Super Bowl Commercials: Yea or Nea?

It’s that time of year again, Super Bowl Sunday XLVII. A night we will all remember as we witnessed not only a Destiny’s Child reunion live on National television, but also the Super Bowl power-outage. (I read a post one of my Facebook friends had where they wanted to know if there was going to be a baby boom in 9 months, starting with the GoDaddy couple. Okay, that was wrong, but you know you laughed….a chuckle, little belly shake, maybe?) And I wont try to fool you, I could honestly care less about the game itself. I’ve never been one to enjoy watching sports, be it live or on television, it’s just not my cup of tea. (Alright, you caught me, those last 4 minutes had even me sitting on the edge of my seat! Holy cow, talk about using every minute to make every play count.) But what I do enjoy are the commercials. They are fascinating to me, and not just because my degree is in advertising.

While I was in college, each year my professors had us watch the commercials and then we would talk about them in class, and now, I guess the tradition lives on through my blog. Please remember these are my own personal opinions and I respect that you may or may not share my views, and that’s okay. The world would be much too boring if we all had the same thoughts and feelings about everything. I won’t link all the commercials I talk about, just some of my favorites. 🙂

So without further ado, the [more memorable] commercials of 2013:

1. GoDaddy – I just don’t have the words to express how disgusted I was by this. As my dad pointed out, guys don’t want to see “hot” females making out with “nerds” and from a girl’s point of view, it made me (and most of my friends on Facebook) sick to watch. It was disturbing. And when they cut to a close-up, it was all I could do to keep from losing my dinner. I understand that GoDaddy is the type of company to push it too far, but I feel they missed the mark big time with this one. Honestly, who was their target audience? However, I am talking about it, and my guess is many of my fellow bloggers are as well, so maybe their creative team was onto something. If you missed it, thank your lucky stars, and heed my warning, DON’T look it up on YouTube.
2. Best Buy – Okay, I didn’t just like this one because it referenced 50 Shades of Gray (which I just finished reading a few weeks ago and if you haven’t read it yet, you need to. Enough said). I thought this commercial was funny because I’m the type of person who would ask a million trillion questions of the sales person, and I’d hope he or she would be as calm, cool and collected as the guy in this ad. And yes, that last question of the sales person “will you?” was great.
3. Doritos Dad – I loved this commercial, and I think that was because I related to it. When my sisters and I were younger, my dad would put up with us as we played hairdresser and who knows, he may even have attended a tea party or two. This feel-good spot brought all those happy memories back. It was hysterical to see the extent the dad (and then his friends) were willing to go to for Doritos.
4. Coke Chase – I think Coke did a great job with this one! Had a great story line, and while I wasn’t surprised with how it ended, I did love the call-to-action. Who did you vote for to win?! I was torn between the Vegas Show Girls and the cute cowboy.
5. Taco Bell – That commercial was AWESOME! Too funny. That’s all I’ve got to say really, other than I hope I’m that fun as an older adult. I also really enjoyed the Spanish, worked well. YouTube it.
6. Audi (Prom) – I wasn’t overly impressed with this ad. I know they were trying to get across that you will feel brave and confident in this car, but some of my friends have pointed out, and to some extent I agree with them, that Audi is saying violence is okay. With the world we live in, I don’t feel this is the message we need to be putting out there. I mean, the world is violent enough with the movies, television shows and video games we as a society are exposed to on a daily basis. Again, I know this wasn’t the purpose of the ad, but that was my main take-away.
7. Budweiser “Brotherhood” – Okay, I’ll be honest. I saw this one on YouTube during the halftime show. I think I replayed it 4 or 5 time. I’ve got chills! I love when you see them reunited. It’s the type of commercial that just tugs at your heartstrings. And I’ve always loved the Budweiser Clydesdales. Did you see at the end the fans get to name the 7 day-old foul that was featured at the beginning?! What do you think would make a great name for this little star?
8. Jeep “Until They Are All Home” – This commercial hits close to home for my family. My cousin is serving his second tour over seas. There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t miss or worry about him. These men and women are putting their lives in danger, spending countless time away from their families and missing out on some of life’s greatest moments to keep you and I safe. They are (too often) not thanked for their service. As the commercial said, they are some of the best of this country.
9. Ram Trucks “God Made a Farmer” – I was captivated by this one. The voice over by Paul Harvey was perfect. The faces of the farmers made it so I couldn’t look away. I feel like I can’t give this commercial the praise it needs, so here, watch it for yourself.
10. And of course, my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE part of the Super Bowl: “You’ve just won the Super Bowl, what are you going to do next?!” If you are at The Walt Disney World Resort® in Orlando, Florida, today, February 4, 2013, I hope you make sure to watch the 3:00PM parade in Magic Kingdom….because Joe Flacco is there, too!