"Branded like a racing car..."

Superbowl weekend has come and gone. I had plans to go to a family friend's house for the game, but there was an emergency in the family so the festivities were called off. Instead, I had a full day, cooked some food and curled up with a good book (Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, 529 pages, no pictures).

I TiVo'd the game and had a nice little evening with my food and my book. Then a few hours into it, I started fast-forwarding the game and watching the advertising. You think I'm joking...

I'm just not a football fan. For me, it's just a bunch of guys hitting each other and running around. I understand what's going on during the game, I just don't care about it. So since I wasn't at a party socializing, I figured why sit around and watch it when I've got a good book and TiVo? :)

And really, I only watch the Superbowl for the ads... which, as a whole, I thought were so-so. I generally find this to be the case since there's so much hype about them.

BUT some were fantastic and had me laughing out loud to myself. So I thought I'd post some of my winners and losers of the evening...since it's the only reason I bothered to tune into CBS last night. :)

WINNERS (in no particular order):
Careerbuilder.com--This new campaign is hilarious! It's also an excellent way to evolve the brand from the monkey campaign. They've kept the quirky, silly, we-know-how-you-feel approach, and married it to a new insight. Brilliant.




Coca-Cola--I loved all three of their spots. I love the Disneyland approach where it's a bit outlandish, but it still puts a smile on your face. Also I like the whole "experience the Coke side of life" concept.




Bud Light--A note on Bud Light Superbowl advertising: because they've always had a huge Superbowl presence, I tend to regard these ads more as entertainment...not that they're not strategic at all, but you can tell that BL is very conscious that these are the Superbowl ads. That being said, I LOVED the "Slapping". It's *stoopid* humor...I mean basic, dumb humor. But man, it's funny. :) I also loved "What would Carlos do?" and "Hitchhiker."










Emerald Nuts-- Just the thought of Robert Goulet coming into your office in the afternoon and messing with your stuff is hysterical.





Oprah and Letterman--I don't have to say anything about this, except "Brilliant!"




King Pharmaceuticals--I worked in pharma advertising on a brand where we had to figure out how to spell out cardiac risk for people in a way that was compelling but not scary..and this nailed it. It could've gotten dark...but they kept the music silly and light, and that was what made it work.




Taco Bell--This one appealed to my silliness. Two lions talking about how to say "Carne asada" in a sexy way...like Ricardo Montalban.



LOSERS:
The Really Patronizing Black History Month Tribute--I don't even want to talk about this one. It just made me mad.

Fed Ex--After their hilarious "10 parts of a Superbowl ad" in 2005, they haven't managed to get it right again. What's with the random killing of people in their campaigns? Last year an elephant stepped on a caveman...and this year a meteor kills a guy floating in space. Random....and stupid, in my opinion.

Speaking of cavemen....why would GEICO spend $2.6 million to run the *same* ad they've been running for a while?

Budweiser--Crabs worshipping a cooler? Whatever.

Toyota Tundra--I get the whole "actual demonstration"concept...but I missed something in these. Maybe I'm just not the target, so it's just not speaking to me...but they seemed kind of bland. It seemed like they *thought* they were doing something impressive and cutting edge...but really it was boring.

Nationwide--I LOVED the way they used Kevin Federline in this (and I love that he was such a good sport)...it was a great insight, too (life changes can be sudden and dramatic). BUT did anyone remember that this ad was for Nationwide? Nope. They just knew it featured K-Fed. If people can't remember your brand/company, what's the point of spending $2.6 million?


So that's my run down. Feel free to agree or disagree with me, and let me know if I missed any gems. But those were the ones that came to mind :)

NB: I'd also like to note that I missed the first 30 minutes of the game, so I haven't seen *all* the ads. The Blockbuster ad came to my attention today (the one with the rabbit and the guinea pig) and I also LOVED it.