Super Bowl was the most watched TV program ever. Ever.
Now a lot of that had to do with the Saints, New Orleans, Peyton Manning and that whole Lombardi Trophy thing. But what about the ads? How did they all stack up? And did The Who live up to expectations (whatever those were)?
Well, let’s check out how everything non-football-related unfolded during the nation’s most watched program in the history of forever.
The Bottom 5 Commercials:
Honorable Mention: Dr Love — Little Kiss (Dr. Pepper)
Not very good, but is redeemed by the fact that it is better than some of the others we saw. The “little kiss” idea didn’t really make sense, but I do love Dr. Pepper.
5. Green Car (Audi)
So they’re selling an environmental car, but are making fun of the green movement as they do it? A little bit funny, but a confusing and contradictory concept kind of ruins it. Props for the Paul Blart-esque Segway Police, and Audi is awesome - but this commercial falls flat. I just don’t understand the concept of selling something and making fun of it all in the same commercial.
4. Talking Flowers (Teleflora)
So apparently sending flowers in a box is tantamount to sending a dead fish in a bullet-proof vest, as was done in the Godfather (Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes now). Obviously they don’t go that far in the spot, because if they had it would actually have been funny. Instead the boxed flowers have a foul mouth, and are set up against a deliveryman with flowers. To be honest, I’d rather have a box deliver flowers to my girlfriend than another man.
3. Injury Report, featuring Jim Nantz (FLO TV)
Jim Nantz is about the only good part of this ad. In one of the many ads this year that totally hate on women, this one comments on a man having his spine removed by his girlfriend for going shopping with her instead of going to the game. Not a bad concept – but instead of being funny, it just ends up being awkward.
2. News (GoDaddy)
What the hell does GoDaddy even sell? The commercial is Danica Patrick (briefly), and the some other woman who begins to take off her clothes before a cut to black. The commercial then helpfully informs us to check out their website…but if they’re not even going to give some payoff during the actual spot, they can forget it.
1. Man’s Last Stand (Dodge Charger)
And the worst commercial of the year goes to….Dodge.
Another one that not only hates on women, but even seeks to incite violence is a hands down worst for the Super Bowl. The entire spot is a bunch of slow zooms on the face of men while we hear them list off everything that a woman does to annoy men.
Did Dodge just forget that women watch the Super Bowl too? By the end of the ad, I was pretty convinced that the men in this commercial were seriously considering murdering their wives, and wanted us to do the same. Well played Dodge. Associating your brand with ax-murdering husbands is always a tremendous business move.
The Half Time Show featuring The Who
Kind of got a mixed bag this year. Classic band that is way to old to be doing the Super Bowl halftime show, great light and stage show and some unsightly moments. The Who is a good band, I will admit, but watching them live now and listening to their albums to two wholly different beasts.
Live at the game they didn’t sound good at all. The stage was great, and the lighting spectacular was beautiful and exciting. But if the band doesn’t sound good, the show can’t be great – it’s as simple as that. And I really didn’t need to see Pete Townshend’s belly when he was doing his signature guitar moves.
The Super Bowl really needs to get over its worries in the aftermath of Janet Jackson and bring back some modern bands (or even bands under the age of 50 would suffice).
Here are our staff picks for the 2011 Super Bowl Halftime Show. Thoughts?
Tom: Black Eyed Peas
Tam: Foo Fighters
Tasso: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Barker: Dave Matthews Band
Jesse: Timbaland
The Top 5 Commercials:
Honorable Mention: Parisian Love (Google)
Cute and intelligent, but not the funny, hard-hitting shocker we expect (and desire) from a Super Bowl ad. A good one for the ladies, nonetheless, in a Super Bowl that was complete with women-bashing ads right from the beginning.
5. Troy "Punxsutawney" Polamalu (truTV)
Perhaps I’m biased as a football fan, but in a year of relatively weak ads, Punxsutawney Polamalu gets the number 5 nod. The strangely disturbing yet comic miniature Polamalu was a surprise when he was yanked out of the hole, and upon seeing his shadow, the classic flex and point gesture was a good end for the ad.
Six more weeks of football!
4. Bud House (Bud Light)
Not the most original concept, but funny nonetheless. The subtle dig at the environmental movement was great (“Its so great you made your house out of empty cans”….“They aren’t empty.”) And who could forget the line “There’s Bud Light in a refrigerator made out of Bud Light?” Definitely good enough to clock in at number 4.
3. Hard Times, featuring the Simpsons (Coca-Cola)
This was the ad featuring the Simpsons, and when I first saw it I was not all that impressed because it didn’t go out of its way to be funny. But watching it again it has its funny moments (Smithers being tied to the to top of Selma’s car is one of them), and overall it just hearkens back to a simpler time.
Everyone loves the Simpsons, and most of the bigger characters make an appearance. And with so many soda companies moving back towards the “Classic” appeal, this ad rises towards the top. Sometimes you don’t need to be hilarious to be one of the best – sometimes you just need to be good.
2. 10 Years Strong, featuring Brett Favre (Hyundai)
I know a lot of people are split on Brett Favre, but personally, I love him. He’s hysterical in what he does, and it’s even better because he doesn’t mind making fun of himself.
In this spot, Favre is 50 years old and in 2020 wins his holographic MVP. We all know its coming, but when he says “Should probably retire after this….I don’t know,” its still funny. Great concept, and it even all ties together in the end.
1. Game, featuring Betty White and Abe Vigoda (Snickers)
How could this commercial not end up at number 1? Betty White getting tackled was hilarious, as was her smart mouthed dialogue. When a teammate says “You’re playing like Betty White out there.”, she immediately replies “That’s not what your girlfriend said.” Betty White is a badass, and props to Snickers for the number 1 spot of the year. Not to mention the Abe Vigoda cameo.
Bravo, Bud Light. In a year where many of us expected to see plenty of new “too light, too heavy” commercials, you slapped us with something new – old people getting tackled. Brilliant.
Now if only the NFL would just take the hint and stop putting them on the half-time stage, we might be getting somewhere…
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