Smart and Nostalgic Super Bowl Ads Pass Test
Super Bowl XLV lived up to its promise of a memorable clash of the titans. The World Champion Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers, each with a storied history of memorable wins, slug it out in a game for the ages. Each team dominated different quarters with the most dominating team edging it out for a win showing a great game from start to finish for the average spectator.
During the big game, Social Media marketers and advertising aficionados were providing the play-by-play through the Twitter hashtag, #BrandBowl. As the Super Bowl ads were broadcasted, participants in the Brand Bowl offered their color commentary on the creative elements and branding genius, if any.
The good, the bad, and the ugly were revealed during the big game. Most of the ads simply were average in creativity and message, but a few standouts were very compelling. A few were simply bad—very bad.
So here’s my personal picks of the top three Super Bowl ads:
1) Volkswagen—The Force. This by far is the best Super Bowl commercial of 2011. A young boy dressed up as Darth Vader is trying to use his imagined Jedi powers to move objects like the treadmill, the dog, and his sandwich to no avail. The dad comes home with a new Volkswagen Passat. The young Darth tries to do a Jedi mind trick on the car while the dad chirps the car with the remote totally surprising the boy—probably to the point of wondering if his attempts to use The Force actually worked. This is a very clever and sweet ad—very high on the emotional factor. The concept was creative and original with beautiful cinematography. I was particularly amazed at how the young actor could convey expressions and emotions through a Darth Vader mask. The pantomiming skills surely were exceptional in accomplishing the task of telling a story. Volkwagen closed the ad with the Das Auto slogan reinforcing the position of German manufacturing.
2) Volkwagen—Fast Beetle. In my opinion, this commercial for the new Volkwagen Beetle is among the best of the best, ever. The ad shows a computer animated beetle adorned with racing stripes racing through the forest, leaping over fauna to the amazement of various other bugs like praying mantis, ants and centipedes. The most amazing fact is that Volkwagen doesn’t even show the redesigned 2012 Beetle. VW alludes to the sleek new design by comparing the bug’s profile to the new car’s silhouette in the final frames. Considering that the sleek redesign is considered to be controversial by many Beetle enthusiasts, the theme of the redesign is branding genius by Volkswagen.
Video courtesy of Spot Bowl
3) Bridgestone—Carma (Friendly Beaver). Many times, commercials will use animated animals and random happenings to create a catchy ad, although many fall short on delivering the brand. Not so with this Bridgestone spot with a friendly beaver securing the Number 3 spot in the Best Super Bowl Ads of 2011. A guy is driving along on a rural road on a clear day when a beaver crosses his path. The computer generated beaver is shown waving his arms frantically to signal the driver to stop and not hit him. The car swerves in time to miss and the beaver signals his gratitude. The next scene is a rainy night, six months later, and a tree falls in the road in front of the same driver and car. The driver applies the brakes and stops just in time. Bewildered, the driver gets out and looks to the left in the direction of the tree stump to find the same beaver that had just cut down the tree. The driver looks ahead and notices that the bridge had just washed away a few moments earlier. All is realized when the beaver bumps his fist to his chest, signaling that he is grateful for the driver stopping six months earlier. The driver bumps his own fist in acknowledgement. Karma… spelled “carma” for the spot. The Bridgestone brand signifies the quality of the tires in hazardous situations. Very creative and memorable.
Video courtesy of Spot Bowl
Resources: #BrandBowl, #SuperBowlAds
View all of the spots here, courtesy of Spot Bowl. http://spotbowl.com/
Be sure to check back later. I will be updating this blog with the worst of the Super Bowl ads.
