The Super Bowl XL Commercial Thread

[The Penguin]

Some watch The Super Bowl for the game itself, some maybe for the entertainment and some of the commercials. Rarely do viewers pay attention to the commercials when they're watch TV, but the Super Bowl is the notable exception. ABC is expected to net $2.5 million for a 30-second spot. Personally, I take any breaks I need during the game. Check out this article from the AP...


Super Bowl ads go for extra point (http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/business/13791189.htm?source=rss&channel=ohio_business)

Advertisers are adding strategy to the playbook: Web tie-ins to get most from pricey commercials

By Seth Sutel
Associated Press

NEW YORK - If Miss Piggy is dressing up like Jessica Simpson, monkeys are rampaging around office cubicles, and networking druids are yammering into cell phones, it can mean only one thing: Super Bowl ads are on the way.

Despite nagging worries about declining TV viewership as more people plug into their iPods and the Internet, the Super Bowl has proved to be a resilient stronghold of truly mass media.

Today's game is expected to draw 90 million viewers, along with advertisers who want to reach them.

Super Bowl ads -- estimated at about $2.5 million for a 30-second spot this year -- cost much more than the top price of $750,000 for a spot on the Olympics, which start on NBC five days later.

For smaller marketers, that can make up a significant chunk of their annual advertising budget, but there's a certain cachet to being seen on the Super Bowl, which is routinely the most watched broadcast of the year.

Several advertisers want to ensure they get their money's worth by leveraging the impact of their spots this year by rolling out online promotions and other tie-ins.

The roughly 40 glossy big-budget spots will also be available on Web sites, as video-on-demand programs on digital cable, for downloading to personal computers and video iPods, and on Sprint cell phones.

Some advertisers, such as Burger King and the Cadillac division of General Motors, also plan to offer films about the making of the commercials, and include deleted scenes -- features usually associated with movies on DVD.
Some spots will be shown in movie theaters after the game.

Emerald Nuts, the snack food brand of Diamond Foods Inc., and men's deodorant Degree are both returning to the Super Bowl.
Both had successful debuts in last year's broadcast, and both are doing more online.

Degree took a chance last year with an oddball set of ads featuring doll-like figures that never took risks. While they weren't a huge hit with critics, the ads wound up generating a lot of interest online, said Kevin George, the head of marketing at Unilever, Degree's parent company.

This time, Degree will be making its new ad -- which depicts daily life in a city populated entirely by stunt men -- widely available for viewing and downloading on the Internet, including a "director's cut'' and other variations, George says.

"It really helped get the message out there in a different way,'' George said of the online interest in last year's spots, which featured characters such as a "Mama's Boy'' who got pushed around in a shopping cart by his mother.

"Not everybody's going to love your ads,'' George said. ``We're concerned that the consumers we're talking to get the ad, and research showed that they did.''

Coming back to the Super Bowl was an easy decision after seeing sales for Degree jump 35 percent last year; George attributed that partly to the Super Bowl ad. ``It's arguably the best, most efficient way to launch a campaign,'' he said.

Nutty word games

Emerald Nuts won attention last year with an ad featuring a talking unicorn. It is putting 10 percent of its annual ad-buying budget into the Super Bowl, stepping up a recent campaign that uses the letters of its brand to spell out surreal situations. Coming up on Super Bowl Sunday: Eagle-eyed Machete Enthusiasts Recognize A Little Druid Networking Under The Stairs.

Michael Mendes, the CEO of Diamond Foods, said the company hopes to capitalize on the word-puzzle aspect of the campaign by running ads featuring the letter jumble next to the crossword puzzle in the New York Times and inviting readers to submit their own variations online.

Also, the goofy characters in the ad -- several machete-wielding businessmen and a fast-talking druid -- will appear in an online ad campaign, Mendes said.

Job finder, fast foods

Another of last year's first-timers, CareerBuilder, is also coming back with a quirky campaign backed up with an online component. The online job-search company will air more ads featuring monkeys as office workers, while also running a guerrilla-marketing-style e-mail chain letter featuring animated monkeys who talk.

CareerBuilder, an online help-wanted ad company, is jointly owned by the newspaper publishers Gannett Co., Tribune Co. and Knight Ridder Inc., parent of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Pizza Hut, a unit of Yum! Brands Inc., which also owns KFC and Taco Bell, is once again showcasing the Muppets, who won over viewers last year with an airborne Miss Piggy. This year's ad also features singer Jessica Simpson, who appeared alongside the Jim Henson characters two years ago. Miss Piggy and Simpson will wear matching outfits. One Muppet, Kermit the frog, will be in a spot for the Ford Escape.

Among the other familiar faces in ads will be comedian Tim Allen, for the coming Disney movie The Shaggy Dog; Richard Dean Anderson, reprising his role as MacGyver for MasterCard; the model Fabio for Nationwide insurance; and Leonard Nimoy -- aka Spock -- for Aleve.

[Mr. Manager]

I love those monkeys.

[The Penguin]

With the official ABC pregame underway the commercials are already starting to some extent. The Jessica Simpson-Miss Piggy Pizza Hut ones are funny, but they work better in tandem with each other. For those of you who are soap opera fans, 14-year-old actor Christopher Gerse, who plays Will Roberts on Days of our Lives is the main boy in the commercial. ;)

[silverwings]

Any word yet on which movie commercials their will be? I'm curious because of all the big gun movies coming out in the next few months.

[SirLemming]

"Whopperettes"?
Burger King jumped the shark.


"Magic fridge", LOL.

[Duke]

The "Magic Fridge" Bud commercial rocked.

I loved that FedEx dinosaur commercial even more.

And yet another awesome Bud commercial.

[Majin_Megabyte]

Yes the magic fridge did indeed rule.

[SirLemming]

I really thought that Camry Hybrid commercial was a joke. But it wasn't.

[Duke]

I really thought that Camry Hybrid commercial was a joke. But it wasn't.
Yea, I can already see the protestors complaining now...

OK, that Diet Pepsi commercial sucked royally.

[Beat]

This year's Pepsi commerical was nowhere near as funny as last year's.

[SirLemming]

The Diet Pepsi "Brown and Bubbly" commercial was big on star power but low on laughs.

And is "brown and bubbly" really a good slogan? It sounds disgusting!

[SirLemming]

"That killed him." ROFL

Did Ameriquest do that cat/tomato sauce commercial last year, and the one with the convenience store guy beating up a customer with a baseball bat? I think so. The "don't judge" slogan. They're on a roll.

[Discloner]

Haha. The one in the hospital was hilarious.

[Majin_Megabyte]

The Bud light commerical are getting more funnier. Esspeicaly the roof one.

[Colin]

Movies shown so far:
V for Vendetta
Cars
Mission: Impossible III
The Shaggy Dog


I also remember hearing that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest has a spot tonight, not sure what else we'll see.

So far, my favorite is that AmeriQuest in the Hospital commercial.

[ToOn~g@l]

That Fedex commerical made me laugh. Poor dinosaur though, getting punted by the caveman.

And that hopital one was good too, that ought to scar the kid for life.

[Majin_Megabyte]

The Budwieser one with the dancing sheep was cute and funny.

[Aquadementia]

Oh no!
Not another Mission Impossible!
Sure the commercial looks exciting, but past experience...
Who's directing that? I hope it's not John Woo or whoever did the first one.

On the other hand,
Kermit = good.

[Colin]

Oh no!
Not another Mission Impossible!
Sure the commercial looks exciting, but past experience...
Who's directing that? I hope it's not John Woo or whoever did the first one.

J.J. Abrams... so there's hope.

[Tenku]

Wow, that Cadillac commercial was quite sexy. Nice CG effects. :)

[Majin_Megabyte]

Go Daddy Go Strikes Back!! Candince Michelle I was cute again. hehehe Can't wait to see the uncensored verison of the comerical on tomarrow nite on Raw

[Youko Recca]

Dang, man,...Candice Michelle could get it with the quickness.

[Duke]

Heh, that's some crime deterrant.

[Scorpio_G]

Heh, that's some crime deterrant.

Hahahah that guy got freakin' PWNED! What makes it even funnier for me is that my prof talked about using his cellphone as a wepon. :D

[Majin_Megabyte]

Yeah I agree that is some Crime Deterrent. They stole my plan how I use my old Gameboy color. lol

[ToOn~g@l]

Heh, that's some crime deterrant.

That was unexpected too. I thought the phone would sound a really loud alarm. It still gave me a slight chuckle though.

[Scorpio_G]

Anyone saw the 'Son's and Daughter's' comercial?:D Lol

[Andrew T. Hingson]

Crime deterent indeed.

Crush that Diet Coke!

Magic fridge is the best thus far I guess.

[SirLemming]

Aw crud, I blinked and missed an Ameriquest commercial. Maybe it'll be online somewhere.

As for "MOTOPEBL"... I already want to kill it.

[g_UnIt_GaNsTa]

Nothing so far has gotten close to causing my excitement over the War of the Worlds trailer last year.

[SirLemming]

Dear Budweiser: Enough with the freaking Clydesdales already!

[tucsoncoyote]

Oh the Burger King Commericial is a Major hoot and the Whopperettes! CLASSIC Song! (Have it your way) Ladies As you Build that Whopper! We need a Screen Cap of "The Burger King! (Hoosha!)


Edited Note: And the "McDonald's Hamster.. died.."
:coyote:

[Scorpio_G]

Dear Budweiser: Enough with the freaking Clydesdales already!

Is that the horsies? I love the horsies! They're cuite!:anime:

[ToOn~g@l]

I hate to say this, but that was the sweetest budwieser commerical I had ever seen. I guess I have a soft spot for young animals trying to make it big.

[Beat]

That monster/robot Hummer commerical scared the heck out of me.

[Duke]

Wow. That Hummer commercial just blowed.

[ToOn~g@l]

:eek: The monster gave birth to a hummer. WTF?!?!

[Scorpio_G]

Wow. That Hummer commercial just blowed.

I think the comerical was cuite....in a very wierd sort of way. :sweat:

But shouldnt the baby hummer be gray or brownish instead of red?

Or maybe the robot IS [quote] NOT THE FATHER![/Maury]

[Duke]

Liked the jackass Career Builder commercial.

...I saw this Taco Bell commercial 3 days ago. Just because Adam West is the VO doesn't mean it's good.

[Majin_Megabyte]

The jackass comerical was just great, and funny in my opinion. hehehe

[Duke]

...Geez, ANOTHER commercial not made specially for the Super Bowl. This is getting annoying.

[Discloner]

Benny Hill music + anything = Gold. That Sprint commercial had me laughing so hard, when it really probably shouldn't have. :p

[djthomp]

That Sprint ringtone ad was great.

Loved the Geico one.

"They think they're watching entertaining television, but they're really watching a commercial."

[g_UnIt_GaNsTa]

Yakkity Sax on the Sprint commericial HELL YEAH

http://www.maj.com/gallery/Zim/Intercrap/db571c-slabs_the_baby.gif (http://www.maj.com/gallery/Zim/Intercrap/db571c-slabs_the_baby.gif)

[Lord Dalek]

^lol Benny Hill.

OMG! PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN!!!!!

[Beat]

MacGyver! Alright.

[ToOn~g@l]

Woo Hoo Pirates of the Carribean 2 commerical!!

Nice special effects on that budwieser commerical too.

[Majin_Megabyte]

The teaser for Pirate of the Creidbbean 2 was sweet.

[djthomp]

Ahh, the badass-ness that is MacGyver.

Pirates of the Carribean 2 trailer was cool, but I don't think it had any new footage compared to the trailer that came out a couple months ago.

[DR.MID-NITE]

One thing I liked about the Burger King commercial....Even they acknowleged that the King is creepy.


That Go Daddy girl is freakin hot! :eek:

[silverwings]

Commercials this year were finally good again.

Budwiser delivers on what I think is their best year of commercials (magic fridge, the pony, the guys on the roof, etc).

The 2nd diet pepsi one with Jackie Chan was great. :D

Full Throttle's commercial was great; we loved the tank.

And fed ex rules all, except for Ameriquest "well, that killed him" insurance. :D

Of course, "Addicted to Lost" was an unfair favorite. Loved the spliced footage.

[SirLemming]

One thing I liked about the Burger King commercial....Even they acknowleged that the King is creepy.
That's actually one of the things I didn't like about it. If The King becomes self-referential, it'll all be over.

[Classic Speedy]

Funniest commercials were the cell phone anti-crime device (just throwing it in the guy's face... twice) and Fabio getting really old after passing under the bridge.

Non-funny but still clever was the beer commercial with the entire stadium holding up appropriate papers to make it look like beer was being poured and drank.

But yes, the inclusion of some non-Super Bowl specific ads and some rather lame "This isn't Super Bowl material" ads got annoying.

[SirLemming]

These Outback commercials really aren't doing anything for me.

[Hades]

V FOR VENDETTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That trailer was awesome, and that movie is going to rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sag_2002]

Some awesome ads this year. My faves:

The FedEx one with the poor cavedude 1.) losing his package 2.) getting fired despite Fedex "not being invented yet" 3.) getting the crap stomped outta him at the end :D

The Bud "Magic Fridge" ad

Ameriquest "That killed him" :D

The second Diet Pepsi ad with Jackie Chan and the Coke "stunt double"

and in the "not funny but very clever" category, the Bud stadium spot.

[TnAdct1]

My list of Super Bowl commercials that I liked:

-"Magic Fridge"
-Jackie Chan making a movie with Diet Pepsi
-The "streaker" at the Clydesdale football game
-"Crime deterrent"
-The kaiju monster giving birth to a Hummer
-The Benny Hill ringtone
-MacGyver for Master Card

EDIT: Also include the "Whopperettes" ad to the list (thanks in part to the crack at how the even the Whopperettes find the King to be freaky)).

[DarkGojira]

I only got to see a couple of commercials, but I'll try to see more on the internet.

I really loved the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest commercial. The movie looks like it's going to be a blast!

However, I thought the Hummer commercial with the Robot/Dinosaur was just bloody awful. It's easily one of the worst Super Bowl commercial I've ever saw in my life... it's even one of the worst commercials ever. I don't know what they were thinking, it was just horrible. I prefer every Godzilla movie over this any day.

[Classic Speedy]

Oh yeah, I forgot about that kaiju/Hummer commercial. Just bizarre.

One thing bothered me about the Budweiser/horse commercial: The end where the old guy says, "I won't tell if you don't." Is that somehow encouraging underage drinking? :o

[Chris Wood]

The Hummer commercial was fantastic. Two big thumbs up for the sheer insanity of it. Tokyo's fearless robot defender faces off against a rampaging beast and then... they do the nasty and have a kid?? Wow, that never happened in a Godzilla film. Or did it? Jet Jaguar was looking mighty happy in some of those scenes.

[tucsoncoyote]

MacGyver! Alright.

As the ending says... Priceless!

and Sprint's Music Downloads? Yakkity Sax! HOOSHA!


Kermit the Frog and the Ford Hybrid? It is easy being Green (as long as it's not Pea Soup Green!)

and Leonard Nimoy.. with Alleve.. How Illogical is that? (Highly Illogical!)

Might as well face it, you're addicted to Lost ....(How long since your last fix?)

:coyote:

[Peter Paltridge]

For help in remembrance, see here:
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5305580

The Sprint ad with the different ringtones has my vote. No one else will probably pick that, but IMO any ad that ends with a Benny Hill chase scene is gold.

[TnAdct1]

One thing bothered me about the Budweiser/horse commercial: The end where the old guy says, "I won't tell if you don't." Is that somehow encouraging underage drinking? :o I kinda felt that the old man was telling the dog that he wouldn't tell the young Clydesdale the truth about how the older Clydesdales helped him push the Budweiser cart if the dog doesn't tell.

EDIT: Here are the results (http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/admeter/2006-ad-meter-results-chart.htm) of the 18th Annual Super Bowl Ad Meter. While I definitely agree with the number 1 ad (face it, I was chanting "Magic Fridge" along with the people in the Bud Light ad), there were way more deserving ads that deserved to be in the top 10 compared to the ones that made it (i.e. the Sprint "Benny Hill" ad, which finished 14th).

[The Penguin]

If you missed any of them, AOL has a vote which also affords you the opportunity to watch them all. http://sports.aol.com/nfl/superbowlads

The Budweiser/Bud Light ones were entertaining as always. The "magic fridge" was fun, but I love the Clydesdales playing football with the cowboys watching and so any chance to revisit that I love. The one with the Clydesdale pony was very moving. I didn't cry, but you know that feeling you get when you're about to? I got that.

I thought the Diet Pepsi ones were kind of funny. The "stunt double" moment was hilarious.

I've never really liked the Careerbuilder monkeys, but the big celebration where one was lighting a cigar with a burning bill and the girl working with jackasses were great.

Kermit's spot wasn't great, but the fact that Ford used him (that hybrid doesn't get that great of mileage compared to my Ion) was good enough for me.

I loved how Emerald Nuts managed to spell out their entire name. I laughed quite a bit at that one.

I always like the Bud ones, but other than them MacGyver MasterCard and Ameriquest "that killed him" were my favorites of the night. Both were great.


That Go Daddy girl is freakin hot! :eek:She is indeed. That is WWE Diva Candice Michelle (http://www.wwe.com/superstars/raw/candice/). You can see her (most) Mondays on WWE RAW at 9 p.m. ET on USA. ;)

[Freedom Fighter]

First off, this is preliminary analysis from off the top of my head. The computer at work doesn't have sound, and so I have to wait until I get home to see the ads I missed or I didn't hear clearly the first time around.

Ads that I remember liking (in no particular order):
- The first two Bud Light commercials ('Magic Fridge' and the one where the 'bear bait' is swiped by the 'victim's' friend)
- The Budweiser Clydesdale (not up-to-their standards, but still good if just for the sweet message)
- Ameriquest Mortgage Co. (killing the patient... uh, the fly :sweat:)
- Sprint: Benny Hill ringtone (whomever said anything with that song in it is funny... is completely and utterly telling the truth :p)

Ads that I remember disliking (also in no particular order):
- Burger King 'Whoperettes' (Is it weird that I was actually turned off by a bunch of women that were piling on top of each other?)
- Both CareerBuilder commericals (It was funnier last year.)
- Emerald Nuts (See 'CareerBuilder')
- Hummer (that just gave a 'WTF' feeling)
- Both Pepsi ads, albeit for Diet Pepsi on both counts (Pepsi, along with Bud, usually gives us the best SB ads, but they REALLY dropped the ball this year.)
- 'The World's Fastest Indian Hero' (Movie ads usually fall right in the middle for me, but this is bottom-feeder just because the title doesn't make sense compared to whatever they were advertising as 'movie clips.')

A couple of in-the-middle notables:
- Sharpie ad with the pirate mascot
- The ad for the NFL network (Just because of the one girl wearing the T-shirt that said she's a fan of 'Anyone but Dallas.' Not because I hate the Cowboys, it's just it's drastically different from the norm of 'I'm a fan of one team.')
- Mastercard McGuyver (I didn't even know that was McGuyver, to be honest, I just thought it was a normal guy who wanted to be a spy or some junk.)

[Mr. Manager]

A
Both ESPN ads
All Budwiser/Bud Light ads
Both careerbuilder.com ads
Fedex
Disney/Pixar's Cars
Ameriquest(both)
Both Sprint ads
United
Mastercard
Sierra Mist

B
Ford:Kermit
Michelob
Hummer
Dove
Both Disney World ads
Emerald Nuts
Sharpie
Nationwide
Pirates II
"16 Blocks"
"V for Vendetta"
"World's Fastest Indian"
Go Daddy
Toyota

C
Beer Institute
"Running Scared"
Burger King
Aleve
Both Diet Pepsi ads
"Shaggy Dog"
PS
NFL Network
Taco Bell

D
Honda
Degree for Men
Fidelity
Aleve

F
Slim Fast
overstock.com

[Nobuyuki sama]

- 'The World's Fastest Indian'
fixed. :)


(Movie ads usually fall right in the middle for me, but this is bottom-feeder just because the title doesn't make sense compared to whatever they were advertising as 'movie clips.')
The "Indian" is the bike (http://www.indian-motorcycles.com/). ;)

And it's based on a true story.http://www.indianmotorbikes.com/features/munro/munro.htm

[Hurricane V1]

Macgyver came back for one night. All right!

Stupid WB, not giving a new Macgyver show a chance.

[Freedom Fighter]

The "Indian" is the bike (http://www.indian-motorcycles.com/). ;)

And it's based on a true story.I kinda got the 'based on a true story' vibe, but still... how many people know that an 'Indian' is a type of bike? I sure didn't, and thus that part of the ad was lost on me completely.

[Freedom Fighter]

Okay, after finally getting to see all of the commercials, here's a final list or two from me.

Top 5:
1) Bud Light: Secret Fridge
2) Nextel/Sprint: Locker Room (aka "Crime Deterrent")
3) Budweiser: Clydesdale
4) Nextel/Sprint: A Song for Every Occasion (aka "Benny Hill ringtone")
5) Ameriquest: That Killed Him
Honorable Mentions - Sharpie, Sierra Mist

Somehow in my previous list I forgot to list the 'crime deterrent' ad, which definitely qualifies as 'that's so wrong, yet it's so funny.' :D Also, as much as people knock on a good number of ads because they're about beer, you have to admit the beer companies keep coming back because they're always so entertaining!

I will note, though, that even this year's best wasn't outstanding. Enjoyable, yes, but not the over-the-top goodness we've come to expect.

Bottom 5:
1) Hummer
2) Motorola: MotoPebl
3) Emerald Nuts
4) American Home (ad for 'PS Cleaners')
5) 'Doom' DVD

You'll notice some more I forget and a few omissions from the original list. First off, the two CareerBuilder ads weren't as bad in retrospect, sort of the same for the two Diet Pepsi ads (but still big downers compared to Pepsi ads of the recent past), and I'm not knocking 'The World's Fastest Indian' anymore (though I still stand by the fact that most people who don't know anything about bikes would get the fact that the Indian in the movie is a bike).

Still disgusted by the Hummer ad, and sorry Motorola, having an ad about a phone the size of the pebble that developed from a meteor that fell eons ago makes me even less likely to get one of your phones. And Emerald Nuts... same concept as last year, yes, but last year's offerings were actually funny.

[Nobuyuki sama]

I'm not knocking 'The World's Fastest Indian' anymore
Fixed again. ;)

(though I still stand by the fact that most people who don't know anything about bikes would get the fact that the Indian in the movie is a bike).

I've never disputed that. :)
I merely tried to clear up any confusion.

I'd put Ameriquest first, and "Magic fridge" second in my list.

[Freedom Fighter]

Fixed again. ;)Now that was just a typo... maybe I should stop talking about that movie before I screw up again. :sweat:

I've never disputed that. :)
I merely tried to clear up any confusion.S'okay. In hindsight, my comment was probably slightly more opinion than fact... eh, but whatever.