[abe]

2008 Super Bowl Ads: Disappointing

Super Bowl Commercials 2008 - AOL Sports

I'll just say they were as disappointing as the game's final quarter was exciting.

I'll get into details about the commercials later.

[turtle777]

I agree. None of them stuck out.

As a matter of fact, I don't even remember a single one right now. How bad is that ?
Actually, I remember one. Some stupid local commercial for a cancer center.

What a waste of advertising dollars AND people's time.

-t

[abe]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

I agree. None of them stuck out.

As a matter of fact, I don't even remember a single one right now. How bad is that ?
Actually, I remember one. Some stupid local commercial for a cancer center.

What a waste of advertising dollars AND people's time.

-t

I couldn't agree more!

[Sherman Homan]

They mostly did suck pond water. An amazing amount of money spent on mediocre ads. The Bridgestone ads were funny, the eTrade baby ads were cute, the careerbuilder and Life Water ads were Teh Worst.

[turtle777]

Yeah, careerbuilder will have to fire their new agency for sure. WTF were they thinking ?

-t

[C.A.T.S. CEO]

I thought the Pepsi one was nice.

[ghporter]

I liked the Pepsi ad too. Having Justin Timberlake dragged through all that stuff (I especially liked the mail box) was funny-and apparently Justin doesn't take himself too seriously either. The Will Ferrel ad wasn't so great-I doubt I'll go see his movie because of it. The FedEx ad was cool, but not that cool-really just "cute." I didn't watch the game, but if the "top five" commercials were indeed the ones Yahoo! lists, then it was pretty boring commercial-wise.

[MacinTommy]

One that was really good (somewhat funny) was the Audi R8/Godfather commercial.
Audi R8/Godfather

[voodoo]

They apologize that these videos aren't available in my area.

I guess I'm not privileged enough to watch US commercials. Oh the horror.

[design219]

Agreed it was a poor year for commercials. That said, I did like the Tide talking stain commercial. Relatively simple production but very clever.

[AngelaBaby]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

Yeah, careerbuilder will have to fire their new agency for sure. WTF were they thinking ?

-t

Hey, you remembered the ad, so it obviously worked.

[stugots]

I'll agree the ads were disappointing this year. I would have liked to see Apple put some of their ads up against the Dell ads. Though I'm not in the market for a Macbook Air I still think it's amazing to look at the MBA compared to the Dell they were advertising.

[ort888]

Don't superbowl ads always suck? They are so formulaic now. It's like there is a superbowl ad rulebook that everyone follows.

[MallyMal]

Well, I like this one.
YouTube - Bridgestone "Scream" Super Bowl Ad

[iREZ]

i too think the ads sucked this year, but i found the carvel commercial for coke was pretty cool, and i'm an avid pepsi drinker too.

[Lateralus]

I thought the FedEx ad was great.

[::maroma::]

The only one I enjoyed was the loud stain one. I don't remember what product it was for, but it was the stain yelling over people talking. It made me laugh.

[cjrivera]

I liked this one.
Will Ferrell Bud Light Commercial�Video

[Oversoul]

I enjoyed the Audi R8/Godfather, FedEx/Pigeons, and Pepsi/Justin Timberlake ones.

And I'm so looking forward to Iron Man.

[Shaddim]

I liked the Sobe/Thriller commercial.

[smacintush]

I like seeing JT get his ass kicked for sure.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by Shaddim 

I liked the Sobe/Thriller commercial.

All I could think was, "Someone saw that prison rendition and thought it'd be a cool commercial."

[imitchellg5]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

All I could think was, "Someone saw that prison rendition and thought it'd be a cool commercial."

That's exactly what I thought.
BTW, I liked the R8 ad. That was funny and very cool.

[dustrho]

I didn't care for any of the commercials either. Not really Super Bowl worthy if you ask me.

[KeriVit]

I think Super Bowl ads are over-hyped and anticipated. Historically there have been a half dozen good ones amongst the rest. In that respect, I think there were quite a few entertaining ones.

[sek929]

The R8 commercial was the only one I remember.

Piss poor indeed.

[gofridge]

gofridge liked the Planters Peanuts as a perfume ad. gofridge finds food sexy.

gofridge also liked the Doritos ad in which the guy in the mouse suit beat up the guy who ate the Doritos. gofridge does that too when someone tries to eat gofridge's food.

[iMan G5]

I saw four dell xps one adds before I stopped watching the Super Bowl. I saw 1 MBA commercial and don't remember the rest.

[KeriVit]

My 2¢- the lizards- Life Water

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

I liked the Pepsi ad too. Having Justin Timberlake dragged through all that stuff (I especially liked the mail box) was funny-and apparently Justin doesn't take himself too seriously either. The Will Ferrel ad wasn't so great-I doubt I'll go see his movie because of it. The FedEx ad was cool, but not that cool-really just "cute." I didn't watch the game, but if the "top five" commercials were indeed the ones Yahoo! lists, then it was pretty boring commercial-wise.

Yahoo seems to think Broadband speeds are more important than ads.

[abe]

There is a difference in the sense of humor between young people and more mature folks.

I first mentioned it in the Jimmy Kimmel thread, I think.

The things that make younger audiences laugh can be pointless and/or lame and the audience loves it.

More mature audiences are used to a punchline or a payoff that many of these ads lacked.

The one that comes to mind immediately is the one with the parade balloons getting loose in NYC and going for the bottle of Coke.

It was fun to look at, but there was no payoff.

Younger audiences may enjoy the spot without any payoff and they are the target audience, so even though they may not be entertaining, if the target audience responds by purchasing more products then that is all the advertisers really care about.

I really dislike the way things are going but that's life.



I'm meek.

[KeriVit]

abe,

a good brand will focus on the proper target and appeal to them and them only. That's the point. For instance, the King- Burger King. Personally, I think it's retarded, but it is working splendidly in the target group.

So, what you say may be correct, however if the brand/company has done its research, they may not care about you. That being said, the Super Bowl is actually a very tough ticket. Not only are there expenses, but the viewing audience is very broad. Personally, if I was the brand manager, I would steer clear and spend the money better elsewhere,

Unfortunately, some ad agencies don't see it this way. What ads did you enjoy?

[KeyLimePi]

Usually talking babies creep me out, but I LOL'd at the e*Trade ads.

[abe]

Originally Posted by KeriVit 

abe,

a good brand will focus on the proper target and appeal to them and them only. That's the point. For instance, the King- Burger King. Personally, I think it's retarded, but it is working splendidly in the target group.

So, what you say may be correct, however if the brand/company has done its research, they may not care about you. That being said, the Super Bowl is actually a very tough ticket. Not only are there expenses, but the viewing audience is very broad. Personally, if I was the brand manager, I would steer clear and spend the money better elsewhere,

Unfortunately, some ad agencies don't see it this way. What ads did you enjoy?

Despite posting the link to the site where all the SB ads might be viewed, I've intentionally not watched any of them since seeing them at the time of their 'Super broadcast.' I wanted to see exactly which one or ones remained in my memory after a couple of days.

The FedEx spot with the giant pigeon was funny. The Bridgestone tires spots were funny and imaginative. The Under Armour spot was memorable but quite disturbing. Really. The SNL produced spot was funny enough (the nodding and using Kattan for a kicker).

Ok. Now to begin reacquainting myself with them.

The top ten rated commercials of this year's game were:

1. E-Trade: "Baby"
2. Pepsi Co: "Justin Timberlake"
3. Doritos: "Mouse Trap"
4. Coca-Cola: "James Carville and Bill Frist"
5. Ice Breakers: "Carmen Electra"
6. Bridgestone: "Headlights"
7. Bud Light: "Cavemen"
8. Vitamin Water: "Horse Race"
9. Cars.com Plan B: "Witch Doctor"
10. Life Water: "Thriller"

Beer Ads Take a Back Seat on Super Bowl Sunday | The Underwire from Wired.com

The E-Trade baby. I was waiting for it to really knock me over. It didn't. The device of making a baby seem to talk is (or was) still on the cutting edge of effectiveness, though it had been done enough times to lose it's novelty. But by using special effects and expecting the effects to be the coolest thing about the ad makes me sad. It was like having a really well equipped and capable computer system and only using it for playing music and emails and boasting to others, "Hey, look at this. What a cool computer I have, eh?" But as we've established, advertisers are aiming at attracting their target demographic group, so this is perfectly positioned and seemingly executed. Young to middle aged men and women (We mustn't forget them!) who have disposable income, who are or might soon be investors and who are or might soon be new parents. And surprise, that fits the SuperBowl demographics.

E-Trade scores! (But left me thinking, "Meh!")

2. Pepsi Co: "Justin Timberlake". I remember him being comically thrashed while being driven to something, by something for some reason and after the thrashing (the fire hydrant pain is comically memorable) he lands on his feet, seemingly only slightly the worse for wear and flirtatious to the end. It was for Pepsi? I'll admit, I had to peek at the list to recall the sponsor and product.

JT scores. Pepsi misses a field goal.

3. Doritos: "Mouse Trap". I don't recall watching this at all. But it's not like I didn't watch it at all. It's that I DON'T RECALL watching it at all. It's like the feeling you get after eating a snack on the run during a busy day and you're asked, later, what you ate during the day. And you know you had something but what it was slips your mind.

A three and out series. Doritos punts.

4. Coca-Cola: "James Carville and Bill Frist". This is the only ad that made me feel the advertiser was acting, if not condescendingly, then, patronizingly, to me. Carville and Frist? They are not known for being antagonists even though anyone who is more than generally aware of US national politics would know that Carville is a Democratic strategist and Bill Frist is a Republican former Senator and Senate Majority Leader and a practicing medical surgeon from Tennessee. So what have we got here? Well known Democrat. Well known Republican. Getting them together to show that even in todays' very heated political environment the two sides can be friendly and do things together socially and be polite and nice to and with each other.



In addition to the two participants not being well chosen, although I can imagine finding any really well known political figures or former elected officials who weren't too elderly or sickly and had no political baggage and were not involved in actual campaigns (legally prohibiting their participation in a product advertisement, I'd guess) would limit the pool of possible participants.

I could go on and on just about the casting decision on this one. I know it couldn't have been easy and they certainly tried but failed, IMHO to cast it ideally.

"James Carville and Bill Frist" they throw an interception on the opponent's 20 yard line.

As for the concept and execution. Trite and sophomoric and actually kind of embarrassing. I couldn't watch the entire spot because I was so embarrassed. The overall effect on me was like that queasy feeling when you pass out from eating and drinking too much. The whole idea was kind of sickening and then it put me to sleep.

Coca-Cola: "James Carville and Bill Frist". Who cares?

5. Ice Breakers: "Carmen Electra". I recall watching this and thinking, 'Jeez. I like her. I'd do her. I wish her well. But isn't she a bit long in the tooth to be doing the stereotypical sexy girl spots?' I had to be reminded Carmen Electra was in one of the ads and if that wasn't enough of an indication, I forgot who the sponsor was.

Ice Breakers: "Carmen Electra". A slant pass over the middle for a 5 yard gain.

6. Bridgestone: "Headlights". BIG PLAY! Funny. I remember the ad. I remember the sponsor. I remember the gags. I remember the participants. Really funny! Very well done. Great execution. Great concepts. Great tie-ins. Big pay offs at the end.

The person who conceived these ads is truly creative and has a sense of humor as well as understanding advertising. Old time, classic advertising craftsmanship at work here. It doesn't get much better. Let's keep in mind that the funniest ads don't always seel the product well. And a dull, uninspired ad isn't a guarantee of increased sales, much less of the unmeasurable value of 'buzz.' Sometimes an ad that is new or really clever can generate buzz in the ad industry or (much more preferably) in the client's industry and ideally, amongst consumers. If an ad can generate buzz in the client's industry, in the ad world, amongst the public and in this case, consumers (the two aren't always the same) and register strongly across all of the demographics and serve to move products off the shelf and enhance the brand's reputation, you have a winner!

And these ads are just that.

Bridgestone: "Headlights". SCORES!

7. Bud Light: "Cavemen". Didn't see it during the game so I won't comment on it here.

8. Vitamin Water: "Horse Race". Now THIS WAS FUNNY! Seven foot tall NBA basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal participating in a horse race as a jockey is a funny idea. It makes me laugh just to think of it. It's like a well designed play in football. As long as you execute the play and don't fumble the play will be guaranteed to gain big yards! The Vitamin water sponsor was slightly memorable at this writing, but the formula of advertising is always, reach, message and frequency and if the sponsor continues to run the spot they should improve their association between Shaq the Jockey and Vitamin Water. The visual device and humor will assure that people don't tune out before the mental connection is made, IMHO. Shaq is a likable giant and has a droll and impish side which allows him to play this kind of role very well. A big play!

Vitamin Water: "Horse Race" & Shaquille O'Neal: A long pass and the receiver is tackled on the five yard line and after three tries and a disputed play which was reviewed but went against them, Vitamin Water kicks a field goal.

9. Cars.com Plan B: "Witch Doctor": This was lame. Just plain lame, IMHO. It is the epitome of the younger, Jimmy Kimmel type of non-funny sensibility getting into the advertising world and foisting this upon us as the New Standard. And because people see this dreck on TV it actually contributes to the dumbing down of society. There is a decided willingness in todays younger generation to see things in relative terms and to award every participant a trophy just for competing. "There are no losers, these ads are merely, different."

This ad's payoff has no real connection to anything but what someone without a sense of humor or any real creativity (but an ability to argue for his ideas VERY WELL, I'd guess...btw, that also includes the possibility of the sponsor conceiving the spot... ) was able to convince someone to approve.

Cars.com Plan B: "Witch Doctor": They throw an interception which is returned by the opponent for a touchdown and the two point conversion try is successful.

10. Life Water: "Thriller": Naomi Campbell is a hot looking woman. No doubt about it. She has been reported to be mean spirited and has been arrested once or twice for being physically abusive if I'm not mistaken. The musical intro to Michael Jackon's 1984 hit song, Thriller is not yet quite retro enough to return again as nouveau or aú current. It just seems outdated in this case. Hot looking, but mean spirited scofflaw moving (not really dancing) to an outdated hit song. I guess she was reprising the Thriller video dancers' actions. The elements weren't really selected well. The execution was fine but the concept was questionable.

Life Water: "Thriller". On 4th and goal on the nine yard line they fail to score and they turn the ball over on downs.

Well. That's my take on the Top Ten.

Vitamin Water w/Shaq as the jockey and the Bridgestone ads were the ones that scored from this list.

And the FedEx giant pigeon wasn't on this list but scored big in my estimation.

And now, how about you, KeriVit, which ones did you like or not?

And I extend to you, my fellow faithful Patriots fan, my condolences.