All the Marbles.

As a service to those that TiVO pas the spots to watch the game (both of you), here’s my crack analysis of the Super Bowl spots – at least the ones that stood out for me, for whatever reason.

First Half

The GOOD:

Doritos: Crystal Ball. I laughed out loud at this one. You could see it coming, and it was still funny. I like funny. Memorable. People will be talking about this one tomorrow.

Doritos: Crunch. Another laugh-out-loud, funny spot. Gotta get me some of those chips. So far, Doritos looks like the clear winner in the Super Bowl spot contest.

Castrol: EdgeMonkeys.com. Funny spot. Not sure if it sells oil, but it’s got enough connection to the product to make me remember the brand. Which is a good thing.

Pepsi Max: I’m Good. Very funny spot, as long as you like slapstick, physical comedy. (I do.) It’s definitely a spot that will appeal to guys…and 10 year old girls. Wives…not so much. The concept of a “cola for men” is a bit iffy to me, but I’m willing to listen.

eTrade: Golf. Loved it. The idea of this baby playing golf, with his excess of ‘tude? Classic.

Budweiser: Clydesdale Fetch. Who doesn’t love the Clydesdales spots? They are always good. And the idea of a horse playing fetch to show up a dalmation is a funny concept. Well executed, this spot is a feel-good valentine to a (formerly) American institution.

Budweiser: Lost Love. Cute, but not the home run that the “fetch” spot was.

Star Trek. I can’t wait. And casting Zach Quinto as Spock is an inspired bit of casting. With J. J. Abrams at the helm, it looks promising. The spot got me interested. Good job.

Cars.com: Confidence. Not the best car spot I’ve ever seen, but they do a good job with their assertion that they can make buying a car easier for everybody – even some super-genius that is intimidated by the car-buying process. If only it were true.

Cheetos: Pigeons. You know those people that think they are better looking/richer/more worthy than you? One of ‘em gets what they deserve in this spot. The 3D rendering of the Cheetos Cheeta was pretty good, too.

The BAD:

Bridgestone: Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head. They teased this one leading up to the Super Bowl, and it looked as if it would be stupid.It ended up a pretty funny spot, taking advantage of the way the Potato Head toys work. However, I’m not sure what it really did to sell tires. Funny ad, though.

Pedigree: Get a Dog. Pedigree: Buy a clue. The concept of inappropriate pets wasn’t funny. It was lame.

eTrade: Buddies. Just goes to show that even a good creative agency can lay an egg. They should have just reran the first spot.

The STUPID:

Don’t be an Asterisk. Huh? What in the HELL was THAT supposed to be about? Don’t be an asterisk? I don’t get it. On the other hand, what that kid needs to get is a tube of pimple cream. Stat. After a little research, it turns out that www.dontbeanasterisk.com is a public service site pitching the idea that taking performance-enhancing drugs is a bad idea. Noble cause. Stupid commercial.

G.I. Joe: The Rise of COBRA. I had G.I.Joe’s when I was a kid. You know, back before many of us were ashamed to be Americans, before some of us were ambivalent of our military, and before corporations began cowtowing down to focus groups, special-interest groups, and radicals. I missed that entire era of G.I.Joe toys when they took the “American Action Heroes” out of our military, and turned them into some kind of comic book-inspired force that fights super-villians (who conveniently have no ethnicity, no religious afiliation, and no relevance to the real world). Apparently, this movie will focus on G.I.Joe 2.0. Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll pass.

Gatorade: G. Stupid. I recognized a couple of the people in the ad. Most, I didn’t. Maybe that was the point. The three clowns in the masks were just creepy. Way too “inside Baseball” kind of vibe for my taste.

Monsters vs. Aliens/SoBe/Chuck in 3D. I would love to see things in 3D. Really I would. If only it didn’t require me to ware cheesy, pasteboard glasses with colored cellophane lenses. As it stands now, this technology BITES.

On the BUBBLE:

GoDaddy: Dannica’s Shower. What do you do when your ads are too racy to air on TV? Upload ‘em to your website. What do you do to get people to your website? Run half the spot on the air. Problem is, what they ran is the equivalent of commercialus interruptus – ultimately unsatisfying.

Wanna see for yourself? Go to www.hulu.com to check ‘em out for yourself.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 1st, 2009 at 7:07 pm and is filed under advertising, marketing, media.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.