The Results are in…the top Super Bowl Ads
Drum roll please…
After about 24 hours from the Super Bowl (I had to let the magnificence of the game and the ads settle in), I’m happy to announce who I believe were the winners and losers of this Super Bowl’s best commercial advertisements.
The honorable mention:
Free to Pee – TaxACT Super Commercial
Sure, I had never heard of this company before, and I think this is part of why I loved this commercial. The commercial follows a boy who is in the pool and has to use the restroom. As some of us experience when we really have to “go”, anything and everything that could be running water is around us! As the boy runs out of the pool and around his house, he just can’t find a bathroom to go in. So what does he do? He gets back into the pool and pees, just as his sister comes into the pool. Well, he was free to pee, and we can get our taxes done totally free at TaxACT.
From a marketing standpoint, great results for brand awareness!
The Could have Been Better:
Chrysler Commercial – It’s Halftime in America
Everyone is raving about the Chrysler commercial, but you know what? It didn’t do it for me. Yes, it had great imagery and a great voice. But I think the analogy of the halftime show and halftime of America was a little off. The commercial would have been more effective and less “cheesy” if Chrysler hadn’t tried to make this weak connection.
The Bad:
Samsung Mobile USA – Thing Called Love
The man just scared me. Not to mention we’ve seen this commercial before. If you’re going to spend 3.5 million dollars on a Super Bowl Commercial, at least fork out the cash for new creative.
NFL Fantasy Million Dollar Fan.mov
Please no more! Did we really need to see this commercial at least five times during the Super Bowl? Too much! We got the message!
Coca-Cola
Another brand that decided to ignore frequency caps. I like polar bears, but it was just too much. On a night when everyone is paying attention to the commercials, they really notice when you advertise too much- and likely get annoyed because they want to see a different commercial!
And now….
My Favorite
Budweiser takes the win for having the best commercial in this year’s Super Bowl. Sure, they also ignored the frequency rule and advertised the heck out of the Super Bowl, but at least they used different creative each time.
Why did I like it best? Unlike usual beer commercials, no stupid guy humor or bikini-clad women were portrayed in the video. Instead, Budweiser realized that their audience this night was much a wide array of genders and ages. Not only football guys watch the Super Bowl (or drink Budweiser). Using this, Budweiser created a commercial that truly connected with the young and old alike. Middle aged viewers saw their youth as the commercial showed man walking on the moon, adults in their 40s saw disco divas dancing in cages, adults who grew up in the 80s and 90s saw their hip hop age, and today’s millennials saw the current age.
While watching the commerical, I realized how much has changed in the country, how much we’ve come since prohibition (I also wondered how people lasted during it), and how this one drink has brought so many people together. It is amazing to think that for over a century Budweiser has been there as teens got into trouble, as couples were on first dates, and while friends simply had a casual night out.
For these reasons, Budweiser officially becomes my vote as the best commercial for Super Bowl 2012.
-Bryan Nagy
