Super Bowl Ad Review 2015
First off I have to say wow, what an amazing game! I think that was probably the most intense Super Bowl of all time. A lot of the commercials were very intense too, which I don’t think worked for most of them. This year’s crop of ads were interesting, I thought the ones that were good were really good, better than last year’s, but I’m shocked at how many serious ads there were that seemed out of place. It was the Super Bowl of Sap! The marketing bombardment started a week ago when we got early glimpses of some spots and controversy with the GoDaddy (here) and Carl’s Jr. (here) spots that were banned. I thought both of those were pretty funny and had the verve that most of the game commercials lacked. On the flip side, there was a whole group of ads that just came across as wrong time, wrong place – the Nationwide Insurance spot with the dead kid, McDonald’s “Paying with Love,” Coke’s Bullies and the Always “Like a Girl” spot all seemed like swings and misses. I also thought both of Budweiser’s ongoing campaigns, the Clydesdales/Puppy and the Bud Lite “Real Life Pacman” were tired and lacking the punch of their predecessors.
You can watch ALL the commercials from the game on this Ad Age link. Here are my favorites:
- BMW “Newfangled Idea” (here) – I previewed this one last week when it was released, but it still ended up being my favorite. The message and delivery were flawless with the whole “new ideas take getting used to” pitch. Not only was it very clever, but how cool is it to see actual footage from 1994 when nobody knew how to use the internet and email yet?!? This was a great commercial in all facets.
- Doritos “Middle Seat” (here) – The poor guy almost got away with having the perfect passenger next to him on the plane! This ad made me laugh out loud. Very clever ideas shown by the guy who was trying to sit by himself, and a hilarious payoff at the end. A great “slice of life” ad that was funny and relatable.
- Avocados from Mexico “First Draft Ever” (here) – I thought this ad and the Fiat spot were the most creative. It was very well placed for the audience with a fantasy football theme, and it was funny and memorable. I laughed multiple times at the dead Dodo Bird and the dejected polar bear!
- Fiat “The Blue Pill” (here) – I loved the creativity and originality of this commercial. I remember expecting something funny and silly when it started, getting confused during the middle, then being politely surprised at the ending. Fiat took us a loooong way connecting Viagra to a car, but it was humorous storytelling at its finest.
- Snickers “Brady Bunch” (here) – This is the winner for best juxtaposition. Snickers has kept this campaign fresh and consistently funny, but they outdid themselves placing Mr. Machete Danny Trejo in the Brady home. Good mix of humor and nostalgia.
- Clash of Clans “Revenge” (here) – I’m pretty sure Liam Neeson can sell anything. He has such a distinct voice; I was on the edge of my seat waiting to hear what he’d say next. And it was fun to see him be “one of us” playing on his phone. This ad had perfect product placement and delivery.
What were some of your favorites? What did I leave out? Let me know what you think.
