Gawker Crowns '25 Most Memorable Super Bowl Ads'

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Gawker has put together a nice list of commercials dubbed "The 25 Most Memorable Super Bowl Ads." From Budweiser's Zebra Ref to Pepsi's P. Diddy truck to Anheuser Busch's weepy (in a good way) military tribute to Reebok's Terry Tate to Robert Goulet messing with people's stuff for Emerald Nuts to FedEx's Stick and Castaway to Career Builder's Monkeys to Christopher Reeves' appearance for Nuveen to Britney Spears in her prime (such as it was) for Pepsi to ETrade's Wazoo to Monster's When I Grow Up to Budweiser's Frogs to Kevin Federline's Nationwide fantasy to classic Cindy Crawford for Pepsi to GM's suicidal robot to, of course, Apple's 1984, it's a stellar collection.

Now if only we could have one year where every spot in the game were as good as these. Well, at least we can imagine. Check out the entire collection. Unfortunately, after viewing, Sunday may be a big let down.

by Steve Hall    Jan-31-08    
Topic: Commercials, Good, Super Bowl 2008



Gatorade Wastes Derek Jeter on G2

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Courtesy of MediaPost's Out to Launch, we have one of the two ads Gatorade will run for its G2 low calorie drink. One ad will feature Dwyane Wade and one will feature Derek Jeter. The Derek Jeter ad has Jeter walking through the streets of New York while elements of a baseball field follow him and fill in the landscape behind him. There's some nice special effects in this ad but aside from that, there is absolutely nothing special about this ad. It's run-of-the-mill celebu-sport figure 101. Not quite lame but close.

by Steve Hall    Jan-31-08    
Topic: Bad, Commercials, Creative Commentary, Super Bowl 2008



Garmin Gets Napoleon to the Battle on Time

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Garmin's 2008 Super Bowl commercial leaves behind last year's Maposaurus for this year's Napoleon who, after racing through the streets of France (anachronistically in a car?), arrives to command his troops but has to hide that nifty yet-to-be invented Garmin navigational device, hence the explanation for his famed placement of his hand inside his coat. Witty enough. Catchy tunes. Just not sure we get that whole time shift/travel thing. Unless, of course, Garmin has now embedded time machines in their products.

Tierney Minneapolis created. Some behind the scenes footage is available here.

by Steve Hall    Jan-31-08    
Topic: Commercials, Good, Super Bowl 2008



Hyundai Twists, Uses Ad Industry Insider-Speak In Super Bowl Spots

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We've got two more advance Super Bowl screenings for you. They come courtesy of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and, yes, they are those much talked about Hyundai commercials which, in a nice press-play "will we, won't we" dance, kept everyone wondering if we'd ever see them. Well, here they are.

The first, called Tomorrow is a bit pompous in its assumption it'll rank quite highly on USAToday's Ad Meter and that Mercedes, BMW and Lexus aren't going to be too happy. First, who cares about the USAToday Ad Meter. Aside from the press play it gets, which can't, of course, be ignored, it's a highly unscientific, meaningless popularity contest. Second, apart from its insider appeal to the ad industry, it's a fairly innocuous commercial without much going on except for some nice beauty shots of the car. Having said that, it's a pretty amazing looking car coming from Hyundai which, in one sense, is the entire point of the commercial.

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by Steve Hall    Jan-31-08    
Topic: Commercials, Creative Commentary, Good, Super Bowl 2008



It's the Adrants Super Bowl 2008 Primer!

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We're expecting a good show this year, partly because of all the buzz-building teasers. Other factors: agencies depended less on UGC than in Super Bowl '07, :30 spots cost more on average, and points of interaction for audience members (mobile voting/ranking, secret online spots).

Oh, and expect more woman-oriented ads than usual because of Feb 3's proximity to Valentine's Day.

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Breakdown of Expectations (Feeling geeky? Keep track of the ads with our handy Adrants Pre-Game Commercial Chart and Notes which we will continuously update):

Lots of teasers this year. Notably, Budweiser leaked five teasers out of 10 total Super Bowl spots. Others -- like this one for Sobe or that GoDaddy thing -- are more like prologues for the real thing. Some brands were so lazy they didn't even bother to tease; they just tossed the ads out there or -- yikes! -- repurposed old ads.

more »

by Angela Natividad    Jan-31-08    
Topic: Super Bowl 2008



GoDaddy Might Out-Cheese Taco Bell with 'White Light'

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Media Post says GoDaddy might do two spots instead of one. One will be a spot where some people talk about "beaver" and that "too-hot" Exposure spot.

The other one, which was approved by Fox amidst the beaver nonsense, is called White Light. Some geeky dude who spends Super Bowl Sunday registering domain names is rewarded by the appearance of a white light, out of which leaks a Hooters girl disguised as a GoDaddy cheerleader, and really really cheesy music that will make you wish GoDaddy folded in the '90s dotcom boom.

Ready to come into the light? Embrace it here (teaser only). There's a "too-hot!" director's cut available too.

by Angela Natividad    Jan-31-08    
Topic: Commercials, Online, Super Bowl 2008, Video



Drug Dealers Languish as Teens Go Rx

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It's a Super Bowl buzzkill, courtesy of Partnership for a Drug Free America. In this spot, a languishing drug dealer tells you he's going broke because your kids are getting high out of the medicine cabinet.

Mom and dad, better watch the fill line on that Robitussin.

The ad is credited to DraftFCB, NY. This is the first time in four years the White House has produced a Super Bowl spot. Election time's coming, the GOP clearly needs a new topic -- what beats the war on prescription medication?

by Angela Natividad    Jan-31-08    
Topic: Cause, Commercials, Super Bowl 2008, Television



Hey, Deja Vu. We've Seen this Spot Before.

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Hi, I'm American Airlines. I've got some wad to blow on a :30 Super Bowl 2008 spot, but oh, I can't be bothered to put together anything new.

Ooh, wait. What about this old thing? It'll fit right in. It's got an annoying co-worker, a team-building exercise (Super Bowl ads are big on bandwagon!), some awkward humor, and a pungent element of escapism. Hey. Think someone might confuse it for a Bud Light ad?

It's perfect. Thanks, TM Advertising! Bet you didn't know this little gem would play a starring role in the biggest ad play of the year ... did you?

by Angela Natividad    Jan-31-08    
Topic: Brands, Commercials, Super Bowl 2008, Television



Fox Sells Out Super Bowl Spots in Record Time

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Lou D'Ermilio of Fox told Bloomberg they've sold out their Super Bowl spots earlier than in any of the five years Fox has hosted the game.

He won't say who scored the last :30 buy or for how much (it was probably just GoDaddy angling for more airtime), but the spots started at $2.6 million and later sold for up to $3 million. 90 percent of them were sold before the writers strike started in early November.

In 2006 TNS Media reported a record average asking price for Super Bowl ads at $2.5 million. At this point, $2.5 mill for a :30 spot must look to advertisers like $2.50 for the price of gasoline does to a northern Californian.

by Angela Natividad    Jan-30-08    
Topic: Commercials, Super Bowl 2008, Television



Dell to Give Both Old and New on Game Day

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MediaPost says Dell will be joining the Super Bowl ad foray. It's paid for two spots. An old one, called "Out with the Old" by Mother, will appear before the game starts.

Then there's a new one that will appear during the game. No word on what it'll be like but we can probably safely assume it'll push Dell's "Now available in beautiful" message -- possibly tailored to its new project (red) line.

by Angela Natividad    Jan-30-08    
Topic: Brands, Commercials, Super Bowl 2008