LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: Oprah

GARY KOEPKE: The best misdirect ever with a very funny payoff.

RICK BOYKO: The Letterman promo with Oprah is thought to be a “knockout.”

STEPHEN VOLTZ & FRITZ GROBE:  Kudos to Letterman and Oprah. Letterman gets you curious about where this is going ... then, nice surprise with Oprah. If they had done the Snickers kissing commercial, that would have been good.

MARIAN SALZMAN: I would have preferred to have seen Sheryl Crow in a Letterman ad—that would have done her talent justice.

BARBARA LIPPERT: Letterman and Oprah—my dream spot!

Published on February 5, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1)

BLOCKBUSTER: Mouse

ANDY BERLIN: Pizza Hut Cheezy Bites, flat as the pie in the food shot. Blockbuster gives us an equally uninspired differentiating claim—sounds like Alec Baldwin on the VO. If so, a bit of a waste of top talent. Doritos features a car crash and Blockbuster the maltreatment of a mouse by a rabbit and a guinea pig. Huh!? Mayhem to sell. Why am I no longer hungry?

CHRIS WALL: The spot is labored.

RICK BOYKO: Blockbuster Mouse is surprising and clearly the favorite, followed by Bud Light.

JASON MARKS: This spot is schizo. It attempts the lovable animal angle but then dissolves into a pure messaging play. If you’re going cute, stick with it—don’t make your audience read the rest of your spot. Entertain or provide a message. Not both.

STEPHEN VOLTZ & FRITZ GROBE: After the shock of the kickoff return wore off, the Blockbuster commercial dragging the mouse was the big hit here.

Published on February 5, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (4)

SALESGENIE.COM: Free Leads

MARIAN SALZMAN: After seeing lot of Sales Genie as a backdrop, I’m not even motivated to find out what Sales Genie is. Should I be?

STEPHEN VOLTZ & FRITZ GROBE: The SalesGenie ad got actual boos from the room here in Buckfield (Maine). Mind you, we are still talking about how much we didn’t like it, so did it do it’s job?

TIM ARNOLD: OK, I’m in: first one to utterly waste every nickle of $2.6 of somebody’s money: salesgenie.com.

LEN SHORT: Ah, the refreshing purity of Salesgenie.com—a masterwork of cliché and a testament to our American way. You got the "scrillaz", you got the voice. I had the odd pleasure once of standing next to the founder of some now-forgotten dot-com in the network hospitality box of a prior Super Bowl as he watched his 30 seconds of fame … flame. You could feel his horror as he suddenly realized that what seemed so great in the conference room went horribly wrong. I smirked. Later, I knew his pain as the half-time sponsor of the world’s most infamous network moment … karma!

MARK WNEK: There seem to be two schools of thought on the Superbowl as a marketing tool. There seems to be the school which clearly believes that it is a showcase for something a bit special such as Coke and Bud and GM; and then there’s the school which perhaps just knows the audience numbers and wants to be in front of the 90 million or whatever. Salesgenie.com, for instance, seems to fall into this category with work that doesn’t even seem to be trying that hard but is getting in front of an audience all the same.

JASON MARKS: Sales Genie: What? They wasted their money on what ended up looking like a Devry Institute ad.

Published on February 5, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (6)

GODADDY.COM: Marketing

MARIAN SALZMAN: From GoDaddy to Coke is like traveling from, well , Astoria, Queens to East Hampton, YET, somehow because Coke is great, but predictable, I wonder if GoDaddy—because we’ll remember the name—isn’t the winner this round. Can it be the creativity bar is so high, and that we’re so overloaded with advertising anticipation, that in the end only the truly inappropriate—or the “what the hell are they doing there?” brands—ultimately get remembered for more than their seconds of paid fame? There is also the second thing: GoDaddy taps into the mind and mood of the evening—wet t- shirts, yee-haw humor—and Coke is more like the Museum of Modern Art, which ensures that most people will glaze over Coke’s commercials, like they would a great painting if the choice was that … or “all you can eat” at Bennigan’s.

RICHARD KIRSHENBAUM: The original GODADDY stuff in the courtroom a couple of years ago was great, but I think this year they watered it down and  decided to  get in all the “copy points’ this year which is so revolting. Even the strippers, they featured, in my opinion, looked like they were in drag.

JIM FERGUSON: The guys are digging the Go-Daddy spot...lots OHHHHS AND AHHHHS.

STEPHEN VOLTZ & FRITZ GROBE: So over GoDaddy—nothing new there.

RICK BOYKO: GoDaddy.com appeals to the 17-year-old male, but not anyone else.

ANDY BERLIN: GoDaddy. “GO AWAY please” dot com.

JOSEPH JAFFE: Perhaps the line of the Bowl is from Go Daddy: “Everybody wants to work in Marketing” Perhaps at your company, but for every other marketing Veep at this year’s Bowl, you’re going to be trolling Careerbuilder come Monday morning...

TIM ARNOLD: To my buddy Cowboy Bob Parsons at GoDaddy: you’re talking to yourself on this one my friend. You’re way past dropping your pants for the simple sake of brand awareness. There’s a fine line with Candace’s character anyway, and she deserves better than getting hosed down in the back room. Peace.

CHRIS WALL: GoDaddy. Well, people, what can you say? ... (after second airing) Go Daddy. In case you missed it. Or wanted to see it again. Hail Mary redux.

JASON MARKS: These were cheap. They played cheap, they looked cheap, and their graphic work may have actually been clip-art.

Published on February 5, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (4)

SNICKERS: Kiss

JEFF GOODBY: I liked the Snickers Brokeback Mountain thing, although it evoked howls of disapproval from the crowd.

ANDY BERLIN: Snickers’ Brokeback candy bar with a touch of chest hair mayhem, kind of funny—but is there a pain theme developing here?

MARIAN SALZMAN: The Snickers spot is good, very good, especially if you're sitting watching with a group. There is something so absurd about it that it makes you want to giggle, and the Snickers site promoted at the end of the spot (afterthekiss.com) works, so we've just watched it twice more without feeling overloaded.

RICK BOYKO: Snickers’ “accidental kiss” is liked by all, but also grosses some out.

BARBARA LIPPERT: Snickers has really made Superbowl advertising history—first spot ever to suggest fellatio. I thought that when the two men jumped apart, one would say, “I just can’t quit you!’ Instead, they were embarrassed about their “kiss”-- (that’s not the part that was embarrassing) and started pulling off their chest hair.

CHRIS WALL: Snickers men. Points for true bizarreness. But Not Going Anywhere for a While, Grab a Snickers was a selling proposition.

JIM FERGUSON: My favorite spot was, drum roll, Snickers.

STEPHEN VOLTZ & FRITZ GROBE: So far, Snickers was the worst of the day—gay, straight, male, female—the whole room booed that one.

MARK WNEK: The Snickers kiss was great fun.

JASON MARKS: Brokeback Snickers? Maybe last year.

RICHARD KIRSHENBAUM: The only thing I have to say is that if next year they go from kissing the snickers to using it in a more perverse way, I’ll tell me kids to turn it off and watch something more family oriented like OZ or The Sorpranos.

Published on February 5, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (14)

GARMIN: Ultraman

STEPHEN VOLTZ & FRITZ GROBE: Mixed reaction on Garmin. Unlike Sales Genie, this is fun bad. Fun enough for thumbs up from Fritz, bad enough for thumbs down from Stephen.

ANDY BERLIN: Budweiser puppy spot(s). People will like that one, I suppose. Garmin monster maps, well ...

JOSEPH JAFFE: Why? Why? When you have a great product that everybody talks about, why on Earth would you belittle, confuse and make a mockery of any potential in the form of an over the top ode to absolutely nothing? If there was a point, I certainly missed it over the noise of the party I’m at. Newcomers to the Super Bowl should be put on probation over weak attempts like this.

CHRIS WALL: Here’s a description of the spot from SI.com: “Garmin International Inc ... is planning a campy spot inspired by 1960s Japanese monster movies with a showdown between an evil “Maposaurus” and a hero who uses a Garmin-made electronic navigation device to save the day.” This goes on for like a dozen column inches or so, describing a dozen or more spots. Well, I can’t wait.

TIM ARNOLD: A spot that’s a total waste of money. And video tape.

RICK BOYKO: Garmin “sucks” is heard in unison.

JASON MARKS: While most relatively unknown brands stayed in their comfort zone, this is one of the few unknowns who used low production value to their advantage. Battling the Map-o-Saurus message was clear and funny, and using a hip, Kaiju Big Battel meets Ultra-Man low-budget style was money. It entertained.

Published on February 5, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (3)

EMERALD NUTS: Robert Goulet

STEPHEN VOLTZ & FRITZ GROBE: Best surreal moment of the day: Robert Goulet messes with your stuff. Points to Emerald Nuts for Best Use of a Self-Mocking Celebrity. The G-Man handily beat K-Fed on that front.

ANDY BERLIN: Taco Bell lions with Ricardo .. very funny. Favorite thus far. Whoops, Emerald Nuts with Robert Goulet might be even better maybe—weird & funny.

CHRIS WALL: Here’s a description off of SI dot com: “Among returning advertisers, Diamond Foods Inc.’s Emerald Nuts brand came up with new ads after innovative spots last year that turned the company’s name into an acrostic-like word puzzle.” I mean, I just can’t imagine the creative guys sitting around and one goes, “I’ve got it! The way to make almonds jump off the shelves is with an acrostic-like word puzzle!” It’s like, “Jerry Seinfeld will be telling a brief, ribald parable that involves two men of different faiths who enter a tavern and when prompted by the barkeep, poke fun at the city of Cleveland.” You’ll never top Robert Goulet for ESPN. But I missed a lot of it. I’m getting bored, I think.

MARK WNEK: The Emerald Nuts stuff with Robert Goulet ... nutty in a good way.

RICK BOYKO: Emerald Nuts with Robert Goulet splits the room.

Published on February 5, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (5)

BUDWEISER: Fake Dalmatian, Beer-Stealing Crabs, Jay-Z

JEFF GOODBY: I know people like my mom will love that fake dalmation spot, but I thought it was predictible and saccharine.

CHRIS WALL: Dogs. Budweiser. Oops. Did you have some technical problem with the spot? Mine froze half way through and resumed for the last four seconds. The dog that gets splashed and becomes a fire dog. I think I would’ve liked it, even though it’s schmaltzy. Points for counter programming - at least the parts I saw. ... Bud Crabs. The crabs don’t talk - they worship. I take back what I said about the axe murderer spot. This is better.

ANDY BERLIN: We’ll find out what the cellular text-proficient folks liked best soon enough—maybe the Bud spotted dog commercial, which had every popular formulae except cleavage.

STEPHEN VOLTZ & FRITZ GROBE: The Bud dalmation wannabe was engaging and not too cloying. The branding was very light on this, which we appreciated. The light branding becomes strong when, at the end of the evening, we’re thinking: if we’re laughing, it must be Bud. ... Then come the crabs on the beach—the only Bud spot that hasn’t really worked. No button, and not much comedy, period. That should’ve been the first draft, not the finished product.


JIM FERGUSON: The gals at the party loved the Budweiser dog commercial...lots of ohhs and ahhs.

TIM ARNOLD: The dalmation spot - finally, an AB spot with heart. Classy, true to the King of Beers. Reeks of client buzz words: quality, brand leadership. Dramatic contrast to the simplistic humor seen in your earlier spots.

GARY KOEPKE: I think the spotted dog ad from Budweiser was beautifully shot and executed, just doesn’t make me want a beer, much less a bud. I do like the optimism of ads like this, they just do not change my choice to choose Budweiser.

Published on February 5, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (2)

BUD LIGHT: Rock, Paper, Scissors, Auctioneer Wedding, Language Course with Carlos Mencia, Slapping, What Would Carlos Do?, Gorillas, Hitchhiker

JEFF GOODBY: My 24-year-old daughter called me halfway through and told me she’d been to two parties where people were simply slapping the shit out of each other. So I guess the Bud Light thing was a hit (I liked it too, but didn’t slap anyone). ... The Bud ads are always a barometer of how things went. A decent crop, but no new ground. Besides the slapping, I liked the axe-wielding hitchhiker and the immigrants asking for Bud Light. I know people like my mom will love that fake dalmation spot, but I thought it was predictible and saccharine. Same for the rock thing that led the Bowl off -- saw something like that coming, but my mom didn’t, I’m sure.

STEPHEN VOLTZ & FRITZ GROBE: Bud Light is winning the day so far—rock/paper/scissors, the wedding auction, and no speak English. They know what they’re doing. They’ve owned the Super Bowl for years and are showing that they still do. Those are good water cooler laughs. ... The Bud Light spot where everyone is slapping each other and BeatYourRisk.com got polite reactions at best. Slaps went for slapstick and forgot the comedy—it’s in the little reactions. Just one of those reactions worked and gave the ad it’s one, lonesome laugh. ... Don’t mean to beat a laughing horse, but Bud Light keeps getting ’em. Gorillas had nice laughs—setting up the expectation of a big leap. Then taking a great left turn forgetting the plan. Well-executed comedy! ... To continue to harp on Bud Light, they really understand the concept of a comedic button: at the end of each ad is a nice extra laugh. You finish with “He’s got a chainsaw,” and even though it’s not the biggest laugh of the ad, everyone giggles. That’s good comedy technique.

TIM ARNOLD:  Bud Light English Lanuage class. Wonderful. Honest embrace of diversity; be who you are and have a laugh with it, and us. Great punctuation mark. And guess what, the spot’s about the beer!

RICHARD KIRSHENBAUM: I really loved the Doritos Hitchhiker spot. Now that felt to me like a real old fashioned fraternity laugh. And yes, I WAS in a fraternity....

CHRIS WALL: Rock paper scissors. Mildly amusing. ... Auction wedding. Witty, smart. Not a big laugh - but good. ... Face slapping is in. Harmless. ... Mister Garcia. Accents. Foreigners. Language class is an old joke - but it works. ... Monkeys. Bud. Didn't do anything for me. ... Axe murderer. Best Bud so far. ... Big winners in my book are Coke and Bud.

JASON MARKS: Rock paper scissors. Slapstick isn’t bad, but after watching the mountain biker fall down the hill all season and all day leading up to it, it’s a pretty weak start. Auctioneer at the wedding? Felt like I had seen this before. I want more “rubber floor” level humor.

JIM FERGUSON: Bud seems to have a let’s-hit-people-in-the face theme going this year. ... Favorite talking animals: the monkies in the Bud spot, followed :30 seconds later by the talking Lions...Favorite line from a commercial: “It’s a bottle opener” from another Bud spot. ... I thought Bud had the best overall showing by a client willing to shell out a boatload of dough.

BARBARA LIPPERT: The first couple of spots all celebrated the beauty of beating someone up-- in the beginning, it looked like we had a “bang your head, writhe in pain” theme, with Bud and Doritos both going for the hurt joke. ... The Carlos Mencia spot for Bud-- kinda racist? ... The bud spots are all about men beating the crap out of each other. har-har! makes you wistful for some good old cleavage! ... Overall,  I’d say the Bud showing was particuarly bad.

Published on February 5, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (8)

GM/CHEVROLET: Everybody Loves a Chevy, Car Wash Dudes, Robot, Chevy is America’s Favorite

JEFF GOODBY: Dumb friends have liked the nude car washing spot. Not me.

GARY KOEPKE: The Chevy ad of people singing songs about Chevy’s while driving around in them was well executed and made me feel good about Chevy. Liked it.

MARIAN SALZMAN: If Coke is a high this game, I’m on Chevrolet blur—too many different concepts, images, and sounds, while I try to figure out what’s for sale. The brand? A specific model? A Chevy mindset? If there is a comeback embedded in the message, I’m too busy thinking about the rain in Miami to find it.

JIM FERGUSON: The “make your own” commercials were a disappointment. Frito Lay and Chevy should leave it to the pros next year. ... A couple of the guys at the party really hated the Chevy spot with the robot and cheered when it “jumped” off the bridge. But, then again, they are also missing fingers from farm accidents, and hate anything that resembles farm implements.

STEPHEN VOLTZ & FRITZ GROBE: The Chevy music montage lost us very quickly. It didn’t go anywhere—just too random.

JOSEPH JAFFE: Still not sure why both CGC spots were aired back to back, but irrespective the relative winner was Doritos and loser was Chevy. Both really paid lip service to the consumer component, which wasn’t really pure consumer created content anyway. Ultimately, this was all about pre-game buzz and that’s about it.

BARBARA LIPPERT: The Chevy spot created by the student, with men in the streets taking off their shirts and desperately stroking the HHR is funny. I watched the Project Greenlight-like documenting of every moment in the contest, and the girl who created it is the youngest, shyest college kid I’ve ever seen. They even recorded her at the big opening dinner ordering a Shirley Temple. It’s like the librarian who finally lets down her hair....

CHRIS WALL: Chevrolet. Nostalgia in song. You do realize this commercial cost eight or ten million dollars in rights? Maybe more. Maybe a lot more? A waste of money and music. Join the Revolution. What is even remotely revolutionary about any of the Chevy’s in this commercial? The problem with nostalgia of this sort is that it harkens back to when you were great but serves to remind everyone that you haven’t been in a long, long time. ... Old men and skinny boys take off their clothes at a traffic light. Hump the Red Chevy. Ick. ... A sweet but ineffective robot gets fired from the GM assembly line and his robot existence goes down hill before he commits suicide...but it’s only a dream. I thought it was pretty well executed but they will get letters.

JASON MARKS: Chevrolet: This sing-a-long has a sense of humor, crosses demos. Not great or groundbreaking, but better than Ford. As for the GM "Robot" spot, somewhere between the IKEA Lamp and the Maytag repairman GM took a big, fun concept and executed it flawlessly—turning a page on the humorless, beauty-shot-before-big-idea car commercial template. I love robots, and robot dreams are unparalleled high humor. Big win.

SETH GODIN: I quit. After watching GM run a 2 million dollar commercial that consists of a robot getting fired, walking the streets and then committing suicide, I’m so confused, so clueless and yes, so ashamed to be even peripherally involved in this line of work, I have no choice but to quit. If your company was breaking records (in losing money) and was so adversely affecting the lives of thousands, why on earth would you run this ad? I give up.

Published on February 5, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (7)