Addison’s Super Bowl Round Up

The Super Bowl. The world goes sporting mad. The advertising world goes, well, advertising mad. A bit more mad than usual. Millions of dollars are spent producing spots and even more millions are spent paying for them to be broadcast to a one-of-a-kind global audience. As such, it’s pretty damn important to get it right. Did they manage it this year? So much creativity but so little column space, but let’s take a look at my top five…

 

Samsung used a pitch as a spot for its two-minute long input. Comedy superstars Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd were unexpectedly called in together to pitch their ideas for they thought was going to be the brand’s main spot. However they find themselves hitting a few hindrances via Bob Odenkirk, a.k.a. Saul Goodman, the lawyer/wheeler-dealer from Breaking Bad, playing a strikingly similar character. And with 30-second Super Bowl spots selling for an approximate $3.8million dollars this year, this extended whopper from the South Korean giant was worth around $15.2million. Don't worry though, it's a good'n! 

 

 

Mercedes featured a star-studded line-up, including Willem Dafoe as the Devil tempting an impressionable young guy to sell his soul for a CLA, Usher busts some moves and model Katie Upton makes an appearance. Except the young man doesn't need to sell his soul because the car costs a measly (well, kind of measly) $30,000. And poof, the Devil disappears.

 

 

Axe premiered the second spot of its astronomical Apollo Space Academy campaign, via BBH London, during the match. Keeping in tow with the parenthesis of ‘nothing beats an astronaut’, ‘Lifeguard’ sees a great white shark beaten to a pulse, in turn saving a beautiful girl’s life. It’s all going swimmingly; man and woman are set to embrace…all until that blasted astronaut rocks up. Yeah, on the beach. And we all know that nothing beats an astronaut! The ungrateful madam is out of the lifeguard’s arms before you could say “3, 2, 1 lift off” and pegging it towards the astronaut. I need to get me one of those suits. Oh, and to make this campaign all the better – real life moonwalker Buzz Aldrin is on board to dish out the mission statement!

 

 

As per, the E-Trade baby made an appearance and, as per, was dishing out slathers of overtly mature financial advice. “Investors like you could lose 10s of thousands of dollars on their 401(k) on hidden fees.” After reeling off a list of extravagant doings to blow your cash, which includes hot-tubbing with a panda and jumping into his papoose for a quick run with the Pamplona bulls.

 

 

What is a global event right now without Psy? Not worthy, that’s what – this guy is possibly bigger than the Super Bowl itself. Cue idea for an ad. ‘Let’s get Psy on board and see how we can work him to our brand’.  Admittedly, that does sound a little lame but Wonderful Pistachios got me jiggin’ with their rendition of ‘Crack It Gangnam Style’. A good ad or just me being a sucker to the masses? I’m not sure, but I like it!

 

 

Over 100million people tuned into see one of the best Super Bowls ever. The Ravens edged the 49ers by a mere four points, but not before we saw the longest ever play in Super Bowl history for Jacoby Jones’ touchdown, a Destiny’s Child reunion at half time, a half-hour break in darkness due to a mass power cut and of course a tidal wave of advertising brilliance. Around 37 companies collectively spent more than $300million dollars on commercials for Super Bowl Sunday. It has played host to some of the most innovative and thought provoking ads that our world has seen, and above is just a tiny and almost impossible selection of the best of this year. What were your favourites? Get involved in the debate on Facebook and Twitter.

 

An after thought to the above – online video host Pornhub produced a spot for the Super Bowl, but it was rejected. Have a watch below and please tell us your thoughts. Should it have been rejected? Is there any wrong in advertising for brands like these? The spot shows nothing risqué, so what’s the problem? Again, let us know your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter