MY TOP 6 IN ORDER
Doritos Ultrasound − Really fun and baked with truth, although actual Doritos are not baked with truth. They are baked with a lot of stuff that really isn’t that good for you. I love everything about this ad though. The dad who gets to play with his kid while the kid is still in the womb. The fact that they probably eat a lot of Doritos so the kid has already had a taste because Doritos are in the blood, man. So, I really do believe he knows what he is going after when he reaches for the Doritos. Doritos are the motivation for life itself in this ad, which involves the great ending that I didn’t see coming. Big laughs all around and a simple concept that comes across even if you can barely hear it with all the people crying about how bad Cam looks.
T-Mobile Restricted Bling − I was not a Drake fan, but he’s wonderful in this ad. His enthusiasm for the insane changing to his cellphone video is fantastic. And the ad gets the message across about the benefits of signing with T-Mobile in the best way possible − by bagging on the other guys in a super fun way. This was one of my favorites because we all are very familiar with the song and with Drake. I love that they play him against the rapper cast as a total sell out here. And with a performer who has the street cred of Drake, this makes for really good times and it was very unexpected. That is how sad I am. I used the words street cred. YO!
Audi, The Commander − First off, I am a Bowie fan and the song “Starman” is a favorite. It was sad to see him go. His song is used perfectly here with nostalgic images that evoke the excitement of the first space flight of our sad former astronaut. There is a great truth here for any young man who gets into the cockpit of a car. Most of us can’t fly planes or rocket ships, but we can drive. And our imaginations run wild. When we are behind the wheel of the right car, we are rock stars, jet pilots, secret agents − heck − we are gods for one small moment. The Audi ad portrays this perfectly and takes us all back to that time when we got behind the wheel for our first drive. In our sad astronaut’s case, he is remembering his first mission. Same thing. And it pulls him out of his funk. The only thing missing was the landing on the planet with the Amazon Women. Another thing men like; cool cars for speed − and women. Maybe that’s next year.
Mt. Dew PuppyMonkeyBaby − Say it three times. It might be the most talked about spot in the Big Game. Weird? YES! A little gross? YES! But simple, great and fun. You will not quickly forget Puppy Monkey Baby and you will want to try the product if you are in the demo. And if you are in this demo, the combination of insanity in this surely sugary nightmare of a drink will hit the spot at least once. And I guarantee when someone asks what it is, you will say, “PuppyMonkeyBaby.” It rolls off the tongue.
Jeep, 75 Years − Pretty nice anthem ad for Jeep. It talks about the heritage and the cultural significance of Jeep, but also makes you think that Jeep is for those who really live life’s adventure. Who doesn’t want to live life’s adventure to the fullest? And, of course, it’s got Steve McQueen in it. So there’s that.
Heinz Wieners − I LOVE WIENER DOGS. I have two miniature wiener dogs, although one has plumped from overfeeding. So I could watch thing this thing over and over. Some people said to me, “What? Are they going to eat the dogs?” I don’t like to think of my little doggies covered in catsup, ready to be eaten, but that isn’t the message here. The message is, Heinz condiments go great with hot dogs. So great, that even the hot dogs come a running for it. And it is done in a way that I could watch over and over and over and over. Job well done.
THE ONE I HATED −
LG’s Man from the Future − Liam was so great last year. So great. What was he doing this year? The ad wasn’t funny and it wasn’t good. They got my expectations up and then squashed them with Liam throwing cards at a screen and the card stops and his younger self gets in the card and then people start chasing him and he gets on a motorcycle and then Liam is talking about the Oled TV. Is the Oled TV some kind of technology that the Russians are after? I thought we were against ISIS now? I am really confused by this whole thing. I’ll tell you this. I am not getting that Oled TV. For one, it looks really expensive. It had to pay for some future Tron world and Liam’s cool suit and the flying playing card. And oh, I never liked Tron. So, no Oled TV for me. Thanks for the disappointing time, Liam. Even Taken 7 will be better than this LG commercial.
SOME I JUST NEED TO TALK ABOUT —
Snickers Marilyn − I read an article that skewered this ad because of the transgender rights movement. That seems really silly to me. These Snickers ads have been doing this bit for a while now and men have turned to women and women have turned to men. This isn’t the best one. It used a great iconic moment in film, but could have been funnier. The tone just wasn’t right. Dafoe, as a comic actor, always plays the serious scary guy. It’s funny in movies like The Grand Budapest Hotel, but not so great in a commercial where he needs to bring off a different tone. So, tone-wise, it was a tad off − Snickers shouldn’t be that scary and neither should Marilyn. However, it got the brand message across and was talked about, before the Super Bowl and after, so it did the trick. I am talking about it because I hate when the political correctness game is played against a silly ad like this.
Kia Walken Closet − I was not a big fan of this one. The Kia reminds me of the beige socks. So I don’t really understand the strategy here. Walken is always good. The writing is even good. But do I want to buy a Kia after seeing it? NO. Do I want to go and look at a Kia after seeing it? NO. Also, they take the joke too far when he goes to show him the car and then he is in the car. I feel like he is going to be in the office as well, having the guy sign the papers, talking to the loan officers, eating donuts. I will say this − there is some truth to it. There are some super-creepy salesmen at car dealerships. I wouldn’t be surprised if a Christopher Walken strutted out to show me a Kia. It actually might be a better commercial as well.
Budweiser #GiveADamn – Didn’t get this at all. It’s Bud. Why are you having a British person tell Bud drinkers to be responsible? Seems like they would drink more in defiance and drive as fast as possible under the influence. Is this knowing your audience? Is Helen Mirren the human manifestation of a Clydesdale? Do Bud drinkers even know who she is? Again, human manifestations of Clydesdales might make a nice campaign. Pay me, Bud.
Shocktop After Super Bowl Ad − http://creativity-online.com/work/shock-top-tj-miller-ad-review/45399
TJ Miller and the Shocktop Beer Tap take on the Big Game ads with their funny commentary. Great idea and a great extension of a Super Bowl ad.
Check out another perspective on the Super Bowl commercials from R&R’s Chief Strategic Officer/Principal, Randy Snow, here: http://www.rrpartnersblog.com/2016/02/08/a-safe-day-at-the-super-bowl/
