A funny thing happens on Super Bowl Sunday when you have one foot in advertising, and one foot in the female blogger community – you end up with two separate tweet deck columns, with two totally different sets of commentary on the exact same Super Bowl commercials.
Ad folks are notorious for liking different ads than the regular folk. We like spots directed by famous people. We like obscure music. We like “cinematography.” Occasionally we’re up for a good talking baby spot if the lip synch CG is decent.
The general American population likes dogs. They like monkeys. They like celebrity cameos and 80s music and talking candy, wacky grandmas and men getting hit in the head with planks or beer cans or planks attached to beer cans. They’re also up for a good talking baby spot.
Neither of us is wrong. Unless you believe that as an ad creative, you are making ads for your client’s audience and not for your future boss. In which case the audience is right.
My colleagues may disagree with me on that one.
This year, with social media at the ready, I was interested to see which ads women in particular like. You know, women? Half of the viewing audience of the Super Bowl? The ones who also sit through all those $3mm 30-second tributes to boobs and beer?
Here, a few of the winners and losers in a totally unscientific poll of my tweet stream, non-advertising Facebook friends, and followers who were kind enough to tweet me their feelings. Good night for cars, underwear, and snack foods.
H+M
And…
By far, this spot for David Beckham underwear featuring…well, David Beckham in his underwear, for many women, I think made up for 42 years worth of Super Bowl commercials featuring women in their underwear.
I’m going out and buying 50 H&M dresses tomorrow- @veepveep
Oddly, men seemed confused by it, a few asking whether H&M was going for the gay audience. As if women aren’t the ones buying underwear for their husbands?
I don’t know who @ace_metrix is but when they tweeted H&M was the worst ad of the first half w/an Ace Score of 450 it makes me wonder how their “metrix” work. Because there is not a woman in America who doesn’t know now that H&M makes men’s underwear that’s probably affordable and worth checking out. I guarantee no one in the target audience got up for more chicken wings during that spot.
GO DADDY
Now let’s contrast H&M with the GoDaddy ads.
What, you say? GoDaddy, the brand that supports SOPA and hates elephants and probably unicorns and the baby Jesus has created yet another series of gratuitously sexist ads that are so offensive, that they compel huge numbers of their their female customers to run out and cancel their GoDaddy accounts immediately like I did last year?
I know! I couldn’t believe it either!
It is an understatement to say that women hate GoDaddy–the company, the brand, and certainly the ads. The most retweeted of all my comments last night was this one.
A few friends (male friends) called me out on what they perceived to be a double-standard. How can I support a barely-clothed hot guy in an H&M ad but not a barely-clothed hot gal in a GoDaddy ad?
Easy: Context.
Show me a sexy half-naked woman in a Victoria’s Secret ad and I get it. Because she’s selling lingerie. Show me a sexy half-naked David Beckham in an underwear ad and I get that too. Show me a sexy woman in an Axe ad, about a 19 year-old guy’s inability to focus on anything besides sex, and I get it. Show me a sexy woman in a Kia Optima commercial about guy’s fantasy car and I get that (even if a lot of us are skeptical about the basic premise of a Kia Optima as a fantasy car in the first place).
Now show me two women, generally known for their professional accomplishments, being reduced to sexy girl-girl loving bimbos for the purpose of selling URL domains and uh…
Yeah. Totally different. It’s not just demeaning, it’s hateful.
I don’t think Go Daddy is the worst because of their commercials. I think they are the worst because THEY ARE THE WORST. –@mamaspohr
Also, my young daughters saw it. So screw you, GoDaddy. Run that crap after 10PM.
TELEFLORA: Speaking of bimbos, my six year-old saw the ad with Adriana Hotty McHotster and the first thing she said: “she’s not wearing a bra.”
WTF people? This is the first thing a six year-old notices? We have never even had discussions about women who do and don’t wear bras.
Of course her dad’s response was, “So Thalia…would you like a new mommy?”
I get it. She’s hot. Men like hot. As an ad creative, I appreciate the risk they took here: Employing a hot supermodel dressed like an escort to tell men in no uncertain terms (“give and you shall receive”) that if you buy flowers for your wife for Valentine’s Day you’ll get some, although probably by someone a lot less hot.
Now the old flowers-for-sex thing may have some degree of truth to it. (Let’s be honest.) But now, every woman who gets a Teleflora delivery from her husband this year will assume he just really really wants a BJ, as promised to him by a super-model. It’s not about romance. It’s not about saying thank you honey for being the mother of my children and forgiving me for farting in bed and picking my H&M underwear off the floor next to the hamper. It’s about what I want from you. Since I can’t get it from a supermodel.
Needless to say, this ad didn’t fly too well with the women I saw.
Best ever tweet from @Edenland: The @teleflora ad in the Superbowl makes me want to order a hooker. But you don’t need to give flowers to hookers. I’m confused.
HONDA CRV: A week ago, when the Honda CRV Ferris Bueller extended ad was released on YouTube, I started having debates with colleagues. They pretty much unanimously had issues with this ad. And yet my stream was jam-packed with women loooooving this ad. It has 11 million views already. That’s saying something.
This by far was the ad most cited by women as their favorite ad of the night, in my totally unscientific research that would get me thrown out of any R+D meeting anywhere (and probably an Ace Metrix meeting). What’s more important is that it seems like the ad did more than make women run out and dust off their John Hughes DVDs and change their ring tones to Yello. It appears like it really made them feel good about the car.
That CRV ad just made me so happy. #beullerbeuller –@chookooloonks
5th time seeing it and it never gets old.-@umommy
All new CR-V Honda takes off- hilarious!–@bonniefuller
2 people in the room w me said “I love it!” & “I want a CRV now!” For real. –@lmayes (by DM)
Made me rethink the cr-v which I always hated.-@newmomsurvival
A few other thoughts on a few other winners of the night among women:
GILLETTE FUSION: Adrien Brody, Gael Garcia Bernal and Andre 3000 make for a nice bit of eye candy for the ladies–a.k.a those who tend to buy their husband’s razors for them at CVS. On the down side, many people referred to it as “that shaver ad.” With the exception of Deb2525 who knew that It’s #Gilette and I’m getting my husband a #Fusion tomorrow. Unfortunately, not too many women remembered it by the end of the game.
Also, now that both Adrien Brody and Betty White seem to make Super Bowl ads each year, I’m hoping someone can bring them together in one beautiful cameo of cameos. Let me know if you’re a brand who wants to hire me for that one. I have some ideas.
HYUNDAI: Real Alabama factory workers converging on a cubicle to the tune of the Rocky theme song was a huge hit with the women in my stream, pretty much unanimously. @lsnjd told me the kids are reenacting it right now. Classic. @Shaunaburr: I’m a sucker for singing. Meanwhile Foursquare Biz Dev dude @TristanWalker tweeted, Hyundai. 2 commercials. 2 terrible commercials. 7mm dollars wasted. I’m wondering who’s right?
AUDI: While this Twilight-esque Audi spot was wildly polarizing (“clever”-@beccaluczycki; “stupid” –@kikajuls) I think we can all agree that Echo and the Bunnymen, at any time, is awesome. And at least we could figure out what the heck the point of the spot was (really bright headlights), unlike some of the ads that aired. What was interesting to me though, is that women kept talking about this spot throughout the game. And talking about it. And talking about it. By the end of the game, it was one of the few first-half ads that people were still citing as a favorite. And they always knew just what brand it was for.
M&Ms: I am reluctant to write this, because the Just My Shell ad is so far from my own creative sensibilities…and, we’ll leave it at that. Yet, every single person who tweeted me loved it. Looooved it. Note to ad creatives: Add taking chocolate candies to the list of anthropomorphic crowd-pleasers now that talking babies are experiencing some wear-out.
VW: This year’s The Dog Strikes Back struck a chord with a lot of women. Interestingly, some of them liked the dog part but could have lived without the Star Wars button in the back end. Some of them liked the Star Wars bit but not the dog. Most of them really liked the whole thing. When @LOD tweeted #volkswagen wins. Laura Mayes retweeted, totally.
And then there were a few women tweeted about “fat-shaming” dogs. I have to assume they were joking. Right? (Right?)
(Disclosure: I work for the East Coat office of Deutsch, the agency that does the VW work, but I have nothing to do with any of it.)
CHRYSLER: It’s hard to pull off a serious ad during the Super Bowl (see also: Prudential, which not a single person talked about). And yet the Clint Eastwood It’s Halftime in America spot struck a profound chord, mostly with those women in my stream who tend to be highly educated and political. In fact, a few women told me they thought it was a political ad at first. What I liked is that it acknowledges the women and families who struggled through the tough times, the same as the men, and doesn’t just show male drivers either (take note, Chevy). “Detroit’s showing us it can be done. And what’s true about them is true about all of us.” It just makes you want to root for Chrysler and root for Detroit and root for all of us together. I think those are values that women can get behind.
The best super bowl commercial was clint eastwood!! If detroit falls we get back up dust our shoulder off & make things happen!! –@Ms_celeste92
That’s going to also make a lot of people feel really good about Crysler. So nice follow-up on last year’s Imported from Detroit ad, and that’s no small task.
As for the political misleads–well, were they? Eastwood ends with the line “our second half’s about to begin…” and I wasn’t the only one who thought that it sounded like an Obama endorsement–as @SamSifton pointed out. Evidently Republicans did too.
BEST BUY: Ooh…so close. Women loved the celebration of entrepreneurs. They loved the nod to iPhones and emergent technology. That’s because women online are serious about tech. And Siri. And Words With Friends. And yet a lot of women wondered why there weren’t any women represented among the entrepreneurs.
Best Buy ad was great, but just shows us we need more women in tech! – Kristen from @coolmomtech. Plenty of retweets agreed.
Overall, with few exceptions, I have to give a nod to tonight’s crop of advertisers. Whatever you thought of the speed dating e-trade babies, we didn’t see the henpecked husbands ignoring their wives, the emasculated boyfriends, or the lecherous drunk college guy archetypes the way we have in past years. We saw a couple of ads that even talked directly to women who aren’t professional escorts.
Next year, maybe we’ll see more than a couple. There are about 40,000,000 of us wimmins watching, after all.
So…what did I miss? Agree or disagree? What were your favorites of the night? Here’s a link to all the 2012 Super Bowl ads. if you missed them.
Biggest takeaway — blondes seem to be loosing their foothold…and I am quite okay with that!!!! Oh and on a personal note – I and I will take a Ferris nebbish moment over a David Beckham skivy moment any old day…The above both explains my choice in hair color as well as husbands! Well done Liz…
I vote for Gael Garcia Bernal in next year’s H+M ad. That is all. : )
I’m in Singapore, so my Superbowl ad watching was all via YouTube.
I loved the flash fans budweiser ad (flash mobbing an amateur ice hockey game). I’ve watched it several times and it has literally made me tear up – gorgeous.
The only best buy ad that I found was Ozzy Osbourne & Justin Beiber – I’m guessing that’s not the one you were talking about.
I just linked the whole list of videos on YouTube. If you can see them in Singapore, worth a look.
Agree with it all – except $15 for a pair of boxers? doesn’t sound reasonably affordable to me, but maybe I am delusional. Only way I am spending that amount is if they make my husband look like Beckham!
Well, they do have to turn a profit after shelling out for the ad, heh. It’s not like a $45,000 car.
Love this.
But in all honesty, David Beckham could have been selling tickets to The View and I’d have been on board.
The Teleflora commercial was embarrassing.
Producers of the View? You reading?
Such a comprehensive overview. Love it.
One of the funniest things I saw in my stream (regarding commercials) was from @Neilochka in response to the Clint Eastwood dramatic reading: “Clint Eastwood is gonna singlehandedly kick the ass of America back into shape.” I thought that pretty much summed it up. (Yes he can.)
Yes! I saw lots of “Clint for President” tweets. I’d say it’s a good tip for the candidates this year–we want strength, we want empowerment, we want optimism, and we want a little ass-kicking.
His ad isn’t available today… they’re missing an opportunity
It may have been temporarily pulled over a copyright dispute with the NFL.
http://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2012/02/did-chrysler-pull-clint-eastwood-ad-over-nfl-copyright-dispute/
Can I just say that I love how you bridge the gap between those who create the ads and those who watch the ads? So enlightening.
Having just re-watched Miss Representation with my 9yo on Saturday evening, I was especially alert to misogynistic and sexist ads last night, and I was happy to see comparatively few of them.
Totally agree with all the best and worsts – although as I said last night, many of them (especially the sexually explicit ones) make me weep for my profession. I’ll go on record as saying GoDaddy’s ads are so offensive that I’m thinking about moving my few domains over there somewhere else.
Great summary of the ads, and loved seeing your take on them from both sides so to speak.
Personally I think some of the car commercials were the most effective and fun to watch. Chevy had a string of great ads-we especially loved the Apocalypse ad, and of course the CR-V ad was a favorite here. While I loved Clint I wasn’t sold on Chrysler-it was more like an ad for Clint!
The GoDaddy commercials are always the worst ads, and while I know I’m not who they are targeting in that commercial it makes me double hate them for their marketing efforts, and because they suck.
The question is, why aren’t they targeting you? You own web domains. You are their perfect customer!
1. Dogs don’t make me want to buy cars – unless they show exactly how safe I can keep my precious pup – but Audi’s clever way of letting us know their headlights are really bright? That got my attention. Very memorable.
2. My husband was insulted by the GoDaddy and Teleflora ads. I wonder how the average man feels about ad companies reducing them to stereotypical male think-with-their-penises-and-not-with-their-brains caricatures?
3. I might be the only woman on Twitter last night who didn’t like the Ferris Bueller Honda ad. But I’ll give it up to Broderick for being convincing in his most famous role, even if it was for a commercial and not (sigh) for a remake.
4. Kia looked desperate last night (Adriana Lima, Chuck Lidell and Motley Crue? Yikes). And I think they forgot Vince Neil killed someone while drunk driving. Oops.
I may be a little too emotionally involved in advertising. Just a little.
You? Never!
For what it’s worth, the ad folk complaints about CRV had to do with overproduction, and with Broderick’s botox-created inability to raise his eyebrows as needed to deliver a convincing Bueller performance.
Good point about Vince Neil, eek. And yeah I think what you’re reacting too is a discrepancy between what the brand is and what the brand is claiming it is. However the Kia agency is my former employer so I’m trying to be judicious.
I guess that says something about our culture. I totally believe Ferris grew up, sold out, and got Botox. I blame the Real Housewives for my jadedness.
Ha, you and my brother have the exact same POV. Except for the Real Housewives thing.
I didn’t see much about the Fiat ad, and I was surprised. I thought it was kind of stupid, but my husband immediately wanted to go out and buy a Fiat (or maybe buy a hot Italian-speaking woman, not quite sure).
I loved the H+M ad with Beckham, but I was neither watching the game nor many of the ads very closely.
I get the context argument (although I think AXE can’t quite make the stretch), but I also think that if women are going to “drool” over mostly-naked Beckham and Ryan Gosling (still don’t get what that’s about), it does weaken the argument more than a tad.
The GoDaddy hatred is much stronger when it focuses on issues and not ad choices. The part that annoys me about GD ads isn’t the nudity, it’s the one where the female “stars” are contract-bullied by agents and directors into doing something they are clearly feeling gross about. That’s a deeper issue than glittery-see-through outfits, I think.
I suppose it comes down to: Are you (is one) comfortable with sexuality in ads? If no, then no. If yes, then under what circumstances? For me, relevance helps a lot. I like Elisa C’s pov below, like yours, which points out that Beckham is marketing his own product license; no bullying there.
My 9 y/o daughters were completely puzzled by the Go Daddy ad. (and the Beckham ad – oh to be 9!) I was sickened by Go Daddy, but not surprised. And my husband’s response? “Wow, why on earth would an accomplished female sports star keep making these ads for them?” And this is a man who owns about 100 domain names because he has a domain shopping addiction – but long ago switched to Google. So, not sure who they’re targeting with that ad. Or even why they think anyone wants a stupid “.co” either.
And I’m always a sucker for a good Detroit ad.
I haven’t canceled my Go Daddy account yet, but I am having serious issues spending any more money on Jillian anything. Maybe I’ll be a Bob convert. I just can’t understand why Jillian & Danica do the ads.
Being a car family, I totally understood the Audi ad, and it is still my favorite, since I liked vampire mocking. The Kia ad was good, and as a married woman, there were parts of it I really liked.
The Beckham ad was good, and I made my husband rewind so I could see it. I’m still catching hell for that. I agree about the “if its selling underwear, then its fine they’re semi naked” bit. Its true, Vicky’s ads don’t bug me, they just make me wonder how they get those wings to stay on, they have to be heavy.
I don’t feel like this was a terribly strong year for ads. Maybe I’m just getting too cynical.
I may be the only one who has this additional reason why I think the context of the Beckham is different: He’s selling something with his name on it. He is empowered and, one assumes, making a bunch o’ money. The feeling that he has a hand in how he is depicted selling his own brand of merchandise equals empowerment…we do not need to feel icky about it. We do not worry that he is being exploited. (It’s probably the workers making his underwear that are, but that’s another story.)
The GoDaddy and Teleflora and Kia and Fiat ads are about women being called up as a fantasy figure for men. The women are there to serve the men.
The GoDaddy commercial is worst of all because it asks two uncomfortable-seeming, previously empowered women to play along.
The Kia ad somewhat redeems itself, because in the end what the guy really wants is to get back his wife and drive away on an ordinary road trip with her.
That’s my over-thinking take 🙂
Excellent excellent point about Beckham. It is his licensed product. And good thoughts on Kia.
I feel the same about the Fiat ad as I do about Axe ads – I actually liked it. I think they do a great job positioning it as a serious sports car like a Porsche, and trading on that cliche male fantasy that a sports car will get you a hot girl…but in a fresh way. It makes fun of men more than anything and I got a giggle out of it.
I loved the Fiat commercial! But as I saw it the guy loves the car so much he identifies it with a woman, so the vehicle is personified.
Agree Olga. I think that’s the main point.
Also, I found the Ferris Bueller ad to be a big let-down, mostly because of the above-mentioned immobility of Broderick’s face. His formerly deadpan delivery has become dead eyes delivery…none of Ferris’s mischievous twinkle. Did love all the nods to the movie of course, but was left kind of deflated after all the build-up.
I agree with most on the Go Daddy. I think it was awkward to watch not because it was overly sexy, but because it was trying to be funny and it failed. I also can’t watch Jillian, she reminds me of every mean girl from my HS.
Oh and the H&M spot….AMAZING!
My husband’s favorite was the Kia ad, and not for the reasons you may think (Adriana Lima, Motley Crue) but because the guy crashes his car right into his wife’s dream and rescues her from dreamy prince charming. He LOVED that part, and I have to admit, the fact that the guy passes up a super-model to go get his wife is kind of a nice message.
I saw that same comment from a few other women as well. Thanks Liz!
I missed David. Must go to you tube NOW!!
I love how you assess the difference between what the ad teams and the audience find appealing…. there does seem to be such a creative gap.
Like you, I was appalled by the GoDaddy ads – I would like to say ‘less so’ this year since I’ve come to expect their inability to project class, but sadly, I was MORE offended this year: 1) my children are older and more aware – and they have more questions (“Mommy… does that woman have ANY CLOTHES on at all?”) and as you mentioned 2) Danica now has a comrade – another seemingly intelligent, strong and branded woman who has chosen to muddy herself by her involvement.
I wasn’t all that impressed with the CR-V/ Ferris Bueller ad. I was actually markedly disappointed. This from a girl who saw that movie 7 times in the theater a million years ago. It struck me as stiff and contrived. For some reason it felt forced (maybe the teaser on YouTube last week offered too much build up? And not enough follow through?)
I did love the Chrysler/Clint Eastwood ad – it was intelligent and moving. Ads that leave me with a feeling in my gut or a desire turn to the person next to me to say, ‘did you see that?’ always win.
The same is true for the little-talked-about Best Buy ad. Despite its lack of female presence, it made me giddy. It felt alive with possibilities and reminded me that I live in an exciting time. And? The Words With Friends bit at the end was funny. Smart and funny = win for me.
Finally – (and I’ll be done) one of the things that was noticeable for me was Anheuser Busch’s lack of dominance. Normally, they have at least one ad that is worth talking about. Now…. had we been in Canada to see the hockey ad… that would have been something.
I liked the Best Buy ad, too. It made me laugh at the end. I also thought the sling-shot baby Doritos ad was cute. And I liked the Hyundai commercial about giving it another shot.
Not a big fan of the Kia ad, though. It made me feel like I’m not their target at ALL. And don’t get me started on GoDaddy. I will never ever be their customer. Did I mention I own about 10 or 15 domain names? Yeah.
I watched with a house full of tween boys – surprisingly they were not intrigued with Go Daddy or Teleflora….maybe we are doing something right with the next generation? (and they are normally taken with pretty women) BUT, perhaps they shy away from something so ridiculously stupid?
They loved Elton John/Pepsi and Ferris Bueller/CRV.
As for Audi – it was less Twilight and more True Blood with the partying in the woods, the fangs coming out, and the bright light burning them. True Blood, a way more sexually charged version of the vampires than Twilight, was the inspiration for Audi wanting the be more visceral. Twilight is more sappy in a Titanic way.
As for me – I am sorry, but I was smitten with the naked, singing candy. Maybe because I recently gave up sugar and I would do anything for a bag of m&m’s right now.
Least favorites were definitely GoDaddy, The Chevy apocalypse, the Audi vampires, and the Teleflora commercials.
The M&Ms commercial surprised me, especially since my request to print “Eat me” on their chocolate candies was rejected (something about them being a family-friendly company and not wanting to appear offensive). (I should also note that I was sending the candy to my mom — I thought it was funny putting “Eat me” on food. My bad.)
I really enjoyed the VW commercial — especially the connection with Star Wars and Darth Vader at the end (I’m a sucker for Star Wars). And the Hyundai/factory workers singing… made me smile. As did the Ferris Buehler/Honda CR-V ad. Maybe it was the nostalgia of those ads. And just watched the Chrysler/Clint Eastwood ad — LOVE.
Thank you for giving me something to tear away from the Susan G. Komen Foundation shit storm (I really, really hope you’ll write on this but then maybe everything has been said on this topic). Hands down the best de-construction of Superbowl Ads that I’ve read. To the Go Daddy ads, all I can say is Ditto and WTF were Danika and Jillian thinking? Right. They’re not. Also, is it cheesy for me to admit that I really liked the Clint Eastwood ad? I got a little misty.
I, too, liked the ending of the Kia spot. But I want to know why, except for the heroine/wife, all the women in it were nearly naked, yet the “hunk” was mostly clothed? Why couldn’t he be shirtless, clad only in – say – a loincloth (Or David Beckham underwear)?
Also, no one has commented on “The Next Ones” commercial for NBC Sports Network featuring kid athletes. I liked this sweet little spot, but why was there only one female athlete in the bunch? A missed opportunity, in my opinion.
“The Next Ones” made me so unnecessarily angry. My poor husband, listening to me rage about Title XI being 40 years old, and how dare they completely ignore not only half the audience, but half of the children who play sports. And then have the one girl be in her early teens, slightly developed and wearing hot pink running shorts.
My hubby calmed me down by saying the discrepancy was bound to be caught by the media commentators. Yeah, no such luck…
I gave my least and best ads on Twitter all ready but just to say, I was watching with a group of lesbian moms in our 40s and 50s. So David Bekham, while appreciated, was not the hot topic. They didn’t know who Ferris Bueller is and also though Mathew looked cute but was oddly placed in the ad. And, several drive the CR-v.
Faves for us were Clint (Obama’ish), the dog slimming down and the vampires melting (though no one has seem Twilight or Tue Blood).
One of the most offensive (along with GD, Teleflora) was the commercial with the guy marrying bacon. WTF, a person can marry food but we cannot have same sex marriage in America?
Lastly, we didn’t even know it was a Fiat commercial till it was over! Were we alone with that?
Thanks Liz! This was fun to play along.
Thanks Lu, I love this perspective thank you.
I think the point of the Fiat ad was the big reveal. Ads like that need to grab and keep your attention long enough for you to notice the sponsor’s name–then hopefully remember it. Glad you did!
The Beckham ad clearly wins for most lickable. Done and done.
I personally laughed out loud at the Oikos / Stamos headbutt. It was utterly ridiculous, but the thought bubble next to my face would have read, “And who HASN’T wanted to headbutt Uncle Jesse?”
The VW ad was the runaway winner for me — but the GREATEST ad of all time (to date) is the Budweiser hockey ad that aired only in Canada. I wish they had run it here — for the benefit of the sport of hockey and because it was light-years better than the ad they ran in its place. The emotional kick is the Budweiser ad legacy I love most.
I just saw it – totally totally amazing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0qZYqdsYAg
Man, first they get Anne Murray and now this.
I guess that I should have linked to it when I mentioned it above huh? I thought it was awesome.
This was a good one! And bonus points for using the word “kerfuffle” in a sentence. Glad you shared this!
I agree with the H&M ad vs. Go Daddy. Go Daddy needs to go take a flying leap. Truth is even if they’d had Beckham I’d still have issues with them. Mostly because as a company they suck.
Loved the VW ad, although last years won hand down. M&M’s had my kids rolling on the floor.
Well, I didn’t watch the game or the ads. This year or last year.
I’ve been struggling with the GoDaddy thing for ages, but you may have finally talked me into leaving. I’ve been a customer of theirs for ages, and I know their GC from, ironically, back in law school when we were both involved the national women law students association.
The thing about that Teleflora ad is, she is oozing sex from every part of her being. No bra indeed. It’s appropriate … for a strip club.
You have a wickedly inquisitive and sharp mind Liz, something I really want for my boys as they grow up.
Now I’d better watch the David Beckham ad a few times, see if it’s hypocritical.
Enjoy the research Eden. And thanks for the great quote. It just got a laugh at an agency meeting here.
Didn’t really love the Beckham ad, but I hate a lot of ink, and I have brothers, so I could just see them posing and posturing and mocking this ad from hundreds of miles away. That’s not really H&M’s fault.
My favorite by far was the Doritos dog ad. Even though I love cats, I thought it was great. I should mention that I missed half the ads because of children who had school and didn’t feel like sleep was a fair demand when Daddy and Mommy are up LAUGHING and CHEERING. Sounds like Teleflora needs to be smacked and GoDaddy is still being juvenile.
I’ve been called a simpleton more than once, but I thought the dog-monkey-talking baby spots were a little flat even for a simpleton like me. I’ve seen funnier. Lots funnier.
It was interesting to watch Donny Deutch on TODAY this morning. He seemed pretty impressed, especially with himself.
I thought the sexy ads were more vulgar than I cared to see, especially since I was with my 8 year-old nephew. We had a lot of splaining to do. As a side note…I think I am getting flowers on Valentines, so that’s good.
Also I thought Madonna and pals were not nearly as entertaining as they were vulgar. She does look younger than she is though. I’d give her that. I don’t know her, but I get the impression that’s what she cares about most, so you go Madonna! You did it!
My favorite ad didn’t air during the Super Bowl, it’s the Flash Fan Budweiser commercial. I love it. I watched it 5 times yesterday-no lie!
The QR code on GoDaddy’s spot made me cry.
The QR code on GoDaddy’s spot made me cry and get another beer (which did not happen to be a Bud Light).
I think I’m the only one who didn’t like the Beckham ad. If I’m supposed to buy a fantasy, it needs to beu fantasy. A handsome, fit man standing around in underwear actually irritates me. Get him to wash the dishes or vacuum and I’d buy his brand of sexy.
Sequel!
About 100 years ago I was in advertising and I had a hard time remembering most of the ads during the SuperBowl except a couple that were on the receiving end of my college aged sons constructive criticisms. In other words they made fun of the bimbos and Beckham and laughed at the baby being catapulted toward the Doritos. I’ve raised three girls and two boys and what used to be the safe time during TV watching has now become almost X rated. Women are represented by pathetically thin little girls with the most un-natural looking breasts and long greasy hair and men seem to look more and more like soap dodgers as the weeks and months pass by. I never see George Clooney looking as if he hasn’t seen a bar of soap in weeks yet this seems to be hip and popular with some group of people the ad execs are targeting. What ever happened to beauty and class? This is a great site by the way.
RE: Cr-V ad: One of my fondest wishes is to NOT have Lloyd Dobler show up in a Super Bowl commercial, EVER. It would kill me. Dead.
Please, someone, make a note of it.
I agree with Suzan. Whatever happened to beauty and class?
I disagree with the original poster. Sorry, but I dont get the Kia Optima ad where a pervy man has a wet dream of a woman with her breasts falling out of her top while women in bikinis cheer him on while he is racing around a Nascar track with a KIA sports car while rockers wink at him. This is a male fantasy? How embarrassing and degrading to women and men alike. What demographic are they appealing to?
The advertisers would have us believe that men just sit around masturbating to dreams of skantily clad women cheering them on. How pathetic. And is that all women are good for? Giving men hard ons and wet dreams??
If men want to have those wet dreams…they should have them privately. To put them in ads in such a brazen, classless way reflects how far our society has degenerated.
Do you know where these ads were shown? On Amerias Next Top Model, whose demographic is little teen/preteen adolescent girls. So what is the messaging? That they should just exist to be little sex pots for masteurbating men with dreams of being in a rock band and driving Nascar?
Stupid and embarrassing.
I think if you look closely at the Kia ad you’ll see it turns the corner…in the end, his real fantasy is about being with his wife.