For many, football is officially over. The trophies have been handed out, the confetti has been swept from the turf, and it seems that the Vince Lombardi trophy's being paraded through New York will signify the end of yet another NFL season.
This season cannot be put to bed until we reach closure over one of the day's most sensitive topics — which company had the best Super Bowl ads?
After spending hours in my darkened living room reviewing my recorded tape of the game, I've compiled a list of companies that brought their A-game and companies that dropped the ball. Let's begin with the top six.
6. PepsiCo
PepsiCo had two commercials in this Super Bowl. The Pepsi Max "What is Love" commercial was simple and humorous. The rather lengthy ad showed people nodding off at work and play, until they chug a caffeine-packed Pepsi Max and continue to emulate the head-bob that was showcased in "A Night at the Roxbury." The cameo by Chris Kattan was a nice touch. The other Pepsi advertisement had Justin Timberlake being hurled across town through windows and into cars. Enough said.
5. FedEx
One commercial was all FedEx needed to make the list. It showed a company solving all of their delivery issues by resorting to state-of-the-art carrier pigeons with night-vision goggles and GPS. Larger packages were entrusted to giant pigeons, which were shown wreaking havoc on the city after dropping their packages like bombs. Very clever.
4. Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola's commercials this year took me by surprise. The usually jovial aura of their ads was replaced by two feel-good heart- warmers. The first ad had a Stewie Griffin and Underdog float chase after a giant Coca-Cola float, only to watch helplessly as good ol' Charlie Brown wraps his hands around it.
The second ad had two hellfire-and-brimstone politicians put their differences aside and take a nice, refreshing waltz through town, all while drinking a Coke. Lighthearted and innocent, Coca-Cola's ads seemed remotely similar to the effect Budweiser advertisements had when they would trot out the Clydesdale horses for some uber-patriotic, "aww"-inspiring commercial. Well done, Coke.
3. E*Trade
E*Trade had two commercials with a running theme: A baby with a man's voice talking about buying stock. The first ad was a tad unsettling, with the baby talking about stocks until he spits up ... because he's a baby. The second ad had him talking with a clown in the background making balloon animals. The fact that the baby admitted he "underestimated the creepiness" made the ad worthy of my list.
2. Bridgestone Tires
Bridgestone put out two very solid ads. One featured a cacophony of screams of woodland creatures, as one of their own looks as if he will become roadkill. At the last instant, the car swerves and all is well.
The second ad has a man driving at night avoiding typical road hazards. First a deer, then what looks to be Alice Cooper holding a snake, and finally Richard Simmons. The fact that the driver accelerated but restrained from hitting Simmons at the last second makes this ad a classic. That, and the falsetto, feminine scream emitted by Simmons, which could probably shatter paper.
1. Bud Light
While original Budweiser showcased just one mediocre ad, Bud Light had a whopping six commercials. Two ads boasted how Bud Light beer can lead to potentially hazardous super-powers. The first ad had a man engulf a romantic dinner date in flames with his breath, and the second ad portrayed a man flying around and getting caught in a jet turbine.
The ads got better with a "man-o-vation" ad featuring guys sneak Bud Light into a wine-and-cheese-tasting party. A caveman-themed ad was also entertaining. Bud Light then opted to flex its wallet muscles by recruiting comedian Carlos Mencia and the actor Will Farrell. The Mencia commercial produced some chuckles, but the Farrell ad was brilliant, even if it was a tie-in to one of his upcoming films.
Now on to the bad news:
3. GoDaddy.com
In years prior, GoDaddy.com would showcase two or more brainless ads containing a party atmosphere with pole dancers and loud music. The company did not even bother to really advertise what it is the Web site does. This year, they had one ad that boasted some sort of striptease online involving Danica Patrick. Clearly, GoDaddy.com did not bother to put together an ad worth watching, though I cannot comment on the striptease since I did not bother to go online and watch it.
2. Salesgenie.com
The aforementioned GoDaddy.com is known for its flashy, content-less advertisements. Salesgenie.com took a page from the GoDaddy.com playbook by putting forth two ads that screamed racial insensitivity.
Both cartoon ads had racial stereotypes stressing over their inability to sell anything. The Arab man with the thick accent and the panda bears with broken English were jaw-dropping in a bad way. If this company's objective was to shock viewers into frequenting its Web site, then maybe it scored a victory. I hope that they go out of business.
1. Careerbuilder.com
"Strange" does not even begin to sum up both ads that this dot-com put out. One featured a female sitting at her desk while her boss enjoys a lobster dinner. Her heart bursts forth from her chest to march into the boss's office and quit. Shocking? Yes. Disturbing? Certainly.
The next ad had a man gaining hope from a musical talking cricket a la Pinocchio. The commercial ends with the cricket being ensnared by a spider, which inevitably cuts the musical duet short. These commercials had a message somewhere, though I doubt any viewers stopped to dwell on it.
Reach the reporter at: adam.chaikin@asu.edu.
