Talk about an upset.
It was an unusual night for Super Bowl commercials: no crotch grabs, gross-outs or particularly lewd language or behavior. Madison Avenue took a kinder, gentler approach to sales pitches this year.
Still in recovery mode, perhaps, from 2004’s mean-spirited commercials and wardrobe malfunction (not to mention resulting Federal Communications Commission fines), advertisers’ spots this year, at $2.7 million apiece, played it safe.
That meant animals and babies.
Bud’s dalmatian coaching a Clydesdale, Life Water’s dancing geckos, the proverbial 800-pound gorilla for Axa Equitable and a thirsty black lab for Gatorade were meant to feel warm and fuzzy.
But they couldn’t beat the E-Trade baby for cute. Complete with snarky twists (spit-up and complaints about creepy clowns), those were among the night’s best.
Bridgestone’s spots were laudable if confusing — did we want the car to hit Richard Simmons and Alice Cooper? The other, starring a screaming squirrel about to become roadkill, better demonstrated the tires’ exceptional handling.
Audi’s parody of “The Godfather,” a spot for the new R8 sports car, was slickly cinematic. CU marketing professor Donald Lichtenstein said, “From a strategic point of view, the spot does a nice job of communicating to its geezer target that you can still be lethal.” Bob Mazerov of Mazerov Miller Research & Marketing called it “brilliant,” an ad that successfully tells a story. “Where do I buy one? Right now,” said Glenn Morey of Morey Evans Advertising.
The worst spots of the night had to be Sales Genie — “Poorly conceived, unfunny, poorly executed,” said Cathey McClain Finlon of McClain Finlon Advertising — and the Bud Light multicultural bar spot — “Manages to equally offend my Asian-American self and everyone I know,” Morey said.
Numerous sponsors fielded microsites this year, from to Audi’s R8, directing hard-core ad- watchers to follow up online.
Overall, Fox, the network broadcasting the game, fared better than many of its advertisers with clever promos for its shows, notably “House,” “American Idol,” “Prison Break” and “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.” Fox even took advantage of the national anthem to plug “American Idol” — it was performed by last year’s “Idol” winner, Jordin Sparks.
What to make of the James Carville- Bill Frist “Buy Me a Coke” spot? Although I found it both preposterous and creepy, McClain Finlon pointed out that it was appropriate for a presidential election year “and reflects some of the hopefulness of the millennials” or members of GenY.
The most controversial ad was Dori tos’, in which an opera lover is attacked by a guy in a mouse suit. Mazerov found it “dreadful”; McClain Finlon said she “guffawed.” By my estimation, it worked because it caught us off-guard. It wasn’t kinder or gentler, but it did get people talking. Which might foreshadow more violent ads for next year.
Joanne Ostrow: 303-954-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com
