The 2012 Superbowl was pretty awesome. The Giants won, defying a Universal Law of Football in the process: a team that dominates early, but fails to score enough points to put the other team away ALWAYS loses. Somehow, the Giants managed to completely dominate the first 26 minutes of the first half, then blow a 9-3 by lead by allowing Tom Bundchen to drive 96 yards for a go-ahead score. I guess the Universal Laws of Football can be broken, occasionally.
Now, onward to the ads!
The Pre-Game Show
First of all, like all things “Super,” Superbowl ads are creeping ever earlier. A whole host of brands decided they’d “excite-the-audience” by pre-releasing their ads as “viral videos” on Youtube. Honda & VW were particularly successful, garnering millions of Youtube hits for their Superbowl spots. Honda rolled out a very un-Ferris looking Matthew Broderick to drive an ugly mini-van called a CRV. They teased the spot by producing a “Ferris Bueller Sequel Video.” The only problem was, the actual commercial sucked. It was damn hard to imagine Ferris tooling around in a Japanese minivan.
The pre-Superbowl release strategy also had a major flaw. People go to the bathroom during commercials. When one of the already touted suckers popped up, well it was time for the dudes in Not There to “hit-the-head.” Maybe “viral video” buzz is more important than a Superbowl spot at this point in our ever fracturing mono-culture, but if that’s the case, why are you spending 3.5 million dollars to release a Youtube video?
The CRV spot didn’t work, but the strategy made sense: make your Youtube video & ad related, but different enough to keep me interested. Why buy the milk if you already have the cow?
Chevy Likes the Superbowl
Chevy was all over the Superbowl. They made a ton of videos, ran some ads and gave Eli Manning a stunningly average looking “Corvette.” Eli tried to walk away without taking the keys and Dan Patrick had to practically beg him to “enjoy his MVP car.” It was a brazenly honest display of boredom.
Overall, I thought Chevy’s 2012 Apocalypse inspired Silverado Truck Ad was their most effective. Driving through the ruins of Western Civilization with a loyal, dependable, top-in-its-class dog made for pretty compelling truck advertising. Chevy’s are tough. Sucks about the guy’s friend though. Friends don’t let friends drive Fords.
Fiat Shows A Little Class
Well Fiat, you made an impression. The girl was sexy and the Starbucks foamy whip was a nice touch. I can’t remember a damn thing about the actual car, but the guys in Not There really, really liked this ad. Keep it classy.
Bud Light!
Dependable purveyors of “Beers for Bros” ads, Bud Light managed to satisfy & confound. The satisfying: training a mutt named “Here We Go” to fetch Bud Light for an ever swelling multi-cultural party. The confounding: launching a premium or platinum (I can’t remember and my notes are unclear) brand of Bud Light with a way too conservative set of creatives. Newsflash: Bud Light Premium will still taste like horse urine and yer fooling no-one.
Samsung Believes in the Darkness?
I like the Darkness a lot. In college I used to air guitar that absurd solo every time I went out. I still would if someone would play it. I like the Darkness more than anyone I know, but not as much as Samsung who decided to turn one of their Galaxy ads into a Darkness street-party! I know the Darkness are awesome, and I think Love is Swell, but I’m not convinced a Darkness show would be more fun than waiting in line at the Apple Store.
If the point of the ad was making fun of Apple fanboys for being too-cool-for-school, I’m not sure that using the Darkness is going to convince people they’re not, you know, actually cool. Apple is Different. Samsung is…uh…fake glam rock?
Maybe this ad would have worked better if they had co-branded with Go Daddy! Danica Patrick could have stripped on the hood of a stock-car, or something.
Note: They Wouldn’t Let Me Embed the Ad
Coke vs. Pepsi
Well Coke kicked ass. The Polar Bears were awesome & I loved the football tie-in. On a side note, someone should develop a reality showed based around the idea of animals playing a football game. Lions vs. Polar Bears. Maybe I’ve just been watching too much “Deadliest Warrior” on Netflix. Turns out Pirates would totally kill Knights in Shinning Armour btw. Also turns out Coke still totally kills Pepsi. By the 4th quarter, I wanted to take Eddie Murphy’s advice to: “sit down, relax and drink a Coke,” and hug a Polar Bear.
Side Note: Don’t mention Coke in a Pepsi Ad. It just makes me want to drink a Coke even more. And I don’t like Regis Philbin. No one likes Regis Philbin.
The Toyota…Re-Invented:
Someone please tell me what this ad was trying to do. Use 200 words or less in the comments section. My best guess: The Toyota Camry has A LOT OF STUFF, BUT NONE OF IT IS IN THIS AD.
The Kia: Mr. Sandman
What a great ad. The TA: Men Who Can’t Afford a Cool Car, But Like Hot Chicks. AND Motley Crew! Awesome. Here’s why: Bareback Rhino-Riding! Hot Girlz! UFC with FIRE! A REALLY BIG SANDWICH!
There were a lot of ads that tried to be absurd, but only KIA pulled it off.
The Dog Strikes Back!
I loved the fat dog losing weight to go chase cars. If only Albert Hainsworth had that kind of dedication. Maybe the Pats would have gotten more pressure (low blow)? Great linkage with a successful ad from last year’s Superbowl. Score one for the all-new, slimmer, sleeker VW BUG!
It’s Halftime America. USA USA!
Clint Eastwood, you rock! You sound gritty & full of gumption, sorta like Chrysler. It might be halftime and I might have been looking in vain for the guacamole, but yer right, America, Chrysler & Detroit are coming back. In fact we never left. We’re so awesome, yer so awesome. It’s Halftime in America. (Why didn’t Clint strike a match on his stubble in this ad? That’s the greatest thing he’s ever done imho.)
I’m sure every red-blooded American found this ad damn inspiring, but at 9 am in Beijing, well it was better than this.
Side Note! At first I thought this was an Obama for President Ad. I totally thought he bit the Reagan “It’s Morning in America” message and was using the Superbowl, Detroit & Tom Bundchen’s 5 o’clock shadow to all but end the 2012 campaign. Alas, Barak only goes to the Superbowl when the Bears make it. Good luck with that…
The Post Game Show & MVP:
Some trends:
- Co-branding: especially Bud & GE which was pretty effective
- Way less social media. I can’t remember anyone telling me to check out their Facebook page or follow their twitter
- Except for Samsung, no tech
- Cars & Trucks ruled
- Most ads played for laughs, but mostly failed
- Leveraging Youtube to build “pre-game” buzz
- Dogs. People still love dogs.
MVP:
It was a tough decision. I didn’t think there was a truly standout ad this year, but someone has to win. What the hell, let’s give it up for the Chevy Silverado & their Mayan inspired Ford Apocalypse.
nottherebeijing 