Super Bowl ad
I enjoyed watching a great game of football on Sunday, as the New Orleans Saints came from behind and beat the Indianapolis Colts. And just like every year, I eagerly watched to see what the creative minds on Madison Avenue would serve up during commercial breaks. When I saw that Google was advertising, I thought, “Really? Do they need to start advertising on TV? Has no one heard of the little search engine that could?”. But sure enough, 52 seconds later I was charmed by a simple commercial with no production value that nevertheless has a narrative story arc and an emotional pull. Enjoy:
The bad is that, while many new brands and companies made their Super Bowl debuts, I don’t recall any of their ads. Unfortunately, there were just a lot of ads that were not very memorable. I remember seeing Megan Fox, but what product was she selling? Beats me.
The ugly, unfortunately, was an overall sexist tone to many ads. I don’t expect enlightened 30 second spots for beer and peanuts, mind you, but when you put together Dockers’ Wear the Pants campaign, Bud light swilling men interrupting a women’s book club meeting (“I’d love to see words come out of your mouth”), a man trading his wife for Bridgestone tires, a man accompanying his wife shopping who has “had his spine removed” (with commentary from Jim Nantz, no less!), and the worst of all, an ad for Dodge Charger where we hear a litany of all the horrible things about being a man and dealing with women. Presumably, Dodge Charger will deliver men from their sissified lives. I don’t think I’m the only Super Bowl viewer who noticed this trend. Let’s hope it’s shortlived.
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