I’d be thrilled. If they then told me I’d be working on a spot for a real-estate company,
I’d wander off into the night, weeping gently, never to be seen again.”
~ AdAge review of Century 21′s commercial
I really love commercials. And billboards. And magazine ads. It’s no wonder I ended up working at an advertising agency, albeit briefly. [And speaking of jobs, after working for a national real estate company, the AdAge quote above resonates with me. A LOT. Because it's true. Marketing real estate was actually worse than pitching pet food.]
So while I don’t give a flip about football, I look forward to the Superbowl every year. A ridiculous amount of money is spent by the biggest and baddest companies out there to craft the message they want people to be talking about on Monday and beyond. And I love every ridiculous second of it.
As usual, some of the commercials were annoying, lame or disappointing. I’m talking to you, Jerry Seinfeld, Elton John and stupid Jillian Michaels and Danica Patrick. (Seriously. Way to go, ladies. *huge eye roll here*) I didn’t like the NFL commercial, either (What’s the point? We’re already watching your big game!), and I was bummed out to see none of the Budweiser commercials was moving or funny.
But it wasn’t hard at all for me to come up with 10 commercials from this year’s Superbowl that I really enjoyed.
Top 10 Superbowl {2012} Commercials
The Coca Cola polar bears are just cute. The end. [Click here for Coca Cola video.]
Sassy chocolate girl candy? Yes, please. (And, as fans of the The Wedding Planner know, the brown M&Ms are much healthier.) [Click here for M&Ms video.]
Yes, the couch is annoying (and, as one article I read noted, not comfortable-looking at all). But a blender that plays Lionel Richie? And, duh, rain that makes you skinny? IT’S LIKE THEY READ MY MIND! [Click here for the Toyota Camry video.]
Who hasn’t been there? And, really, making something related to taxes kind of fun deserves major kudos in my book. [Click here to see the TaxACT video.]
“Should we tell him?” “Nah, let him tire out first.” This commercial was completely over the top, but it cracked up every person at our party! [Click here for the Camaro video.]
“Dave drove a Ford.” Ha! Even if my husband didn’t detest Ford as much as he does the Jayhawks, the combination of Barry Manilow, tough guys, the end of the world and frogs falling from the sky would make this a winner in my book. [Click here for the Chevy Silverado video.]
Once I got past the creepy extra neck factor, I couldn’t stop grinning at this one. I really thought, “Why yes, you are right. My confidence should be dancing and singing disco!” [Click here for the Cars.com video.]
Ahhhh, Ferris Bueller. After seeing the mini teaser ad on Facebook several days ago (and hearing my friend Amy tell us how very awesome the whole ad was), I was excited to see this spoof on what really is one of my favorite movies. I’d say it lived up to its hype, even though I wasn’t sure what the ad was for until watching it again on Monday. Also, I am sure the heavily made-up Matthew Broderick was entranced by the walrus simply for the fact that he, too, is long in the tooth. Overall, though, this ad was a ton of fun. [Click here for the Honda CRV video.]
Okay, fine. I will admit that handsome, ages-so-well Uncle Jesse was the main draw for me here. But every single one of us burst out laughing at that head butt, and when Mark and I discussed the game commercials later, this was the first one he mentioned. [Click here for the Dannon Oikos video.]
With the kids [mostly] relegated to the downstairs toy room, my three friends and I watched the game from the kitchen, while the four husbands lounged in the living room. And throughout the game, we ribbed each other about the commercials banking on sex selling anything, from clothes to flowers (ICK on both accounts.). So when this commercial began, we started mocking the guys, noting that while they changed the channel during the David Beckham skin-fest, they didn’t bother with this one. But we soon realized there was more to this commercial than girls in bikinis. And after watching the whole thing, I decided this was definitely one of my favorites. It was creative, it certainly had something for everyone, and the ending was a good payoff for both genders. And the tagline is great. [Click here for the Kia video.]
A few more commercials that I couldn’t help but comment on:
- The Voice – Vocal Kombat: I don’t watch The Voice, and I suppose you could say that Betty White has been overexposed to the nth degree, but I loved this one. It was exciting and fun and had a funny surprise ending – which is a lot more than I expected from a TV show promo.
- Audi – Vampire Party: I thought this one was kind of dumb. But as someone who has less than stellar night vision (and I’m underplaying that a LOT to ease the minds of anyone who has ever ridden with me at night), I want me some of those headlights.
- Chrysler – Halftime in America: Was it too much? Too much sap? Too much gravelly Eastwood gravitas? I don’t know. I really couldn’t decide. Hence it not making the top 10.
- Chevy Sonic – Stunt Anthem: Though this was one of Mark’s favorite commercials of the night, I found nothing remarkable about it other than its choice of song. Apparently “We Are Young” is the new “Mercy.” (I like both songs, but hearing them in widely varying commercials, movies and TV shows is bizarre.)
- Swamp People – This is Your Boss: Am I the only one who thought this was going to be a truck commercial? (And for the love of classy reality TV everywhere (*snort), why is this show still on and making enough money to broadcast a Superbowl commercial?)
- Volkswagen – The Dog Strikes Back: Obviously, as someone trying to lose weight, I loved this dog’s quest to fit through the doggy door. But the Star Wars tag at the end was awkward and a little weird. Don’t get me wrong; I love Star Wars. But that seemed like an afterthought. An awkward afterthought, at that. (Whew! Say that five times fast!)
- MetLife – Everyone: I loved seeing all the cartoon characters together in this feel-good commercial. But the commentary from AdAge cracked me up: “But it raises more questions than it answers. How many characters are inthere? How did they get the rights to hold this prom? What is Daphne doing in Richie Rich’s limousine? When did MetLife turn socialist?” Valid questions, all.
P.S. How stinking AWESOME was Madonna at halftime? That was undoubtedly my favorite halftime show EVER.
Now it’s your turn. What did I miss? Do you agree with my list or disagree? What was YOUR favorite commercial during the Superbowl?
This post will be linked to Top Ten Tuesday at OhAmanda. And it has affiliate links.
