The Super Bowl of football is also considered the “Super Bowl” of commercials, but the latter left much to be desired in terms of entertainment. AdAge puts it best, stating that beer and soda commercials were always a dependable laugh, but this year the humor was so tired and forced that I longed for even one Budweiser ‘Wassup’ spot. Most of the ads were decent and would stand out nicely in a local commercial break filled with car dealership ads, but when the $3million for 30 seconds price tag of a Super Bowl commercial is considered, it’s shocking the traditional heavyweights didn’t present more impressive spots. Bud Light had a glimmer of home with its ‘Zorro’ product placement ad, but all the anticipation built up for the Budweiser ‘Wild West’ commercials in the weeks leading up to the big game was not worth the wait. Unfortunately, Pepsi Max did not provide the creativity and fresh thinking that I, and most viewers, were craving mid-way through the first quarter. The slapstick humor and crotch-shots were cheap attempts at a laugh and certainly not original enough to hold up in the Super Bowl.
Despite the overwhelming mediocrity, there were a few standout spots. Best Buy’s Ozzy Osborne and Justin Beiber ad was a refreshing use of celebrity that only added to the brand’s message about keeping up with technology. On a more dramatic, sentimental note (which is a much tougher sell during the humor-heavy Super Bowl), Chrysler’s ‘Imported From Detroit” spot featuring Eminem all but made me want to tear up and only “buy American.” My personal favorite, however, was the brilliantly-executed Volkswagen ‘The Force’ commercial. The spot is all-at-once funny, heart-warming, and informative in a uniquely subtle balance. While it may not have been the hardest sell initially, the sheer number of times I’ve re-watched the ad on YouTube has me thinking that a Passat might not be a bad car to check out next time I’m in the market for a new set of wheels. With that, I’ll leave you with undoubtedly the cutest Darth Vader you will ever see:
I was so disappointed with the superbowl commercials! There were only a few that I enjoyed and the Darth Vader was definitely one of my favorites. Also, it's crazy how much these companies pay to play their commercials during superbowl day. My friend knows the owners of Sketchers and she said just in case the game went into overtime, Sketchers paid like 3 million or some outstanding price to play their commercial. That is only IF the game went into overtime
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