I think toe fungus is a pretty good metaphor for this year's crop of Super Bowl ads. Some random thoughts:
Snickers: Took a tired old idea, added new celebrities, and came up with a tired old idea.
Jeep: A pitch video? In the Super Bowl?
Budweiser: Puppy dog saved by the Clydesdales? Give me a fucking break. Where's GoDaddy when we need them?
Dodge: Won't move any metal, but loved the old folks. Prediction: next year, old people will be the new puppy dogs.
Mexican Avocados: A nice idea from out of nowhere. Silly, memorable, and relevant, which is what a SB spot should be.
McDonald's: Best spot I've seen from them in a long time. Last week I was very critical of McDonald's. This proves once again, the best strategy is good creative. Excellent real-people footage and kudos to the editor.
T-Mobile: I want to have Sarah Silverman's baby, but if one person in ten understood the point of that spot -- that you can use WiFi for calls -- I'll be amazed.
Toyota: Dad-pandering and artificial-limb-porn. Toyotas keep selling like crazy despite pointless advertising. Just shows that engineers are more important than brand managers. Camry? Bold?
Fiat: Viagra idea kinda funny. But most of all, they continue to cleverly use Italian imagery to sell a car made in Poland.
Nationwide: They may be responsible for history's longest continuous stretch of terrible Super Bowl advertising. This year they outdid themselves with the dead kid. Oh, I see, they just wanted to "start a conversation." Gag me.
Bud Light: The characterization of millennials as imbeciles continues. The beer/soft drink/fast food axis of evil has created an ongoing image of them as moronic twits. This Pac-Man thing was beyond inane. Millennials, fight back! Or take a selfie or something.
The Internet: Took some hits. First there were the anti-negativity messages from two of the world's largest brands (Coke and McD's.) Then there was the return of 1999-style "dotcom" advertising for Squarespace (I don't know...The Dude and W+K...big talent there...was it supposed to be ironic??) Finally, there was the most frequently overheard comment where I was: "Oh, I've seen that one already." Translation: The internet is ruining everything.
Michaels and Collinsworth are good.
Half-Time Show: The essence of subtlety and nuance.
Idina Menzel: Here's a message from my last book. Just change 40,000 to 110,000,000...
3 comments:
Surely they should have run the ball? Worst call of the decade.
A disappointing crop, to be sure. You didn't even lampoon Mercedes for their dressed up obviousness.
No points for the car ad that gave us a father missing his son's childhood while the wife watches anxiously on TV for the chance to see him die in a horrible racing wreck, set to a song about father/son dysfunction, but in the end it's all OK because the father picks the son up in his boring sedan?
BONUS: somebody tried to tell me that this ad "worked" because we're talking about it, aren't we? Yeah, but we're not talking about the product or the brand, just the ad...
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