Bucking Trends: Our 5 Favorite Super Bowl Ads

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Bucking Trends: Our 5 Favorite Super Bowl Ads

February 8, 2016

The trends that last and the trends that are relevant are the ones that make you look pretty.—Aerin Lauder

There are times when a popular response and ad trackers can’t be trusted; this is one of them.

Whew, I am so very happy the Super Bowl is over if for no other reason than it’s likely to take a week for my indigestion to die down. There is still wing residue on my keyboard this morning and the over-abundance of dip and chips tells me what the kids will have for afterschool snacks this week. With some wacky weather moving in later this morning, it will be nice to talk about something else, once we tidy up a few loose ends around here.

Super Bowl ad watching has become just as much a part of the event as the football game itself. Some years, it’s been more exciting than the game, and let’s be honest, there were moments during the third and start of the fourth quarter when we might not have minded a few more ads to break the monotony of three-downs-and-punt. There were, as always, some very good ads, some horrible ads, and some that didn’t get the attention they deserve. There are also several rankings of the ads this morning. AdWeek and USAToday’s AdMeter are two decent lists if you’re interested. A lot of people look at Twitter response as well, but that can hardly be considered accurate, especially after half-way through the second quarter when a good portion of those tweeting are clearly drunk.

I’m going with a slightly different ranking system from what others use. Since we saw the vast majority of commercials before the game, what I found interesting was how some commercials actually felt different when viewed during the game than watching them cold beforehand. I was more likely to be entertained by an ad after one of the three touchdowns than one during the third quarter when the game fell into a rut. Reactions of friends also influenced my opinion, as happens for everyone. People viewing ads as a group almost always score them differently than when watching them alone. Overall, I was less entertained by the humor and more struck by the emotional ads. Let’s take a look at my top five:

Doritos, ‘Ultrasound’

Reaction to this one likely depends upon one’s age, whether one has children, and whether one was n a group when it came on. Kat and I had very different reactions. I thought it was hilarious. She thought it was a bit gross. We were both thankful the children were already in bed. This was the last of the Doritos “Crash The Super Bowl” contests, though, and one gets the feeling that no one was quite as enthused about it this year as with previous games. Given a choice between this one and the dogs, this is the clear winner.

https://youtu.be/vH2LsFcWOFY

Kia, ‘Walken Closet’

I still have questions about this one, including whether the dude in the tan suit is driving that care barefoot. Christopher Walken makes an excellent case for a car I probably wouldn’t otherwise consider, though, and that’s what Kia needed. The fourth-quarter ad really helps them stand out from all the other automobile ads in the game and came late enough, when people were actually paying attention, that they might stand a chance of remembering the ad when they pass a Kia dealership on the way to work this morning. The add didn’t hit the trends hard, but it works.

https://youtu.be/9r0FrXXKeiA

NFL, ‘Super Bowl Babies Choir’

I fear the NFL may have shot themselves in the foot a bit with how they teased this one in five-second spots throughout the game. By the time the 60-second version showed up late in the fourth quarter, it felt as though we’d already seen it before and I have a feeling a lot of folks just weren’t paying attention so it completely missed the trends. Millennials without children didn’t seem to get the concept at all, which is not new. Still, the commercial is probably one of the few times the NFL has actually made me smile this season. The little ones are cute. Seal doing a parody of his own song is hilarious. And you know damn good and well there are going to be some babies in Denver come October.

Hyundai, ‘First Date’

Those of you with daughters understand. Actually, anyone with teenagers of driving age understands. The tracking technology built into this car has many potential uses. Live in a high crime rate area? Catch a car thief with this tracker. Suspect that someone’s not where they say they are? Follow up on them. There’s a potential creepy element here because if that thing is using GPS to do the tracking, then it can be hacked. Hello, stalker alert! Still, there’s not a dad alive who doesn’t want to send a message to the guy dating his daughter. This was funny.

https://youtu.be/-R_483zeVF8

Jeep, ‘Portraits’

Hands down, my favorite of the game. That may well be a reflection of my age, though. While the ad trends really well with the Baby Boomers of my generation, it resonated less with younger generations. Millennials didn’t get many of the references, some of which were a bit of a stretch in the first place. There are dangers to reaching too far back into history and the ad flirts with that line but doesn’t quite cross it. AdWeek has a nice article on the relationship between the faces and the vehicle, in case you missed a few. The ad touches on the nostalgia of the vehicle and its universal reliance as a vehicle that gets one through the rough patches. I’ve always wanted a Jeep and this ad really stoked that fire. Too bad I can’t drive.

https://youtu.be/wKn5K5V7tRo

There were some major disappointments along the way, too. The Coca-Cola ad with Marvel’s Hulk? Not a winner. Butterfingers big reveal? A complete letdown. Taco Bell’s new product? More of the same, just given a silly name. Perhaps most disappointing was the complete strike-out by all the Budweiser brands. When they’ve done so much better, this year’s crop fell well short of the standard.

But we’re done with them now. Hooray! Just in time to make fun of the gooey Valentine’s Day commercials!

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The Last Super Bowl Ad Review

February 5, 2016

A bad review is like baking a cake with all the best ingredients and having someone sit on it.—Danielle Steel

charles i. letbetter - the last super bowl ads review

Just because one doesn’t have kids doesn’t make us immune to their charms

I feel as though I have spent the entire week doing nothing but looking at Super Bowl ads and teasers. I haven’t, mind you, it just feels that way. I’m now hungry, want a new car, and need a cold beer. CBS managed to sell a tremendous amount of air time for this game. In fact, I’ve wondered more than once if, once the total times are tallied, there might be more ad than there is game; that is certainly a possibility with a variable-length broadcast. We’ve seen previous games that went long and ads had to be re-run in order to cover all the timeout spots. I don’t think we’re in much danger of that this year, though. There are more than enough ads to go around.

Not all of them are going to be good, however, and I fully expect to see some pushback on the commercial from SoFi, which classifies people as great or not great without ever explaining exactly what they mean by “great.” In the same category, the new PayPal ad is going to come across as hypocritical to anyone who actually has tried to use the system and ran afoul of their myriad rules and regulations. SunTrust is a newcomer to the game, but their ad borders on being depressing. Maybe the Super Bowl isn’t the best time in the world to be talking about financial services.

There are also several brands that are keeping their lips shut about the ads they’ll be showing on Sunday. Coca-Cola finally revealed that they’re partnering with Marvel for their ad, but that’s about all we know. Buick, ChryslerFiat, Marmot, TurboTax and Disney have teased at the content of their ads, but none of those teasers really have me waiting with baited breath for the finished product. Knowing the production quality Coke puts into everything, I’m betting on that one to be in the top five come game day.

Of all the ads I’ve suffered through, there is still a handful that I think will play well. Some might even be inspiring. Certainly, one that is aiming to make you stop and put down your beer for a second is the ad from Mini USA. The ad, called “Defy Labels,” features major athletes and celebrities who themselves defy the labels that might be projected upon them. In an age where we’re all about labeling people who we think are different than us, the commercial sends a powerful message. Take a look:

https://youtu.be/Y9XqYAzbmTI

Also falling into that serious tone is a commercial from WeatherTech, a manufacturer of automotive floor covers. It feels a bit strange putting this in our review because I don’t really expect our readers to recognize the brand. While theirs may not be the sexiest of products, in fact, theirs is probably one of the most overlooked features of any automobile, their ad hits a strong patriotic nerve that is likely to resonate well during this election year. This is WeatherTech’s third time advertising in the big game, and given the price of a spot we have to assume it’s working for them. Here’s the ad:

I only wish they all did as good a job at holding my attention for 30 seconds. Sadly, they don’t and this wouldn’t be an honest review if I said otherwise. Ads by LG, Kia, and Apartments.com bring some big star power to their ads, but in the end were either just too silly or left us scratching our heads (did the guy in the Kia commercial ever get to put on socks?). Of course, schtick is part and parcel of game day advertising, I get that. It’s just that only a few do it really well. Two that you’re likely to remember are the ads for the Honda Ridgeline and Avocados from Mexico. Both are heavy on the campiness but still manage to leave you giggling rather than looking for a place to throw up. Here they both are:

https://youtu.be/kTaCT8ZmdJA

https://youtu.be/1ndPEQCoSzk

Then, there are the ads that are funniest if you remember what the brand did last year. It’s easy when we review these things because I can always go back and check the original. During the game, that’s a bit more challenging. Winning that category is Snickers. Remember that Brady Bunch-themed ad where Danny Trejo takes the place of Jan Brady? That one peaked ad meters everywhere. This year, they went with William DeFoe and a much more classic setting. Take a look:

https://youtu.be/WhfntLl6xx0

The ad I think is most likely to have people talking after the game is actually from the NFL itself. This made the hours of review worthwhile. They gathered together people who were conceived after their parents’ favorite team won the Super Bowl. How, exactly, they did this, I can’t imagine. Without question, a tremendous effort was involved just trying to identify people who fit such a vary narrow criteria. Then, re-writing the song by Seal, getting Seal to help sing the song, teaching the song to children … this is one very ambitious commercial. What’s more, it could potentially spell bad news for Stephen Colbert whose show is on right after the game. If football fans get the idea for sex in their heads, Colbert is the last thing they’re likely to watch once the game is over. Unfortunately, only a 60-second version of the spot airs during the game. So, aren’t you happy I have the whole three-minute version for you here? You’re welcome. Enjoy.

So many cute little faces! And there are plenty of babies and children through all the ads. There are still several, including Taco Bell, Doritos, and Butterfinger, that could very well end up being huge hits, and there are still four more ads from Budweiser we’ve not yet seen. I won’t speak to the quality of the game, but the ads are definitely not boring this year! So, stock up on cold beer and/or soda, order plenty of wings, and sit back and enjoy.

Except for that Mountain Dew Kickstart ad. I’ve no idea what the folks at BBDO were thinking. Leave the room for that one. Trust me.

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Candy, Condiments, And Celebrities

February 3, 2016

Candy is childhood, the best and bright moments you wish could have lasted forever.—Dylan Lauren

Covering people in candy is one thing. Making portraits of them, however, doesn’t always work

The little ones in our house won’t be watching the Super Bowl this Sunday and that has nothing to do with the violence of the sport. I’m going to have a difficult time myself, though, as the ads that we’re beginning to see really go out of their way to ignite the yearnings of that ol’ sweet tooth. We’ll be careful to have plenty of real-food alternatives on hand to go with the craft beers that won’t be part of the ad parade, either. The folks paying $5 million per spot for air time during the big game probably won’t like us a lot, but we’re not planning on taking it personally.

Actually, CBS has apparently been working all year on getting us to watch this game. They played their first spot right after last year’s game and haven’t let up. They’ve included every major celebrity from their network in the spots leading up to Sunday’s game, and we can expect the be continually inundated with reminders with increasing frequency the rest of this week. CBS has gone out of their way to make this the biggest game ever, even pulling footage from the very first Super Bowl for this ad:

With a big build up like that, one might think that advertisers would step up their game a bit, and in a way, they have. We will see more celebrities making the rounds of ads this year than ever before. Big names, people we don’t normally think of as product endorsers, are showing up in ads, doing things we might not normally expect them to do. Not many of the ads are all that impressive, unfortunately, which might cause the same celebrities to back out of spots for next year.

The early favorite for celebrity spots has to be the #GiveADamn ad from Budweiser featuring British actress Helen Mirren. The full ad was released on Monday and is already getting a lot of attention. What’s important to note, and well worth mentioning here, is that for every tweet that includes the hashtag #GiveADamn, Budweiser will donate one dollar toward free ride programs to help those who’ve had too much get home safely. Given the amount of alcohol I know some of you consume, we will be tweeting heavily on your behalf. In case you missed it, here’s the ad:

https://youtu.be/Rb2VXVmUga4

One of the more surprising pieces we’ve seen going into this year’s game is the one Miami ad firm David created for Kraft Heinz. How does one sell ketchup? We typically don’t think of condiments as sexy, so that direction was out. Scenes of ketchup being poured onto food has been overdone. What else was there? Dachshunds! Dozens of little wiener dogs dressed in wiener costumes running as fast as they could across a field to a waiting family of Ketchups. Can you feel the love? Here’s the full 60-second spot:

https://youtu.be/LOlfhBT8i9I

For all the various celebrity ads, both good and bad, my favorite so far has to be Steven Tyler’s appearance for Skittles. There is no better pairing. The flamboyant singer is so colorful in his own right that putting him together with colored pieces for fruit-flavored sugar just feels right. To make things better, he even allows the commercial to poke fun at him a little bit. At 30 seconds, it almost feels a bit short. Maybe Tyler could have done a duet with those candy lips. Here’s the ad:

https://youtu.be/21ivbtgqJkg

Of course, the best ads are likely to stay sequestered until Sunday, but we will continue to keep our eyes peeled for the best and, of course, we’ll share our opinion as to who won the war for best Super Bowl ad next Monday. Keep watching!

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Burgers, Barbies, and Vikings, Oh My!

January 29, 2016

charles i. letbetter - burgers, barbies and vikings

You can find your way across this country using burger joints the way a navigator uses stars.—Charles Kuralt

charles i. letbetter, burgers, barbies and vikings, oh my

Barbies give children a chance to explore and create a world the way they see it, even if it’s not a world adults like

It’s Friday! Bring on the burgers and the beer! Wait, hold on, we still have to actually attend to business first. Burgers are coming, though.

This has been an interesting week in the world of advertising, but the best of the bunch have, rather surprisingly had little to do with that big ol’ football game coming up a week from Sunday. Well, okay, one of them technically has something to do with the game, given that it is the winner of a contest. Still, what makes that one commercial a winner has nothing to do with the game.

Intuit’s QuickBooks sponsored a national contest among its users and a small upstate New York coffee company, Death Wish, won the contest. Yes, you’re reading that correctly. Death With Coffee is the actual name of the company. The name comes from their claim that it is the world’s strongest coffee. I know, that sounds incredibly strong and bitter, but their website claims that it’s actually smooth, with hints of cherry and chocolate. While that’s not enough to make me want to drop $20 for a one-pound bag, should I ever find myself lost in upstate New York (and being lost is about the only reason I’m likely to be up in Round Lake), I might risk stopping by for a cup.

The commercial is definitely a wonderful prize. The 30-second spot itself, which will appear sometime in the third quarter, is worth $5 million, which is almost as much as Death Wish made the entire year. That’s not even counting the incredible amount of production time and an award-winning team that put it all together. All total, the cash equivalent is something like $12 million, give or take a pound of coffee.

Whether the commercial is worth the cost remains to be seen, of course. Will it double Death Wish’s revenue last year? More importantly, will it convince more small business owners to use QuickBooks? Both are pretty big gambles. The game needs to be close, no more than a touchdown difference, for people to still be watching commercials in the third quarter. If the halftime show sucks, and with Coldplay being the headliner that seems quite likely, a good portion of the audience may be dead before the second half ever kicks off. So, go ahead and take a look at the ad now and you won’t have to risk bad music or a bad football game later.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 36 hours or so, you are likely already well aware that Mattel has introduced a new set of Barbie dolls: tall, curvy, and petite. Allegedly, the move is being made to help boost girls’ self-esteem and address body issues that the traditional dolls created. While some would happily sit and argue all day over whether the new dolls actually achieve that goal or make matters worse, the truth is that children like playing with dolls that look like them and their friends. Children use dolls for a number of different fantasy and real-life scenarios, sometimes playing out things that have happened, other times fantasizing about the way they want things to be. For adults to superimpose too much meaning on their play, though, is probably inappropriate for the majority.

What’s different about the spot Mattel and BBDO dropped this week, though, is the involvement of documentarian Rory Kennedy, daughter of the late Bobby Kennedy. This is Ms. Kennedy’s first ad and the non-commercial, documentary feel she gives the piece may be just the approach needed to take on such a touchy topic. People, especially mothers, take Barbie and other dolls quite seriously and Kennedy’s spot does a good job of addressing some of the most common concerns while still keeping the tone of the commercial light and fun.

I don’t expect the new dolls nor the new commercial do actually do much to quiet Mattel’s critics. Some people are not going to be happy no matter what the toy company does so there really is no sense in pursuing every little complaint that might be made. Still, this is a positive step in a good direction. Take a look at Ms. Kennedy’s work below:

https://youtu.be/vPETP7-UfuI

One thing the advertising world has enjoyed for a long time is the art of parody. We parody music, we parody pop culture, we parody celebrities, and we even parody ourselves. So, it’s no surprise at all that my favorite commercial from this week is a wonderfully horrible and yet brilliant piece of parody that is partly in bad taste and at the same time had me instantly Googling Schweid & Sons because I’d never heard of them.

The ad steps into somewhat dangerous territory, parodying the very serious P&G #LikeAGirl ads for Always. Women’s empowerment is obviously a critical issue and one that deserves serious attention. Schweid & Sons, which sells the meat for burgers by the way, isn’t challenging women’s issues at all, though, and brilliantly presents the one woman in the commercial as the only sane person in the whole spot. Instead, what gets justifiably lampooned is the snobbery, especially in upper-scale burger establishments, as to what makes a good hamburger. You want mayo on that? There’s no reason to feel oppressed by those who say you can’t. Go ahead, smash that box, eat your burger with a hot dog on it if you want. Burgers should be as individual as you are.

If you can’t watch the ad with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, realizing that we really do take the details of mere burgers far, far too seriously, then you’ve absolutely no business watching this ad. If you enjoy a good parody, though, and can handle the way both men and the dining industry get skewered, then sit back and enjoy. Then, go out and have a couple of burgers, and don’t be ashamed to ask for mayo.

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Censoring The Super Bowl

January 28, 2016

You know, the Super Bowl is so fresh that every single commercial is even on, you know, some next-level entertainment.—will.i.am

Censoring ads in the midst of a program built upon violence seems a little more than hypocritical

I’ll admit to enjoying a bit of football, but, like millions of other people across the US, the primary reason I watch the Super Bowl is for the ads. Rarely do I care at all about the outcome of the game, though I generally hope that it isn’t a complete blowout. What is much more entertaining for me are the increadinly creative commercials that show especially during the first half and at half-time. I watch those ads with rapt fascination and, unless the game is unusually good, fall asleep somewhere in the third quarter.

Teasers for this year’s ads are looking especially promising. Already, we’ve gotten hints from Christopher Walken, Alec Baldwin, Dan Marino, Jeff Goldblum, and Lil Wayne, among others, that have me absolutely salivating to see the delightful pitches coming forth. There are also a fair number of first time Super Bowl advertisers putting up the $5 million-plus for a 30-second spot. Amazon, Bai, Shock Top, Pokemon, and SoFi are among the rookies who are putting it all on the line during this game.

Who we won’t be seeing during a two-minute timeout is People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PeTA). Their ad, titled Last Longer, focuses on the health benefits of not eating meat and how that, in turn, allows one the stamina to be more effective in bed. Sounds like the perfectly targeted ad for a Super Bowl crowd, doesn’t it?

Apparently not. CBS network censors, working under guildelines from the NFL, deemed the ad too explicit for television.

We’ve seen Super Bowl ads censored before; that part is definitely not new. The NFL takes a very prudish view toward any overt sexualization that might distract from the bone-crushing, concussion-inducing, permanently-disabling activities taking place on the field. Furthermore, we have seen just how terribly upset half-drunken moms can get at the mere 0.001-second slip of a nipple. They’re all so terribly worried about having to explain procreation to their precious little children, but don’t seem to have any issues with open acts of violence being referred to as sport.

Let’s be clear: I’m not a fan of PeTA. I’m very much a carnivore and while my personal sexual exploits are best left unmentioned, I assure you that it is arthritis, not my diet, most likely to limit the duration of my activity. PeTA is well known for their over-sensationalism and this ad is yet another example of that tactic.

Still, I cannot help but fnd it extremely hypocritical that this ad is banned from the Super Bowl of all places. Football is nothing but overt violence disguised as sport. Each year, the devestating effects of concussions and other injuries are demonstrated as debilitating in the lives of those who once played in the Super Bowl. Rumors are swirling that this may well be the final game for Denver quarterback Petyon Manning because of the life-threatening injuries he received and the punishment his body continues to endure. So, we’re okay with all the violence going on for the better part of three hours, but we’re not good with 30 seconds of simulated sex?

Please, tell me I’m not the only one who has difficulty making any sense of this decision. Don’t give me any BS about the children, either. If they’re old enough to watch grown men attempting to kill each other, they can handle a little fake nookie.

There is a time and a place for everything, and I sure wouldn’t run the PeTA commercial during the first two hours of weeknight prime time family comedies. But to censor implied sex while endorsing blatant violence, whether in a game or a scripted police drama, is not just hypocritical but about as immoral as television can possibly get. So, since CBS and the NFL won’t show you the ad, I will. Here you go:

Bucking Trends: Our 5 Favorite Super Bowl Ads

The trends that last and the trends that are relevant are the ones that make you look pretty.—Aerin Lauder