It occurs to me that if you take the Super Bowl as a comment on the current state of the US of A– which, you might as well, because it’s as good as anything else– we are totally screwed.
I mean, consider the fact that two-thirds of the ads were for Bud Light. OK, that may be a slight exaggeration, but I think every commercial break in the first half had at least one Bud Light ad in it. That basically tells you that the only company with the money to spend on Super Bowl advertising is one that makes its money from helping people drown their sorrows. That’s an encouraging statement.
Worse yet, the general crop of ads continued the deplorable trend of glorifying idiots. This has been going on for years, but has really reached a peak lately with things like the Sonic ad campaign with two idiots in a car, those Coors Light commercials with the football coaches, and pretty much any commercial Taco Bell has made in the last, say, ten years. Maybe longer.
And worst of all, the Simpsons totally sold out. I mean, really, is nothing sacred?
What a bunch of crap. Space aliens looking at this year’s sorry crop of ads would probably decide to save time and just nuke us from orbit. The orbit of Jupiter.
On the bright side, it was at least a decent game. Congratulations to the Saints, the feel-good story of the century so far.
Don’t forget Doritos and CSI: Miami IN SPAAAAACCCCCEEEEE!
To be fair, the Simpsons spent years shilling for Butterfinger, so at least now they’re selling out in higher quality commercials.
The Bud Light ads of the past ten years have always mystified me. Their message appears to be, “Bud Light: The Beer of Complete Dicks.” I’m already mocking your beer while drinking something better; why you’re trying to convince me to shun anyone with your bottle in their hand is beyond me.
Two of the best (?) of the lot: a derivative McDonald’s commercial, and the Volkswagen commercial with the punch line lifted from an SNL skit. Jupiter might be too close.
I know football commercials are always targeted towards men, and I have no problem with that (God knows there are enough commercials targeted towards women, and those are often much harder to watch.) But this is the Superbowl — everyone watches it. More women must watch this game than any other game, anyway. At times I felt like, “C’mon guys. I’m standing right here.”
Actually, I liked the Dove for men commercial with the song that started with the sperm and egg and moved right along through the guy’s life to his own kids and “feeling comfortable in his skin.”
I didn’t so much like the Dodge ad about how men deserve to drive muscle cars because they clean the sink after they shave and attend boring meetings all day. It lacked a jaunty melody.
The Go Daddy commercials with Danica Patrick… Eh. I don’t really have a problem with “sex sells” commercials, but c’mon, it’s for web hosting. Don’t you think women like the internet too, guys?
Anyway, my favorite commercial this year was the Bud Light spot where they form a human bridge for the beer truck to drive over. I watched that with the sound off and had no idea what was going on and was delighted when I finally figured out what they were doing. I think that one will stick with me, anyway.
We were totally rooting for the Saints here because as Obama said, the Colts did beat “our Bears” a few years ago… They don’t need another ring. It was a really fun game, fast moving and relatively penalty free. That was really football the way it should be played, as far as I’m concerned.
Yeah, I was just preparing to say that Mary. The misogyny seemed much more omnipresent and blatant this year. Really guys, women *do* watch the Superbowl.
MKK
As a happily married guy, I almost fell out of my chair when I saw where that Dodge ad was going. And yet, the only Charger I ever drove was the real one of the good old days of real gas and hardly any emissions controls (or gas mileage) that was owned by … my girlfriend!
Give it up on beer ads. Women don’t buy Natty Lite, but the foreigners that now own the company are fantasizing that they might buy Bud Wheat Lite rather than a real wheat beer like Bud’s owners make.
In contrast, the Google ad hit with both of us and nailed Bing where it hurts.
Mary, you missed the best part of the Bud bridge ad – the music. Straight out of old westerns where the townfolk head out to save a stranded calf or fix a broken bridge or put out a fire.