Tag: Super Bowl

BRIAN:

Anyone who knows me personally knows I’m love the 80s. So, it should come as no surprise that my favorite commercial was from Radio Shack. The first line set the tone: “The ’80s called … they want their store back.” I loved seeing Mary Lou Retton, Hulk Hogan, Alf, Kid N Play, Teen Wolf, the DeLorean, Chuckie and other icons from the best decade ever. If you search on YouTube, you’ll find a series of these ads with the characters, another avenue for the company to engage with its customers. And good for Radio Shack for finally revamping its admittedly boring store layout.

AMY:

What has stuck out to me is all the controversy online over the Coke ad. Yes, they chose the song “America the Beautiful” but I viewed the ad as the song being played in countries around the world not just different cultures here in America. Coke is an iconic American brand. And the happiness Coke brings to us is spread all around the world. Consumers get too worked up about little things that don’t matter. If they only had Caucasian Americans in the spot, people would have been just as outraged. And I am sure they missed a prominent culture to represent that somebody else is mad about. Does drinking Coke make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Then drink it and enjoy.

KATIE:

I had high expectations each time the Super Bowl commercials came on, but it always seemed by the time the game resumed I was disappointed. None of them impressed me too much. That is, until the Esurance commercial right after the Super Bowl ended. The fact that John Krasinski blatantly pointed out how much money Esurance saved and then proceeded to engage people all over to country to win that money was extremely clever. Of course no one flips off the TV right after the game ends – at that point, people are celebrating or complaining about their team with their phones in hand, texting their friends. Esurance saw that opportunity and grabbed it, making for a memorable and successful after-Super Bowl ad.

DAVID:

I look forward to the Super Bowl every year and to say the least, Super Bowl XLVIII didn’t meet my expectations. Complementing a Super Bowl blowout was the reserved Super Bowl ads. Of the select few good ads this year, I’d have to say my favorite was Budweiser’s “Puppy Love.” I enjoyed how Budweiser played sort of a sequel to last year’s Clydesdales slot and thought it demonstrated a great narrative arc. How the Clydesdale and the puppy generate this friendship really hits home on Budweiser’s slogan, “Best Buds.” In general, you really have to appreciate what Budweiser had to do to make this ad. It took a lot of effort from a wide range of people to create this to get the horse and puppy to interact as they did.

BRIAN:

I found it interesting that both the game and the commercials were much better in the second half. For the reasons of personal experiences alone, my favorite ad this year was GoDaddy’s “Your Big Idea.”  If you’ve ever had to pick a domain name (I’ve done so multiple times), you’ll know that seemingly every name has been taken. I’ve even made up words and have been stunned to find the URL has already been locked up. That’s why I could relate to this commercial, which emphasized the importance of being first.

PATTY:

“God made a Farmer” was a phenomenal Super Bowl ad and tribute to agriculture and the families who spend their lives farming so we have food.  This ad made me feel grateful and thankful for these down to earth, hardworking, family oriented farmers.  My family are farmers, I worked on the farm and this commercial triggered many of my happiest memories.  The rugged, yet sensitive photos and the voice over by the great radio legend Paul Harvey had us in tears.  Thank you Dodge Ram for giving us an ad that spreads joy, wisdom and beauty.

TIANA:

What really got me this year during the Super Bowl were advertisements that made an attempt to be relevant. For example, my favorite commercial was Tide’s “Miracle Stain,” featuring a 49ers fan that miraculously gets a Joe Montana stain on his jersey. Not only was it funny and cleverly executed, it went that extra step to incorporate the teams playing that day. It was also nice to see a commercial with a wide appeal and didn’t just play the sex appeal card (*cough* Calvin Klein and Go Daddy *cough*). Second favorite ad was Oreo’s brilliant response to the blackout.

AMY:

I wasn’t really impressed by any ads this year. Maybe it was because I wasn’t drinking during the game. The best of the rest was the Dodge ad. This one resonated with me for a few reasons. First, I grew up on a hog farm and secondly, we would always listen to Paul Harvey on long drives to Minnesota. But I was disappointed Monday morning to find out the Dodge ad was a “remake” of an ad not even 2 years old. Are there no original ideas left in this world? Well, anyway, it is back to DVRing everything I watch so I can skip all the commercials.

ALEXANDRA:

I wasn’t too impressed with the commercials this year at the Super Bowl.  However, one that did make me laugh was Amy Poehler’s Best Buy commercial.

BRIAN:

I was really underwhelmed by this year’s Super Bowl commercials. Even without the annual build-up, the commercials by themselves were pretty dull. The Chrysler commercial with Clint Eastwood was entertaining, but all it did for me was invoke memories of GM’s “Imported from Detroit” commercial with Eminem. I did notice many spots add a hashtag at the end, which makes me wonder how many conversations they spawned.

STEPH:

In my opinion, a combination of animals and humor make some of the most memorable Super Bowl commercials that are also able to appeal to a wide audience. This year was no exception. One of my favorite ads was the Sketchers dog racing commercial featuring a French Bulldog named Mr. Quiggly. Not only was the commercial creative and funny, but I think people that saw the ad will actually remember what product it was advertising. Good call on Sketchers’ part deciding to ditch the Kim Kardashian commercial for this one instead.

WHITNEY:

Usually the Super Bowl commercials that keep people talking are the ads that no one can remember what the ad was for! This year, my favorite ad fell into that category–the boy peeing in the pool. Call me immature, but it was really cute (especially the look on the boy’s face as the girl jumps into the pee pool). Unfortunately for TaxAct, I had to look up who did the commercial. I’m sure many others will also remember the boy peeing in the pool ad, but what is the point of a great commercial if we can’t remember what was being sold? Second favorite ad–David Beckman for H&M … yum.

EMILIE:

Thoroughly underwhelmed, that’s my feelings on both yesterday’s game and commercials. While I anticipated a boring game, I was taken aback by the lackluster ads. But it wasn’t all bad and if I had to pick a favorite it would be the M&M’s commercial. It had everything I think makes a great Super Bowl ad without trying too hard. Plus, the idea of candy being naked is just silly, and who doesn’t love silly fun? I even like the use of the overplayed “Sexy and I Know It” song, which I have secretly come to enjoy. I think the only thing that put a bigger smile on my face was Bradshaw’s stylishly awkward touchdown.