paean — » Ad Nauseam

I think most Super Bowl ads miss the point. You're on the largest ad stage there is, and most ads aim to get attention instead of driving emotion and message — you already have folks attention. The SuperBowl is probably the one event where people are as excited to watch the commercials as they are to watch the event. Do you need to entertain, yes, but the right emotion can do that and leave a memorable impression about your brand. Instead brands seem to settle for spitting on the table, they go after the attention they already have but forget about resonating or connecting.

In the order I saw the ads:

This ad had me hooked. Great copy, "The World is full of giants...," interesting visuals, and a great read by a child narrator. It was a paean to the little guy, the underdog in all of us (and who doesn't love the underdog). The ad had me hanging on the edge of my seat, waiting for the reveal, I thought it was the new Chrysler ad, a tribute to America and that uniquely American juxtaposition as the last super power and the world underdog. It had me... until it became and ad for Maserati.

WTF? How? Who? Is Maserati really out there fighting giants? The cars cost like $100,000, they aren't underdogs at all. It was a jip, and I felt cheated. Seriously the ad left me angry, that they had manipulated me.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKj12ZNGWF4]

Got a laugh from the ad, but so what? Case and point, it entertained, but what's the message? What's emotion that Dorritos wants me to feel about their chips? Something worth stealing? Funny, but ultimately pointless, classic super bowl ad.

Huh? What? Who's the ad for?

Ok, this might have been the best ad of the night. Maybe I was just the right demographic, but it was on-message, it was clever, and it was entertaining. The ad shows Radio Shack gets its out of touch in today's world, that its been stuck in the 80's (for lack of a better decade), it says they get they aren't servicing your needs, and that's going to change. Good use of the platform to announce a big shift in approach.

Was it a great ad, earth shakingly good? No, it was a little too irreverent to be great, but it was good and made its point.

I know I'm supposed to get all chocked up about this cancer survivor ad from Chevy, but I think it really missed the mark. Too slow, and why is Chevy supporting Cancer survivors? I mean we all support cancer survivors, but what's Chevy's particular interest? How does this reinforce their brand image or message? Just seemed like a slow random spot that was trying too hard to make me feel something.

I liked this commercial too. It says something about the brand, and pertaining to my earlier point, it taps into a particular American contrast — feeling great, but being under estimated or appreciated. My problem with the ad is I have no what Weather Tech is or what they do. I love the positioning, but needed just a little more reinforcement of the information for this ad to be truly effective.

I thought the ad was funny, but unlike the Darth Vader ad,the irreverence in this ad didn't really connect to a larger message. Somehow there was less a sense of truth in this ad that I could relate to. My kids thought it was funny though, though anytime they hear the word butt they laugh.

I liked this ad too. Unlike the Maserati ad, this ad fits into my existing schema of what Coke stands for. Its interesting in so far, as its the type of ad a mature brand like coke can run, but a newer brand (Weather Tech) has more trouble pulling off.

I thought this was an interesting ad. I liked the use of Bruce Willis, and thought it was a good message for Honda. The end of the ad feels a little too silly for the message, it felt off tone. I think the ad would have been fine with just Bruce Willis or just someone hugging him (or him hugging his kids or something). The strange guy feels out of place.

Gosh, I would have liked to like this ad. Chrysler is tapping into those big themes, America, the Underdog, exceptionalism, and it had Bob frickin Dylan. I loved their "made in Detroit" campaigns from the last couple of Super Bowls. But this ad just never hooked me. Maybe it was the opening line, "Is there anything more American than America?" Is that supposed to be profound or ironic?

I mean great images, and it did have some great lines, like "you can't import original, "you can't import the heart and soul of every man and woman working on the line," and "So let Germany brew your beer, let Switzerland make your watch, let Asia assemble your phones, we will build your cars...."

But in the end, the pieces never add up. I wonder if ultimately that's because of the choice of Dylan, who I see as so anti-establishment. The words seem ironic coming from a man who seems so anti-American exceptionalism in a way (not saying Dylan is anti-America, just that his brand runs counter to all those things associated with... well this ad). Eminem made sense for Chrysler, he's associated with Detroit and has that edgy bravado they were portraying, Dylan, well, why Dylan? It just never clicked for me despite the various elements.

I thought this was a really nice ad for a sport that's in decline due to worries about concussions.

It captures a truth, it captures all the things I love about the sport, it captures that unique sense of togetherness, of connection, that being a fan of a team can bring. It was kinda a beautiful spot, and I think potentially a powerful message.

Finally what would a Super Bowl be without a Scientology commercial...? Wait, what? Ok, this one was a bit of a surprise. Religion like politics are hard to judge because so much of your own identity comes into play. That being said, I think this is a pretty good commercial. While it didn't appeal to me personally, I think it could be effective to connecting with folks who feel lost into's world. The commercial felt modern and assured, it offered a solution — spirituality (not religion mind you) and technology. That's a potentially a powerful mix.

As far as branding or re-branding the church, I think if you've never heard of or though about scientology its a really effective ad, if you had some idea of what Scientology is before hand, I not so sure it would help to overcome whatever doubts you (or I) hold.

So that's it. Like the game, I thought the ads were mostly a bust. There were a few good ones, but in general I thought the ads missed the mark.