Super Bowl XLIII Ads: Some Sucked, Some Didn't
Feb. 2, 2009: Lot's of animals, some blue humor, some explosions, people being ridiculed or injured (mostly non-lethal cartoon style)? It must be the Super Bowl. NBC said it sold out every slot. Some marketers simply sold out. Some made their point. Lot's of post-Game ad analysis will take them all apart ad infinitum. Here's the quickie version (sans the NBC promos and the movie trailer ads, which mostly were fast and furious):
Didn't Suck: Bridgestone "Taters" (Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head), "Bud Light "Conan O'Brien", CareerBuilder.com "Tips" ("If you hate going to work"), Cash4Gold "One-Up" (with Ed McMahon and MC Hammer), Coke Zero "Mean Troy" (Polamalu replaces "Mean Joe" Greene), Denny's "Serious" (free Grand Slam breakfasts), E*Trade "401K" ("Try reading the rules, Shankapotemous."), GoDaddy "Shower", Hulu "Alec in Huluwood", Hyundai "Angry Bosses", Monster.com "Double Take", NFL "High Steppin"
Pedigree "Crazy Pets", Priceline "Negotiator", Sprint "Roadies"
Kinda Sucked: Bridgestone "Hot Item" (Moon rover tires get heisted), Budweiser "Clydesdale Stick", Budweiser "O Americana" (American Ale), Coke "Avatar", Coke "Heist" (Bugs steal bottle of soda), Doritos "Power of the Crunch", Doritos "Free Doritos", E*Trade "Wings", GoDaddy "Baseball", Hyundai "Epic Lap", Miller High Life "One Second Ads", Overstock.com "Carlos Boozer", Pepsi "Pepsuber", Taco Bell "Speed Date"
Really Sucked: Audi: Chase", Budweiser "Clydesdale Circus", Budweiser "Clydesdale Generations", Bud Light "Meeting", Bud Light "Skier", Bud Light Lime "Sphere of Summer", Cars.com "David Abernathy", Castrol "Grease Monkeys", Cheetos "Spoiled Girl", Gatorade "Talking Heads", GE "Scarecrow", Heineken "Warrior", H&R Block "Murray", Hyundai "Contract", Kellogg's Frosted Flakes "The Right Field", Pepsi "Refresh Anthem", Pepsi Max "I'm Good", Teleflora "Talking Flowers", Toyota "Faces", Toyota "Killer Heat"