Not so Super Commercials

Commercials for the 2014 Super Bowl were generally tepid and uninspiring. I was disappointed that there were no clever animal spots from Bridgestone (“Screaming Squirrel” anyone?), that the only CarMax commercial (“Slow Clapping”) wasn’t funny, and we never found out what happened to the GM robot who lost its job back in 2007. Did it get it’s job back? Is it flipping burgers somewhere?

There were three spots that rose above the rest. The top three were, in order, clever, subtle and innovative.

My early favorite, weeks ago, was the Doritos time machine spot made (for $200!) by a fellow Arizonan. This additionally won the Doritos contest because it’s clever, funny and just basically brilliant. It catches the entire point of humor: something unexpected happening in an unexpected way.

Second, also an early favorite, was the spot for AXE body spray. I love how it took a very old slogan “Make love, not war” and put it into so many (otherwise) cliché images of hostility and aggression. In addition, I totally agree with the sentiment.

I’m surprised that my third favorite is for a soda. Soda and beer spots are usually so dull, but the Pepsi “Half Time” commercial makes excellent use of computer graphics to tell the story (rather than just show off the technology, which is such a problem with films today) in a clever way. (The Guggenheim as a drum? LOVE IT!) I love how the buildings were used to show sound levels. Excellent.

Runner up: Radio Shack addressing it’s fuddy-duddy image with a very smart retro-themed spot wherein the 1980s come to visit and take back their store.

You can see the spots here:
 
Doritos 

AXE 

Pepsi

Read more about the winning Doritos commercial here.