Super Bowl XLIII proved to be a thriller but I found the quality of the commercials not very good at all. I believe the water cooler buzz on Monday will be overall disappointment following many years of quality ad spots. I can't say there is one thing that grabs my attention every year, but I do like funny ads and I guess that's why most of my top commercial picks had a funnier theme. Also, if a commercial buy effectively gets across a message (like the job-seeking websites) I can appreciate those as well.
I was glad to see less car ads, with Ford, Chrysler and General Motors out of the mix due to their economic woes. I thought Budweiser, Coca Cola, Pepsi and Dorito's all had stronger ads in the past. NBC's entertainment division made a huge push, obviously, and I'm not quite sure how it will all play out.
My top commercial picks (not necessarily in order):
Teleflora – First commercial that made me laugh out loud. Dried out flowers in a box look at the excited recipient and the insults begin. “Look at that face. You’re a train wreck. … No one wants to see you naked.’’ The message: Don’t be cheap when sending flowers to your significant other.
Bud Light – The “Drinkability” campaign annoys me but the “drawing guy” did manage to get one skier to make a perfect jump and another to go crashing through fake trees and into some picnic tables. Who doesn’t like a good ski crash?
Cheetos – Women at outdoor café drops a couple Cheetos to lure a flock of pigeons to a nearby table and drive away an annoying woman on a cell phone.
The movies – “Race to Witch Mountain” looks real good, with action and humor. “G.I. Joe”, “Fast & Furious” and the new “Transfomers” pic are not my type of movies but the trailers were good and will certainly attract fans.
Bridgestone – Enjoyed the Potato Heads spot when the husband brakes the car quickly, and the wife loses her mouth and ability to nag. He ponders the joy of silence before she shoots a glare by popping on some irate eyes. What man hasn’t seen that look? The other spot, with happy lunar explorers finding their lunar rover on blocks ... not so funny.
Careerbuilder.com – “Hey dummy,’’ stop crying behind the wheel, stop punching little animals and look for a new job. Very funny, poignant and effective.
Monster.com – The jobs website comes up with another winner, simply stated. Moose head on the corporate side of the wall, and moose butt on your side of the job wall.
Hulu.com – Never heard of this website before but the “alien’’ Alec Baldwin poking fun at how television is turning human brains into mush was funny and scary all the same.
E-Trade – The talking baby goes off on an old man trying to stiff him on a golf bet gone bad because “Shank-o-potamus” lost money on the market. The other baby spot features another child who wants to sing but is asked not to -- not terribly funny.
Attempts at funny
Bud Light -- Office management group looking for ways to cut costs, and throws man (and chair) out of window for suggesting the elimination of Bud Light at meetings (predictable). The Conan O'Brien
Dorito's -- "Crystal ball" spot was rather lame. The "crunch" spot tried to flaunt a sexy woman with her clothes blown off but went nowhere.
Pepsi Max -- Careless men are whacked around, fall off roof, have bowling ball hit their heads, etc. "I'm good,'' they say. "It's bad," I say.
Budweiser -- Dalmation fetches stick, gets treat. Clydesdale fetches tree bough, called a "show off.'' Then, Clydesdale has girlfriend, Daisy, ripped away and taken to a circus show far away. Clyde decides to cross mountains, rivers, mountain gorges and cities to find his true love. Some people will love the spot, but I am lukewarm to it. The best Bud spot was third-generation Scot horse reflecting on great-grandpa Jake coming to America and finally finding his dream job, but still not up to par with recent Bud spots.
H&R Block -- Death shows up (you know, like death and taxes) and he's not happy with his tax preparation.
NBC Thursday night promo -- The Laugh my (butt) off spot is pretty funny; unfortunately, it's funnier than some of the TV shows it's promoting
Denny's -- The get-serious-about-breakfast spots are funny the first time you see them, and then loses its appeal
Coke Zero -- Steeler Troy Polamalu is set to re-create the Mean Joe Greene Coke spot from the 1970s before the Coke Zero nerds bust in, and Polamalu busts one of the nerds
Taco Bell -- Man gets phone number from cute girl and immediately calls, orders dinner and invites parents to meet her. Cute.
Visually impressive
Pedigree (dog food) adoption drive -- Solid spot caught attention with a charging rhino bursting through an apartment, an ostrich chasing a postman, a warthog riding in a car backseat and a rhino failing to catch a Frisbee. "Adopt a dog,'' the spot suggests.
SoBe -- I'm sorry, still not impressed with the lizards and the football players dancing. At least Naomi Campbell is hot.
Coke -- Insects steal a man's Coke while he naps at his picnic site, and we watch the bugs transport the soda and then drink it. Nice animation, but it bored me.
General Electric -- A scarecrow dances on power lines to the "If I only had a brain" song from "Wizard of the Oz." I guess it's meant to indicate the GE scientists have a brain, I suppose. Second spot has young boy collecting sea air, traveling to an adult relative's home and opening the "wind" to blow out the birthday candles. This commercial could have some staying power.
Bud Light Lime -- Man with six-pack also has "sunny bubble" to take away winter blues from all he comes in close contact.
Hollywood primer
"Land of the Lost" movie -- I don't like Will Ferrell, so I could care less about his movie.
"Year One" movie -- Jack Black (see above)
"Star Trek" -- Wow, an attempt to piece together a "Young Indiana Jones" concept. Trekkies may cry foul
"Up" -- Disney Pixar thinks it has a winner with a grumpy old man character and a Boy Scout. I'm not sure.
"Monsters vs. Aliens" -- This animated movie looks to have some potential with the right audience
Huh?
Castrol Edge -- Grease monkeys swarm garage during oil change, and man kisses monkey. "Strange days indeed."
Cars.com -- Whiz kid congratulates birth doctor, saves animals from fire, performs open-heart surgery with a pen but freaks over buying a car. Going to website is a smart move, apparently.
Overstock.com -- Basketball player Carlos Boozer and a room full of clueless kids talk about bling and an Olympic gold medal. "What's this? What's that?,'' the kids ask. "What's the point?" I say.
Coke -- Guy walks around creatures and buys a Coke. Yeah, okay.
Heineken -- Your beer is a sword. Maybe you can fall on it now, and take the Dos Equis guy with you.
Acura TL -- Car drives through bottle, crashes out other end. "Precision is power.'' Yeah, okay, this tells me a lot about your car.
Go away now
Go Daddy -- First spot has Danica Patrick taking shower on webcam in front of worked-up boys. Then she appears before a Congressional committee offering testimony that she does enhance herself. Go back to racing, Danica
Priceline -- Bill Shatner with another lame spot. Beam him up and away.
Toyota Tundra -- When is Toyota going to stop running these stupid spots where they have trucks almost run off cliffs and metal towers. What the heck does that tell me about the truck?
Ford Edge -- Local spot has Derek Jeter proving he is as boring as he is quotable
Cash4Gold -- Ed McMahon and MC Hammer prostitute themselves
Pepsi -- Saturday Night Live skit "MacGruber" is predictable, not funny.
Feel good spots
McDonald's charities -- Girl takes pennies out of father's loafers and puts them in donation box at McDonald's. Turns out the dad is a youth cancer survivor.
Frosted Flakes -- Breakfast cereal group is building athletic fields for youth
Yawn
Toyota Venza -- Wow, an artsy car commercial.
AXA Equitable -- Financial company got an 800-pound gorilla onto a flight to provide money advice. Wonder if he had to buy two seats?
Vizio -- TV commercial about TVs.
I was glad to see less car ads, with Ford, Chrysler and General Motors out of the mix due to their economic woes. I thought Budweiser, Coca Cola, Pepsi and Dorito's all had stronger ads in the past. NBC's entertainment division made a huge push, obviously, and I'm not quite sure how it will all play out.
My top commercial picks (not necessarily in order):
Teleflora – First commercial that made me laugh out loud. Dried out flowers in a box look at the excited recipient and the insults begin. “Look at that face. You’re a train wreck. … No one wants to see you naked.’’ The message: Don’t be cheap when sending flowers to your significant other.
Bud Light – The “Drinkability” campaign annoys me but the “drawing guy” did manage to get one skier to make a perfect jump and another to go crashing through fake trees and into some picnic tables. Who doesn’t like a good ski crash?
Cheetos – Women at outdoor café drops a couple Cheetos to lure a flock of pigeons to a nearby table and drive away an annoying woman on a cell phone.
The movies – “Race to Witch Mountain” looks real good, with action and humor. “G.I. Joe”, “Fast & Furious” and the new “Transfomers” pic are not my type of movies but the trailers were good and will certainly attract fans.
Bridgestone – Enjoyed the Potato Heads spot when the husband brakes the car quickly, and the wife loses her mouth and ability to nag. He ponders the joy of silence before she shoots a glare by popping on some irate eyes. What man hasn’t seen that look? The other spot, with happy lunar explorers finding their lunar rover on blocks ... not so funny.
Careerbuilder.com – “Hey dummy,’’ stop crying behind the wheel, stop punching little animals and look for a new job. Very funny, poignant and effective.
Monster.com – The jobs website comes up with another winner, simply stated. Moose head on the corporate side of the wall, and moose butt on your side of the job wall.
Hulu.com – Never heard of this website before but the “alien’’ Alec Baldwin poking fun at how television is turning human brains into mush was funny and scary all the same.
E-Trade – The talking baby goes off on an old man trying to stiff him on a golf bet gone bad because “Shank-o-potamus” lost money on the market. The other baby spot features another child who wants to sing but is asked not to -- not terribly funny.
Attempts at funny
Bud Light -- Office management group looking for ways to cut costs, and throws man (and chair) out of window for suggesting the elimination of Bud Light at meetings (predictable). The Conan O'Brien
Dorito's -- "Crystal ball" spot was rather lame. The "crunch" spot tried to flaunt a sexy woman with her clothes blown off but went nowhere.
Pepsi Max -- Careless men are whacked around, fall off roof, have bowling ball hit their heads, etc. "I'm good,'' they say. "It's bad," I say.
Budweiser -- Dalmation fetches stick, gets treat. Clydesdale fetches tree bough, called a "show off.'' Then, Clydesdale has girlfriend, Daisy, ripped away and taken to a circus show far away. Clyde decides to cross mountains, rivers, mountain gorges and cities to find his true love. Some people will love the spot, but I am lukewarm to it. The best Bud spot was third-generation Scot horse reflecting on great-grandpa Jake coming to America and finally finding his dream job, but still not up to par with recent Bud spots.
H&R Block -- Death shows up (you know, like death and taxes) and he's not happy with his tax preparation.
NBC Thursday night promo -- The Laugh my (butt) off spot is pretty funny; unfortunately, it's funnier than some of the TV shows it's promoting
Denny's -- The get-serious-about-breakfast spots are funny the first time you see them, and then loses its appeal
Coke Zero -- Steeler Troy Polamalu is set to re-create the Mean Joe Greene Coke spot from the 1970s before the Coke Zero nerds bust in, and Polamalu busts one of the nerds
Taco Bell -- Man gets phone number from cute girl and immediately calls, orders dinner and invites parents to meet her. Cute.
Visually impressive
Pedigree (dog food) adoption drive -- Solid spot caught attention with a charging rhino bursting through an apartment, an ostrich chasing a postman, a warthog riding in a car backseat and a rhino failing to catch a Frisbee. "Adopt a dog,'' the spot suggests.
SoBe -- I'm sorry, still not impressed with the lizards and the football players dancing. At least Naomi Campbell is hot.
Coke -- Insects steal a man's Coke while he naps at his picnic site, and we watch the bugs transport the soda and then drink it. Nice animation, but it bored me.
General Electric -- A scarecrow dances on power lines to the "If I only had a brain" song from "Wizard of the Oz." I guess it's meant to indicate the GE scientists have a brain, I suppose. Second spot has young boy collecting sea air, traveling to an adult relative's home and opening the "wind" to blow out the birthday candles. This commercial could have some staying power.
Bud Light Lime -- Man with six-pack also has "sunny bubble" to take away winter blues from all he comes in close contact.
Hollywood primer
"Land of the Lost" movie -- I don't like Will Ferrell, so I could care less about his movie.
"Year One" movie -- Jack Black (see above)
"Star Trek" -- Wow, an attempt to piece together a "Young Indiana Jones" concept. Trekkies may cry foul
"Up" -- Disney Pixar thinks it has a winner with a grumpy old man character and a Boy Scout. I'm not sure.
"Monsters vs. Aliens" -- This animated movie looks to have some potential with the right audience
Huh?
Castrol Edge -- Grease monkeys swarm garage during oil change, and man kisses monkey. "Strange days indeed."
Cars.com -- Whiz kid congratulates birth doctor, saves animals from fire, performs open-heart surgery with a pen but freaks over buying a car. Going to website is a smart move, apparently.
Overstock.com -- Basketball player Carlos Boozer and a room full of clueless kids talk about bling and an Olympic gold medal. "What's this? What's that?,'' the kids ask. "What's the point?" I say.
Coke -- Guy walks around creatures and buys a Coke. Yeah, okay.
Heineken -- Your beer is a sword. Maybe you can fall on it now, and take the Dos Equis guy with you.
Acura TL -- Car drives through bottle, crashes out other end. "Precision is power.'' Yeah, okay, this tells me a lot about your car.
Go away now
Go Daddy -- First spot has Danica Patrick taking shower on webcam in front of worked-up boys. Then she appears before a Congressional committee offering testimony that she does enhance herself. Go back to racing, Danica
Priceline -- Bill Shatner with another lame spot. Beam him up and away.
Toyota Tundra -- When is Toyota going to stop running these stupid spots where they have trucks almost run off cliffs and metal towers. What the heck does that tell me about the truck?
Ford Edge -- Local spot has Derek Jeter proving he is as boring as he is quotable
Cash4Gold -- Ed McMahon and MC Hammer prostitute themselves
Pepsi -- Saturday Night Live skit "MacGruber" is predictable, not funny.
Feel good spots
McDonald's charities -- Girl takes pennies out of father's loafers and puts them in donation box at McDonald's. Turns out the dad is a youth cancer survivor.
Frosted Flakes -- Breakfast cereal group is building athletic fields for youth
Yawn
Toyota Venza -- Wow, an artsy car commercial.
AXA Equitable -- Financial company got an 800-pound gorilla onto a flight to provide money advice. Wonder if he had to buy two seats?
Vizio -- TV commercial about TVs.