Sunday, February 6, 2011

Real-Time Blog of Commercials during the Super Bowl

Today I am watching the Super Bowl. I am not a football watching kind of a gal. I was in marching band in high school and cheered for my team. It's enjoyable from time to time, but I just can not follow a whole season.

However, what I do love about the Super Bowl is the three F's: food, friends, and funny [ads]. I always joke around and tell my friends and kids I work with that the Super Bowl is one of my favorite holidays. It's because I'm always having a good time eating food with my favorite people and laughing at funny ads. My other favorite holidays - Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter - all involve lots of food and my favorite people as well.

So here I am, watching the game while drinking a Diet Pepsi and some Smirnoff, eating some chili dip and pretzels. However, I am more in this for the ads.

The fun thing about the ads as of 2011 is that you can vote "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" on Hulu for them right after they are shown on the television. So if you missed one the first time, want to see them again, don't want to watch the game but want to watch the ads, or want to vote, head on over. I have a widget at the end of this post (hopefully it will work) that will take you to Hulu.com to see the ads.

Now, I'll just be making a few comments for each ad. There may be spoilers. At the end I'll state whether I gave it a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" on Hulu. This will be for creativity/hilarity of the ad. I will not rate the ads that are for campaigns.

Here we go...

Groupon "Whales" ("thumbs up"): Starts off with Cuba Gooding Jr. narrating about how whales are becoming extinct but then getting excited about how he and his friends got a discount on Groupon.com to go view the whales from a boat. When I saw this on tv, I thought it was an ad to save the whales, but I did not see the end coming.

Bud Light "Hack Job" ("thumbs down"): I just felt like the ad played off of stereotypes and wasn't as original/creative as I wanted it to be. Didn't really cause me to laugh.

Doritos "Pug Attack" (up): This was my favorite ad so far. It is about a man who taunts a dog through a glass door with Doritos. I bet you can guess who won that one. I also loved how the little dog's folds/ears were bouncing as it ran. So cute. So funny.

Audi "Release the Hounds" (up): This commercial showed many rich, older generation men and women locked up in a high end prison with their long cigarettes, fancy clothing, and champagne glasses. Two men escape and the prison unleashes some "tricks/traps" to catch the criminals. I laughed a bit and found the different ways they tried to catch the men to be creative. Plus there's a surprise at the end with Kenny G serenading the inmates.

Chevrolet "Cruze Eco Misunderstanding" (down): This commercial also plays on a stereotype, that old people cannot hear. I didn't find many of the comments made during the commercial funny. Also, the old people were watching a commercial about the new Chevrolet, so I found that a little redundant.

Bud Light "Product Placement" (up): I liked this commercial a lot better than their ad earlier in the night. They played off of the fact that there are a lot of ads in movies and put Bud Light EVERYWHERE in their sword-fighting battle. The part that I loved the most was when a huge Bud Light semi crashed through the set. Much better.


Chevrolet "Silverado TVC Tommy" (up): This commercial used a car instead of a dog to play Lassie. It would honk instead of barking when the child was in trouble and then help his parents rescue him. There are all kinds of ridiculous scenarios other than just the kid getting stuck in the well. I laughed during this ad.

Pepsi "Love Hurts" (up): If you love watching someone get knocked out by a can of Pepsi to the forehead, this commercial is for you. Throughout the commercial, it shows a man creatively cheating on his diet in different rooms and different ways - and his wife catching him each time. The last part of the commercial is where the hilarity ensues. BAM! I think this ad is another favorite

Doritos "The Best Part" (up): Doritos definitely has a leg up in the ad game this year so far. They now have not one, but two of my favorite ads! This commercial shows a creepy guy hanging out behind people eating eating Doritos to lick off/smell the remains on their body (fingers, pants, etc). This is another one you should check out.

Pepsi "Torpedo Cooler" (down): I know I rated another ad as a "thumbs up" for someone getting hit in the head and this has someone getting hit in the nuts and I give it a "thumbs down". I don't know, I didn't like the characters as much and found the nuts shot too fake. I do want a machine that shoots me cold Pepsi from across the lawn.

Doritos "House Sitting" (up): I don't think this ad is one of my favorites like the other Dorito ads, but it was still pretty good. The fact that the house sitting friend brings back things from the dead with Dorito sprinkles makes me wish that could happen sometimes (what I really want is for Doritos to bring Pushing Daisies back from the dead). Anyhow, the last thing that he brings back from the dead is the greatest.

Hyundai "Hypnotize" (down): This ad didn't really do much for me, just a kid getting zoned out with a creepy bunny on his dashboard.

Kia "One Epic Ride (up): I liked how the Kia car went through time and different centuries. The scenes were well done and the ways in which they showcased the car were creative.

Lipton Brisk "Eminem" (down): It was interesting to see Eminem animated and his world flip around as he walked, but I really didn't connect much with the commercial. All I thought was "oh cool, Eminem animated" and that was it.

Go Daddy "The New Go Daddy Girl" (down): It's always the same old thing every year with Go Daddy. Show a hot chick doing something, say you can find the rest on the website. This year they added disgusting Joan Rivers as the "new girl". Gross. She's the one who decides whether people have fashion sense or not on the red carpet and has a gross looking face. I could care not to watch that again.

Budweiser "Wild West" (down): A scary guy walks in the door and once he gets his Budweiser becomes all soft and starts singing. Seemed pretty predictable and the song choice made me more annoyed because it's overplayed than anything.

Telaflora "Help Me Faith" (up): This commercial reminds me of some of the things my guy friends have joked around with me about.

BMW "X3" (down): The commercial just showed off the car.

Motorola "Empower the People"(up): Another favorite. Loved the reference to 1984, loved the costumes, loved the plot.

Coca-cola "Seige" (not sure): I liked the animation of this clip; was kinda thinking it was a preview. But it wasn't. I didn't really get the plot of the commercial - how the dragon shot fireworks/confetti out of its mouth and scared off an army. I didn't think the dragon was that scary. Meh.

Volkswagon "The Force" (up): I love how a little kid is in a Darth Vader costume trying to use the force on different things throughout the commercial. Makes me want to be a kid again. I especially love the look that he gets when he thinks he actually used the force at the end. Only problem is, this version was so short on the television. I saw a preview, the long version, of this commercial online earlier today. Please go check that out if you can because that's another one of my favorites.

Careerbuilder "Parking Lot" (down): I'm over monkeys in commercials. The concept was pretty funny but I just don't find monkeys that funny anymore.

Chevrolet "Cruze Status" (down): I don't care if you had a good first date or not, checking your facebook status from your car immediately after you get done with a date is lame.

CarMax "Kid in Candy Store" (not sure): This commercial was creative in the way it was played out how everyone thought that they felt really special like another group of people. I especially liked the mermaid at the swim meet. But honestly, I don't think I would ever feel THAT special being a CarMax customer. I would rather be the kid in the candy store.

Mars "Snickers" (up): I don't care that this commercial is almost exactly like last years, I still found it funny (especially when the woman got knocked over by the log). Not a favorite but still pretty funny.

Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY "Surgeon-Extended" (down): I don't remember seeing this one on the television. And I'm glad I didn't. Surgically putting thumbs onto the green droid guy?! GROSS. It just looks demented.

Salesforce "Chatter.com" (down): I could care less, and find a bit annoying, animated baby versions of the Black Eyed Peas. Also, I don't need any new social networking things in my life. I definitely don't feel like commenting on the next ad by them cause I just didn't care for it either.

CarMax "Go First" (down): Just didn't really care about people making others go first and try something to see if it was poisonous or get shot by enemies. I didn't feel a strong relation between that and the cars.

E-Trade "Tailor" (down): This is one of those yearly commercials that needs to die. The E-Trade talking baby is creepy. Realize it.

Hyundai "Deprogramming" (down): Pretty similar to their last ad. I see how they want to keep the consistency but I found it boring. Put that stuff on television when the Super Bowl isn't on.

Groupon "Tibet" (up): Yet another satirical commercial from Groupon that I laughed out loud at. I would say Doritos and Groupon have most of my favorites tonight.

Coca-cola "Border" (up): I thought this commercial was cute. Redrawing a border to share a Coke with an enemy = nice. I liked the look on their faces when they made sure no one was watching. Also, this commercial reminded me of what many Coca-Cola ads are about: sharing.

Stella Artois "Crying Jean" (up): Adrien Brody played a perfect part in this commercial. It was enough to make me cry and grab for a Stella Artois (okay, not really but I just loved his character).

CarMax "Gas Station" (up): I liked this ad the best out of all of the CarMax commercials. It's probably one of my favorites. The guy in the car was so freaked out by old-timey customer service, it was hilarious to watch.

Chrysler "Imported from Detroit" (down): I may be from the great state of Michigan, but that doesn't mean I have to give a thumbs up to this ad. I did like the way they showcased Detroit with the scenery and statues and buildings. What I didn't like was the second Eminem stepped out of the car, it discounted everything else in the commercial. Oh well.

Mini Countryman "Cram it in the Boot" (not sure): I liked this ad because it was kinda dirty the way they were saying "have you ever crammed it in the boot?" (butt, teehee). But I don't know how I feel about the ad as a whole yet.

Best Buy "Ozzy vs. Bieber" (up): I thought this was funny because it was making fun of 3G/4G, phones, Tron, and Bieber/Ozzy and how no one can keep up with the technology. Also, I like how they said "what is a Bieber?" "I think it's a girl".

Bridgestone "Reply All" (up): I loved how this office guy just ran around demolishing all kinds of peoples' computers because he hit reply all by accident on an e-mail.
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1 comment:

  1. Good writeup. I agree w/ you on almost everything. Couple exceptions of course ....
    I am not a particularly touchy-feely person but I thought the Groupon Tibet ad was over the line. Bad move. They're getting a ton of flack and I think it's deserved.
    I liked Mini Countryman but not sure how it fits w/ their strategy. AWD seemed to be their focus - certainly is w/ the Times Square billboard (http://blog.cincinnatimini.com/2011/02/mini-countryman-in-times-square/)
    Glad to see someone else who wasn't all gushing about the Chrysler ad w/ Emenem. Bad choice of spokes-person and it felt like an ad for the city only. Sorry motown.

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