This year people really expected a drop in quality for the advertising at the Super Bowl. With all the recession talk, advertising we not supposed to be quick to step to the plate.
Well, it was a good game and it was pretty darn good to see the commercials too. It’s neat to see Ford advertising like the dickens these days – they’re the only one of the big three that has any money, and they are doing a good job cementing that position (a lesson we should all learn – when the others are quiet, speak)
There was movie trailers for the Transformers sequel, the “last” Terminator movie and (who knew) a Star Trek prequel, that are going to open up soon. Bud lite and Budweiser were up every 15 minutes or so, and the Conan O’Brien spots are amazing – so odd I can’t believe a celebrity would mock themselves so openly.
One real surprise was a spot for a gold pawn company who offers “cash 4 gold”. I find it simply amazing that this type of company can even afford the spot. This is the clear sign of the times for me.
There actually was so many spots I really enjoyed. Hulu.com is an amazing and barely legal service (can’t wait for it to come to Canada). I love the Budweiser Clydesdales, The Cheetos Pigeon Attack ad is brilliant and possibly the only ad maybe targeting women.
Clearly my favourite of all is the Pepsi Max spot for Diet cola for men. For two reasons:
- The stunts
- How truthful it is.
So, Pittsburgh wins again, and the advertising was good. I wonder… am I going to pick up a pepsi max? Or use GoDaddy? The unique services like Hulu.com are certainly intriguing, but how does a free service afford the spots?
On another note, Mean Joe Greene’s 1980 Coca Cola spot has been retired from the annual “Greatest Super Bowl Ad of all Time” Competition – for winning too much. Coke responded by issuing a remake of the spot with the Steelers Troy Polomalu.
In all, it was a good year.