Thoughts on the 2011 Super bowl Commercials

The Force

Brand: Volkswagen
Client: Volkswagen of America, Inc
Ad Agency: Deutsch, L.A.

There was no doubt in my mind that “The Force” was the best spot of the night. Of course the Mini Vader spot was going to win, people are suckers for small animals and cute babes/kids. Cute babies and kids are the ad industry’s go to play when it comes to entertaining the crowd for the big game. To add to the Mini Vader saga, according to Adfreak Volkswagen’s super kid whose name is Max page suffers from a heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot, and he needs a pacemaker. Now if that doesn’t pull on people’s heart strings nothing will.

Siege

Brand: Coca-Cola
Client: Coca-Cola Company
Ad Agency: Wieden + Kennedy

The reason I like the spot above is because of the sophisticated graphics that must have been involved in the creation of the ad. Also, the spot plays like a movie and it entertains people. It’s part of the “Open Happiness” campaign. The campaign began in January 2009.

First Date
Brand: Pepsi Max
Client: Pepsi Company
Ad Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

I thought this spot was great; I developed an even greater sense of respect for the Pepsi Company because they let this commercial air on the biggest advertising stage of the year. I already drink only Pepsi products and great advertising will only further cement my loyalty to them. I was surprised that this spot aired because it explicitly discusses “sex” and as a country we tend to frown on that because we tend to be more conservative then our European counterparts. So to a spot like the one put on display during one of the biggest television in the country makes me extremely proud of our country and our marketers. It shows that we can be a bit more liberal and let people decide for themselves what’s appropriate for them and their families and what isn’t.

Best Part

Brand: Doritos
Client: Frito-Lay
Ad Agency: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

This ad was actually the winner of the Crash the Super Bowl ad competition. I am not sure if this spot will hurt or help the Doritos brand as far as over all sales. I think people might be offended by the spot because again we a very conservative nation. And I don’t people appreciated seeing a man sucking on another man’s finer. The only thing that I believe grabbed people’s attention was the shock value of the spot. This commercial will fall in the same commercial predicament that the Snickers “Mechanics” commercial was in back in 2007. TBWA\Chiat\Day, New York created the Mechanics spot.

Artiste

Brand: E*Trade
Client: E*Trade Financial Corporation
Ad Agency: Grey, New York

What else can I say, this campaign as a whole has a special place in my heart because it was an E-Trade “Talking Baby” commercial that got this whole blog started. So, this is just another commercial in a long line of funny spots by E-Trade’s ad agency.

Well people please enjoy and leave your comments below!

Best,
-A.B.