Much like the actual game itself, I felt like the commercials got better with each quarter. Here’s my play-by-play of the 4th quarter.
Leon Sandcastle
The NFL Network placed a name in to the public consciousness with Leon Sandcastle. Whenever a spoof name is needed, Leon Sandcastle will be there. Will it make people tune in to NFL Network? Deion Sanders is funny. So maybe.
Time Warner Cable Zombies
A short, but fun commercial with zombies in it. You can’t go wrong with zombies. I payed attention because of the zombies. Mission accomplished?
So God Made a Farmer
The amount of buzz that this commercial generated is a testament to its power. Based on a similar piece created by farms.com (and with their blessing) this evocative advertisement is loaded with sentiment. While the commercial itself may be a touch melodramatic, it is a piece of rustic Americana, a fact that grants it the popularity it has received. It is a very well done piece that will continue to generate buzz with cynics and idealists alike, and as a result earns my vote for best commercial of the Super Bowl.
Space Babies
I want to think this commercial is funny, I do. As a father of two young girls I fit the demo. It is aimed squarely at me and I even find myself trying to like it. But I don’t. Between the pseudo-suggestive language and the cutesy but insincere story, I just feel nothing about this ad. It is well produced but poorly delivered. There is at least a panda astronaut which is some redemption.
Miracle Stain
“Dude you got Montana on your jersey.” Tide made a great play on the phenomenon of seeing images in chips, toast and other items. Light hearted and relevant to the game itself. Well done.
SodaStream
SodaStream produced an impressive CGI-supported commercial, expounding the device’s ability to save 500 Million bottles per year. While the facts are certainly debatable, the commercial delivered its message with tastefully produced computer-generated exploding plastic bottles. The company drew its greatest attention after the Super Bowl however, as it was made known that CBS had banned a similarly designed commercial taking on major sponsors Coke and Pepsi, a video that promptly went viral.
Mercedes CLA (Tons of traffic results)
As creepy as Willem Dafoe’s fingernails are in his role as the devil, this ad delivers. You can own a Mercedes-Benz CLA for under $30,000 and have all that the car company would like you to think goes with it. Visually interesting, with a celebrity cast. One of my favorites. It should be noted that this commercial was a winner in web traffic, with edmunds.com reporting a 3,067 percent jump in traffic for the Mercedes CLA, considerably beating out competitor’s results from their ads from the big game.
Samsung
This super-hyped, $15 million production featuring Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd may have been great in 2005. It isn’t, and 8 years later this one is the disappointment of the Super Bowl for me. It is funny in places, but the humor feels forced and disingenuous. Bob Odenkirk is good. This commercial however, is not.
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