Last year: our live-blog of Super Bowl XL
Last year we live-blogged the Super Bowl over on AdFreak. Here’s what we had to say ...
4:51 p.m.
So, it’s getting on for pregame time, and we’re going to give this live
blogging thing a whirl. Thanks for joining us. Hopefully you won’t get
yelled at by everyone at the party for being an ad-blog nerd. In fact, this might work best if you are currently home by yourself, embittered and drinking alone (with or without Steve). We’ll be your friend!
I’ll be around for the pregame and the 1st quarter. Cathy Taylor will
take over for the 2nd quarter and the halftime show. Then our newest
AdFreak co-editor, Deanna Zammit, will take you through the third and
fourth quarters. In addition to talking about (some of) the ads, we
will be sprinkling in some VNU Research Fun Facts about the Super Bowl
along the way, courtesy of an e-mail we got on Friday from our parent
company, VNU, that contained a bunch of useful little consumer-y
infosnacks about the big game.
Also, this TypePad software is a
bit tricky, so I’m fully expecting some formatting weirdness. If this
page becomes more aesthetically offensive as the evening goes on, we’re
sorry in advance. We’ll try to fix it later.
There’s not much to
report so far, so we’ll catch you up on what we’ve been posting, Super
Bowl wise, over the past few weeks:
We talked a little about the Super Bowl logo.
We asked whether the Super Bowl needs more tampon advertising.
We discussed the mini controversy surrounding the halftime show—the age limit (later ditched) imposed on fans who get to dance on the field while the Stones perform.
We’ve also been doing daily Super Bowl roundups during the past couple of weeks. You can find those summaries here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
One more link: Is it beneficial for the advertising if the game itself is a blowout?
THE PREGAME SHOW
5:19 p.m.
As a side note, I'm watching at my friends Rod and
Gretchen's apartment on 28th and Park in New York. They have a great
view of the Empire State Building, done up tonight in red, white and
blue. They also have an amazing plasma HD television. I haven't watched
a lot of HD. I think it was Amy Poehler who said, at last year's
upfront, that HD is so clear that you can see Matt LeBlanc's panic. You
really can see almost every blade of grass. Also every pore and blemish
on the broadcasters. John Madden looks like he has a lot of makeup on.
5:21 p.m.
There's the thorny issue right now just when the Super Bowl ads begin.
Who knows? There's certainly a lot of pregame stuff, although I suppose
the first real big Super Bowl commercial is the first one after
kickoff.
5:42 p.m.
Stevie Wonder is being introduced now. Detroit-born, yet he gets stuck
performing an hour before game time. I have to say, though, despite Bob
Garfield's opinion, that the Rolling Stones are just about the perfect
halftime performers imaginable.
VNU Research Fun Fact No.
1: Pittsburgh is the No. 1 local market for loyal NFL fans—64 percent
of Pittsburgh consumers say they are “very interested” or somewhat
interested in the NFL. Only 39 percent of Seattle consumers say the
same.
It appears to be the RadioShack pregame show. Which is a
tad confusing, since the face of RadioShack is Howie Long, a
broadcaster for Fox, yet this is ABC. I'm just saying.
5:55 p.m.
It's now the Full Throttle Energy Drink Kickoff Show, so I guess we'll be soon be seeing the ad that the truckers have been complaining about.
6:03 P.M.
First we're getting a bunch of Full Throttle teasers, which are
effective enough. "Prepare to be initiated" is the line ending these
teasers. OK, we're prepared. The ABC announcer just said the Full
Throttle tagline, "16 ounces of raw," which is a little bizarre.
6:11 p.m.
There's a lot of bad driving in the Full Throttle ad, not just by the
Full Throttle driver. It's hilarious when he forces the Red Bull car
off the road. I see that silly Red Bull car in New York all the time.
This spot is a celebration of trucking, really. Trucks are about power
and force. And the Red Bull guy actually isn't really forced off the
road. It's more like he's encouraged to get off the road. The Monster
spot with the out-of-control truck was more worthy of complaints. Let's
hope the majority of truckers enjoyed the Full Throttle spot.
That introduction of all the old Super Bowl MVPs wasn't a great ad for professional football. They're all limping.
6:19 p.m.
PIZZA HUT. Leaving aside the whole issue of whether pizza crust can’t
just be pizza crust (do we need constant crust innovations?), this
commercial is fun, and Jessica looks great. The other way to go would
have been to have her wash a car while eating Cheesy Bites. But the
Cheesy Bites would’ve gotten all soggy, probably. Also, is anyone
concerned that using Miss Piggy in commercials can connect them to
obesity? Bonus link: Jessica’s official Web site.
6:22 p.m.
AT&T. Special effects make
the world look transparent. This campaign has gotten quite a bit of
flack. Our friend Barbara Lippert wrote that “obviously the goal wasn’t
to be revolutionary, but rather to remind us that the brand is still
here, familiar and approachable.” The wow here comes from the special
effects, not the creative idea. Bonus link: Will people miss the old AT&T logo?
6:25 p.m.
The Seahawks won the coin toss. We have absolutely no historical data
on hand that would indicate what this might mean for their chances of
winning the game.
THE FIRST QUARTER
6:29 p.m.
VNU Research Fun Fact
No. 2: The top 10 food items, in order, that see a sales boost right
before the Super Bowl are: regular cola, regular beer, light beer,
tortilla chips, potato chips, all remaining carbonated beverages,
frozen pizza, diet cola, unbreaded shrimp (!) and chocolate candy.
6:36 p.m.
BUD LIGHT: Someone's hidden Bud Light around the office, and employees
are tearing the place apart looking for it. And they say employees'
productivity drops around Super Bowl time.
BURGER KING. The
Whopperettes. A pretty good Super Bowl :60. Grand, eye-catching,
tongue-in-cheek. Food costumes are comical. Builds on a story line (the
King and Brooke Burke) people have been following. What more do you
want, really? Didn't go over spectacularly at the particular party that
I'm at. But it was nicely done. Bonus link: The Great MGM Musicals Page.
6:43 p.m.
SIERRA MIST: Good to see some airport-security humor. We thought that was off limits.
BUD LIGHT: Great spot with the secret revolving wall. One out of
every five beers ads should have some kind of wall-and-fridge humor,
with neighbors ending up with the beer. Couldn't expect a better Bud
Light ad. Stupid and funny.
6:50 p.m.
TOYOTA: Bilingual spot for the Camry. Historic commercial, plus it
didn’t suck. Gas/electric and English/Spanish analogy is pretty
seamless. Bonus link:
Census info about the growing Hispanic population.
FEDEX: Geico started something with its caveman spots. Cavemen are
funny. They’re simple and instinctual and easily offended. Good sight
gags in this FedEx spot. The "doesn't exist yet" line was kind of
silly, but nice effects otherwise. Bonus link: One of the Geico caveman spots.
BUD LIGHT: Another great spot with the grizzly bear. If only Timothy Treadwell had brought some beer to Alaska.
6:54 p.m.
PEPSI. Reliable effort if not hugely
inspired. Diddy is back. The can is center stage. It won’t win any
awards, but it’s flashy enough. Bonus link: How to make a backpacking stove out of a soda can.
6:55 p.m.
VNU Research Fun Fact
No. 3: Just over 40 million American men over 18 watched last year’s
Super Bowl. They were joined by about 32 million American women over
18.
6:57 p.m.
Don't forget the battle of bald vs. hairy in this Super Bowl. Still 0-0.
7:01 p.m.
ALEVE. Leonard Nimoy has to be one of the weirdest choices for a
spokesman. Semi-obscure and with limited range. That old Priceline spot
he did with William Shatner apparently made him Super Bowl worthy.
Trekkies probably enjoyed this one. I thought it was a bit silly. Bonus
links: an online-only Nimoy/Shatner Priceline spot, and Leonard Nimoy’s photography homepage.
7:04 p.m.
BUD LIGHT: Third winner in a row, with guys grilling on the rooftops.
AMERIQUEST. After last year’s impressive showing, we were very curious
what Ameriquest would come up with this year. Another great "Don't
judge too quickly" spot. This one will score well.
7:07 p.m.
ACURA: Mitsubishi got people singing in cars. Acura gets them talking, for some voice-activated feature.
PEPSI: A pretty fun spot with Jackie Chan. Again, nothing revolutionary. But who needs revolutionary?
—Posted by Tim Nudd
THE SECOND QUARTER
[Here, Cathy Taylor takes over.]
7:05 p.m.
First, let me get my primary prejudice regarding the Super Bowl out of
the way: I tend to have a problem with any sport in which the game is
talked about for longer than it's actually played. That peccadillo of
mine doesn't make me a big fan of football. In case you're wondering—or
engaging in your own prejudices—it's not a chick thing; I still
consider Game 6 of the 1986 World Series
to be one of the greatest moments in my life. But let's move on. Not to
overlap—or potentially disagree—with Tim, but here are my minimal
impressions of the ads in the first quarter. 1) There's no law that
says the food seen in fast-food advertising needs to be—I don't
know—anatomically correct, but the burger in the Whopperettes
commercial looked like a chunk of asphalt. 2) Doesn't FedEx know that
dinosaurs pre-dated cavemen? 3) Leonard Nimoy was much better in the
Priceline ads playing opposite William Shatner.
7:12 p.m.
BUDWEISER: I guess we've
gotten away from ads showing troops just back from Iraq walking through
an airport to applause from the civilians. Fictitious exchange at
Budweiser Super Bowl XL creative meeting: Client—"How do we follow up
that patriotic spot form last year?" Agency—"Streaking lamb at a
football game in which the players are horses." Client—"Genius!"
ESPN MOBILE: OK, so in this commercial, this guy is walking through the
world, completely oblivious to everything, while watching sports on his
phone. I know that as a nation we're headed that way, but frankly it
scares me.
7:18 p.m.
CAREERBUILDER:
It's a little hard not to get slightly disappointed with oneself at
laughing at anthropomorphized chimps, and yet I can't help myself. The
return of the chimps was definitely helped by the new soundtrack:
"C'mon Feel the Noise." Brilliant.
CADILLAC: Finally, a Cadillac ad that does not include Led Zeppelin. Not that the band can ever redeem itself.
SPRINT: Very smart of Sprint to offer the Rolling Stones performance
for download at their music store. I bet most people didn't even know
Sprint had a music store.
7:20 p.m.
Mission Impossible III: Even if Tom Cruise is a wacko, it's hard to go wrong with a Mission Impossible trailer.
DOVE: It's really brilliant for Dove to take its "Campaign for Real
Beauty" in this direction, during this game. It acknowledges that women
and girls actually watch the Super Bowl, and also that they (we) have
self-esteem issues that don't have to do with weight. One
quibble—perhaps a by-product of when I worked at J. Walter Thompson—is
that the song “True Colors” was used for quite some time by Kodak in a
campaign created by JWT. I spent most of the Dove commercial wondering
if I was watching a Kodak spot.
7:26 p.m.
FORD HYBRID SUV: I'm still a sucker for Kermit. There. I've said it.
Using the K-man—or the K-frog—in this commercial brings a playful,
touchy-feely approach to promoting the car.
 7:35 p.m.
GODADDY.COM: Way too much has been said about the GoDaddy ads, so
let's leave it at this: What the hell's the marketing strategy?
7:38 p.m.
GILLETTE FUSION: I don't have a comment; just another question: Was
this pseudo-scientific commercial meant to be humorous, or are these
people serious?
7:41 p.m.
OVERSTOCK.COM. We get it. The whole thing about Overstock being “all about the O” is a sex joke! Hahaha.
7:56 p.m.
SPRINT: This spot for the Sprint cell phone with the alleged "crime
deterrent" feature is the absolute epitomy of what makes so many Super
Bowl ads suck. Cheap laughs, a little slapstick violence. Great. Leaves
me scratching my head.
And one bonus comment, recorded during the third
quarter: How dumb is the Democratic National Committee to make a
fundraising call to my house during the Super Bowl?
8:04 p.m.
That Sons & Daughters promo just made a joke about Hitler. Sorry folks, but despite The Producers, that ain't cool.
THE HALFTIME SHOW
8:06 p.m.
Note to AdFreak readers: This, uh, review of the Rolling Stones’ performance is very stream of consciousness. Here we go:
“Start Me Up”: Predictable opening song; perhaps too predictable. … I’m
looking for old people in the audience at the Rolling Stones gig; it’s a peccadillo of mine … But the Stones logo, particularly  now
that the “tongue” is rolling up to reveal people, is very cool. …
Charlie Watts is better at looking bored than any other living being in
the known universe. … And the audio, you can actually hear Mick Jagger
sing. Surely this is one of the great technological advancements of the
21st century …What is that doo-dad hanging from Keith Richards’ hair?
... The first song was fairly tame, but they did strike the lyric “You
make a dead man come.” (UPDATE: ABC apparently put the Stones on tape delay. I shoulda thought of that.)
“Rough Justice”: Now we’re into the obligatory song from the new album
(I think it is anyway—I just know it’s not “Sympathy f or the Devil.”)
But no one bought the album so who cares? … God help me. Even though I
don’t know what the doo-dad is that’s hanging from Richards’ hair, I’m
still just so awed and grateful that he’s still alive.
“Satisfaction”: Mick Jagger has stripped down, and he is another
miracle of modern science, but not cuz he looks like hell and is still
alive, but because he’s so freakin’ old and looks great. (As long as
you don’t pay attention to the wrinkles.) … Uh oh, Keith Richards just
coughed. Is this a sign of The End? … Oh good, he’s back hanging with
his twin brother: Ron Wood. … OK, now Jagger is starting to bother me;
he was just waving his arms like a chorus girl. … Haven’t seen any old
people yet, except for the one’s on stage, but hope springs eternal.
It’s over. No wardrobe malfunctions. No deaths of band members. All in all, a good show. And more edgy than Paul McCartney.
—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor
THE THIRD QUARTER
8:52 p.m.
[Here Deanna Zammit takes over.] OK, so I'll do my best here with the third quarter, but a case of
hysterical blindness, brought on by seeing too much of Mick Jagger's
septuagenarian fish belly, may hamper my efforts. (Seriously, that was
far more offensive than Janet Jackson's nip slip. If ABC isn't flooded
with letters demanding that the pickled foursome be sent out to sea on
an ice floe, then America isn't the maniacally youth-obsessed culture
that advertisers have come to count on.)
8:33 p.m.
AMERIQUEST MORTGAGE: Once again, Ameriquest comes up with exactly the
kind of twisted humor that burns its brand into my brain. First the
defibrillator ad, now a couple gets caught appearing to join the
mile-high club. A slyly wicked twist is a great way to set yourself
apart from the typically middle-brow humor (it's funny to throw your
phone at people?) and syrypy sentiment that generally dominates Super
Bowl spots.
8:33 p.m.
MOTOPEBL: Nicely shot, but what's the point? Looks like a pebble.
Great. Doesn't make me want to buy their phone. Then again, my phone
doesn't take pictures or play a Fugees song, and it looks like it's been
a doggie chew toy. So maybe I'm not the most receptive audience here.
8:34 p.m.
SHARPIE: Usually, you can't go wrong with pirates in my book. But
this guy is a bit boring. Wouldn't it just be easier if he made his
other hand the hook. That way he could at least write "Pirate" instead
of just making an "X."
8:41 p.m.
BUDWEISER: Little Clydesdale with big dreams. See, this is why they have Take Your Colt to Work Day.
8:42 p.m.
NATIONWIDE: Bringing back Fabio. Genius. Apparently he's having a
real comeback, what with the upcoming I Can't Believe It's Not Butter ad.
8:49 p.m.
HUMMER: Encore of the Modernista! ad that broke during the MTV Music
Awards last year. I still love a good swamp-thing-meets-giant-robot-begets-gas-guzzling-econightmare tale. The H3
will make mom and dad so proud.
8:55 p.m.
CAREERBUILDER: He works with monkeys. She works with Jackasses. It's love.
8:56 p.m.
Sons and Daughters: Boy, ABC is really pushing this show. But now
that I've heard the line "You don't touch another man's meat," I must
watch.
THE FOURTH QUARTER
9:23 p.m.
DEGREE: First Sports Heaven, now Stunt City? What's with the
alternate realities here? And if that's not weird enough, Emerald Nuts
brings us networking druids. The fourth quarter of the Super Bowl
appears to be just like Saturday Night Live after midnight: It’s when they throw
all their experimental stuff at us.
9:29 p.m.
MASTERCARD: Now we know how MacGuyver got all his odds and ends. Now if only Richard Dean Anderson could figure out how to jump-start his network-TV career with a turkey baster and a ballpoint pen, he'd really have something.
9:34 p.m.
ESPN MOBILE: Meanwhile, back in Sports Heaven, multimillionaire
athletes take the bus. What kind of heaven is this anyway?
9:35 p.m.
BUDWEISER: OK, so the spot sells the category and not the brand, but I visited herestobeer.com, and the ad sure makes me want a cold one. I'm stepping out for a spot of Guinness. Back in a few.
Steelers win 21-10. We're going to sign off for tonight, and do some
post-game wrapup tomorrow. Thanks for visiting us tonight.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, it was still a real contest. Q4
advertisers had to be loving that. I would think that buying time so
late in the game is always a gamble, simply because by this time one
team has usually far outstripped the other. But tons of people were
still watching this game, I'm sure.
—Posted by Deanna Zammit
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