From local ties to gag-worthy spots, Super Bowl commercial recap
The Super Bowl might be the only day of the year that some Americans look forward to commercials instead of fast-forwarding through them or making a trip to the fridge.
In addition to the actual game, Beyoncé’s ostentatious halftime show and the strange 30-minute power outage, the commercials drew praise and criticism, prompted tears and tested gag reflexes.
According to AdAge.com, CBS sold out its ad inventory for the 47th Super Bowl at prices averaging between $3.7 and $3.8 million per national spot.
For anyone who missed it, you can see all 52 commercials here.
Nooga.com took an informal survey via Twitter and picked out some advertisement highlights.
Local ties
Before it aired, Volkswagen leaders teased their Super Bowl spots. One drew some initial criticism, which leaders responded to last week.
The national “Get Happy” addepicts a white man who gets happy and uses a Jamaican accent after he gets a VW car.
Some questioned whether the ad was racist, but most Jamaicans didn’t seem to be offended, and some locals said it was one of their favorite commercials from last night.
Local public relations and marketing professionals said that Oreo's move to capitalize on the power outage during the game represented a successful ad strategy.
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BMW of Chattanooga had a commercial that ran locally, and Krystal aired a spot that crews shot in Nashville. That one ran in a handful of markets and showed a man proposing with a Krystal bacon cheeseburger.
It played off jewelry commercials, with the woman accepting the burger proposal saying, “He went to Krystal.”
Chattanooga’s The Johnson Group created the ad, which crews filmed in Nashville—although for a moment it looks a little like it's set in Chattanooga.
The ad ran in Chattanooga; Albany, Ga.; Columbus Ga.; and Augusta, Ga.
“There’s a lot of brands that add bacon and cheese to their products, but when you add it to a Krystal, it takes it to a totally different level—because there’s only one Krystal," Tom Peterson, chief marketing officer at Krystal Company, said in a prepared statement. "And Krystal’s customers are very passionate about their Krystals. So we communicated that in a humorous way by comparing their excitement for the new bacon/cheese Krystal to the same excitement you might experience during a marriage proposal. This gave the commercial an unexpected yet very enjoyable twist, much like the Krystal itself.”
National favorites
Budweiser had one of the night’s most heartwarming spots. Viewers responded immediately to the ad on Twitter, many proclaiming they teared up.
The advertisement is a love story between a trainer and the horse he raised from birth. With Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” playing in the background, the man cares for the horse, which eventually hits the big time and leaves the trainer to walk in a Chicago parade.
The trainer drives to go see his old friend.
And when you think the horse isn’t going to see his trainer who made the trek to reunite with his old pal, just when everyone feels a lump in their throat and a pain in their chest, the Clydesdale horse breaks away to find the man who raised him. They are reunited, and the country let out a collective "awww."
Another commercial that moved viewers was a Dodge Ram commercial that featured a voice over from the late broadcaster Paul Harvey, whose voice is distinguishable and nostalgic.
“And on the eighth day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, 'I need a caretaker,' so he made a farmer,” Harvey said.
The ad ends by saying that the Dodge Ram is for the farmer in each of us.
Laugh it up
Taco Bell’s commercial featured senior citizens breaking out of what appears to be a nursing home-type facility to party it up youngster-style.
The free-spirited anthem “We Are Young” plays in Spanish as a group of elderly adventurers break into a pool in the middle of the night, joyride, make out, have a dance party, get tattoos—and, of course, finish the night by eating Taco Bell undeterred as the cops drive suspiciously by the group.
Audi’s prom commercial showed the underdog teenager without a prom date being empowered by the car his dad lets him drive.
He is inspired to rebel and park in the spot reserved for the school principal. Then, he walks boldly into the dance, through the crowd and kisses the prom queen.
Prom queen’s date gives the underdog a black eye, but he drives away in his Audi with a look that shows it was worth it.
The ad reportedly cost $4 million, according to Mashable, but some people were not amused, calling the teen’s kiss sexual assault.
But in the commercial, the prom queen appears pleasantly stunned by the kiss.
Gag-worthy
If the point is to get people talking, GoDaddy.com seems to have succeeded, but many people declared their first ad to be cringe-worthy.
Spokeswoman for the Web domain name-registering company race car driver Danica Patrick introduces the company’s two sides—one part sexy, one part nerdy.
A beautiful woman and awkward nerd have a make-out session, representing the blend of sexy and nerdy.
But the lip-smacking sounds and close-up of the kissing turned some viewers off, although many pointed out via social media that the ad got everyone talking.
The company’s other commercial seemed to appeal more to the masses: “More Everything, Skywaitress.”
Other noteworthy commercials include Amy Poehler’s Best Buy spot, a Calvin Klein ad that features a man in his underwear flexing his chiseled body, a Subway commercial that shows company spokespeople having trouble with the catchphrase “FebruANY” and a Samsung commercial that stars Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen.
Updated @ 2:07 p.m. on 2/4/13 to add more information as it became available.
