"Never forget the You Tube?!?"
Two years ago, the idea seemed to be "Never forget
the punch line." Last year, it was "Never forget the buzz phrase."
Now, it appears to be: "never forget the amateur." We've all heard about the
contest held by Frito Lay/Doritos, where the typical You Tube fanboy could film their own
commercial and have it air during the Super Bowl. What's surprising is that
one such video actually made it on our "best" list. What's
less surprising
is how many commercial advertisers "upped" their
game this year, apparently in fear of losing their jobs to the "amateurs."
The end result was one of the hardest "top ten" Super Bowl commercial lists
we've ever had to choose from. Many commercials were excellent this year.
This is good news for everyone. Like it or not, most of what
we saw in three hours of sports is
what we'll be seeing for the next year...for better,
or worse! Here are the ones
that we'll be glad to see all over again:
-------------------------------------------------------
"Happiness Factory" (Coca-Cola). In Summary:
Coca-Cola does it again for the Super Bowl. Better Summary:
Guy puts his quarter in the machine for a Coca-cola bottle. The coin is seen
rolling into this magical realm where the little Lord of the Rings style
folk want nothing more than to make another Coca-cola customer happy. They
even hold a parade and cheer as the bottle is sent back to the machine. What Makes It So Cool:
I love the imagination that went into this ad. The animators could've gone
for cliché imagery and instead created machines and creatures of pure
magical whimsy.
"You smell that?" (Taco Bell) In Summary:
Do Lions Like Mexican food? Better Summary:
Hey, do you smell that, asks one lion to another. Yeah; those people over
there! Only they aren't what smells so tasty. It's their new Taco Bell Steak
Grilled Taquitos, with "Carne Asada." What Makes It So Cool:
We would've preferred it if the lions were seen
jumping into the human camp and stealing only the Taco Bell food and running
away, to the bewilderment of the human campers. CGI probably wouldn't have
been possible on that one, though, so two talking lions is still pretty
funny.
"Hitcher With Bud Light." (Bud Light) In Summary:
That hitcher has an axe...and But Light! Better Summary: Hey,
says a guy; let's pick up this hitchhiker, he has bud light! He has an axe,
worries his girlfriend. No; he has bud light, insists the boyfriend. As for
the axe; there must be a reasonable explanation for it. "Bottle
Opener," insists the hitcher. "Hop in," says the boyfriend.
What Makes It So Cool:
The final punch line is great. Another hitchhiker is seen, while the
first hitchhiker sits in the back seat. Look, says the driver; he has Bud
Light! "...and a chainsaw!" exclaims the
axe-holding hitchhiker. Funny...!
Izod in a globe (Izod) In Summary:
Does this mean the little alligator polo shirts are still available, too?
Better Summary:
Men and women ski and surf and have a
blast in their Izod fashions, as the camera pans away and shows the isles
they're on spell Izod. The camera pans away some more to show that this Izod
world is in a little globe in the palm of the hand of another woman on a
beach. That's sort of overkill though we still like the ad. What Makes It So Cool:
You know; I hate to say it,
though if not for this commercial I would've wondered if the days of the
little alligator on the shirt were long gone. Maybe the logo is different,
though Izod is still around, and this commercial was the first time I
noticed. Since that is exactly what a Super Bowl commercial is
meant for, this ad wins.
"All it takes is one finger," (E-trade) In Summary:
We love the PG-13 proctology references. Better Summary:
One
finger can do wonders. It can save Holland a la the Little Boy at the Dike.
It can finger a murder suspect. It can show your sober to a cop. It can
"declare your team's supremacy." it can get you acquainted with
your proctologist (though the commercial put it much nicer!). It can even
click your way to a better financial future via E-Trade online What Makes It So Cool:
Maybe E-Trade should've stuck with this ad and not
that other ad where a bank was literally robbing its customers. That ad
stunk. This one was very funny.
Live the Flavor (Doritos) In Summary:
Doritos puts $12.99 on the Super Bowl roulette table...and wins. Better Summary:
This was one of the
widely ballyhooed "amateur" super bowl commercials this year. Go to
the
web site for this specific ad, and the producers of the ad talk about
their wishes to break
Super Bowl Commercial records, like: "Smallest Budget ($12.79), Smallest Crew (12 people),
Shortest production time (4 days), and youngest crew (22 years old and
younger)." So, um...let's be brutal here: does it show? Actually, compared to
the worst super bowl commercials this year, no.
It is one of those rare commercials that gains a little something in its own
simplicity: A guy eating Doritos sees a girl and gets in a fender bender, as
his Doritos bag gets squished; "crunchy!" exclaims the headline. The girl (who is also eating
Doritos) runs to his rescue
("Bold!")...only to trip and fall. They look at one
another and share a "moment." What Makes It So Cool:
We would spit nickels if all commercials were done
by amateurs from now on, though we must admit this was a very acceptable winner
of Doritos' contest. Just don't make twelve dollar budgets a habit, okay?
The Blockbuster Mouse. (Blockbuster) In Summary:
Maybe the mouse needs to be plugged in? Better Summary:
That bunny and guinea pig are back, looking at the Blockbuster video store
across the street from their pet store window. Only now they've heard that
Blockbuster is accessible through the internet, "with just the click of a
mouse." So they try to sit, step on, and, um, "click" a pet store mouse.
When the guinea pig wonders if the mouse needs to be plugged in first, the
mouse finally pipes up and says, "Don't even think about it!" What Makes It So Cool:
We're as surprised as you are that Blockbuster was able to bring back that
CGI bunny and guinea pig and make it work. This is still one of the funniest
commercials for this year.
"Rock, Paper, Scissors" (Bud Light) In Summary:
Paper beats rock...no; literally. Better Summary:
Two guys decide to play Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who gets the last Bud
Light. One guy chooses paper while the other chooses rock. Only problem is:
the guy uses a real rock to knock out his opponent and nab the Bud Light. What Makes It So Cool:
A few critics felt this ad was a little too "violent." What; being hit with
a rock is suddenly too brutal for a commercial during a sport that includes
tackles, blitzes, and even "sudden death"...? Not too likely.
Fake Dalmatian (Budweiser). In Summary:
Every Dog Has His Day Better Summary:
A stray dog gets shooed away
from a butcher shop window like a pest. He sadly approaches a street parade, where the
Clydesdale
horses pull the Budweiser carriage with a Dalmatian on it, and everyone
is cheering. Suddenly a car splashes muddy water on the stray dog and the
spots make him look like a Dalmatian. Cut to the same parade the next day,
where our stray dog is now the star of the parade, as the latest Budweiser
Dalmatian. What Makes It So Cool:
It's nice to see that Budweiser can be comical and even slightly emotional
at the same time. I mean; who wouldn't root for every dog to have his day?
Burnout
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