Post-Game Analysis

Superbowl Sunday wouldn't be as special without the ads!

The 3 Best:

My personal favorite was the VW "Punch Dub" ad by Deutsch LA (its new agency). I thought that it worked because it used the classic "Punch Bug" game to explain that VW has more than Beetles, in fact is has "15 different models" according to the ad. It was funny, cute, and didn't bore us like most other car commercials. It was very VW, and I very much appreciated that.



Number Two for me was the very simple yet powerful Google ad by ______ (can't find it on google, funny enough.) It is brilliantly poetic. Simple, but interesting enough to keep your attention. I'm quite jealous of the copywriter... It was also drastically different from the other flashy Superbowl clutter which made it even more powerful.



Number 3 ironically for me was the Dodge Charger "Man's Last Stand" ad (usually I hate all car commercials). By Wieden+Kennedy Portland, this ad definitely was NOT your basic car ad. I actually couldn't even figure out at first what exactly it was an ad for... and that's why I liked it. Usually you can tell a car ad from the intro music or the first visual, but this one caught me off guard. It was the concession of all men - "I will do whatever you want, just let me drive the car I want." Afterall, cars are a man's best friend.



The 3 Worst:

By far the worst of them all was the "Boost Mobile Shuffle" by 180 LA. It was corny, brash, looked to be of low-quality, and then to make it worse it actually insulted my intelligence by asking me to visit the website to download the rest of the "song". I understand they were trying to play off of the other infamous Superbowl Shuffle, but come on! Really? And 180 LA of all agencies... very disappointed.



The Taco Bell $5 Box ad by "Draftfcb Orange County, which created it in conjunction with House of Usher, Hatch and Method Studio" (according to mediapost.com) was not as bad as the Boost Mobile Shuffle, but I pair them together because they seemed to be banking on the same things - the audience to accept the message because it was accompanied by music sung by famous people. Sadly, the sheer fact that you can get all that food for only $5 will probably work better than the ad itself. So, I guess it was successful, in a sad, unfortunate kind of way.



Last on my list, but most certainly not the last awful Superbowl ad this year, was Monster.com's Beaver Violinist by BBDO New York. I honestly thought that the ad was gonna go somewhere great, until it hit me that this poor taxidermic beaver was supposed to represent how WE as consumers can get better jobs... WHAT? When I saw the Monster.com name come on screen I almost felt gypped. It seemed like it was going to be a Skittles or Starburst or another Doritos ad judging by the bizzare absurdity, but I was sadly mistaken.