5 Leaked Superbowl Commercials

Black Beetle

Client: Volkswagen
Ad Agency: Deutsch, L.A.

The Force

Client: Volkswagen
Ad Agency: Deutsch, L.A.

Arrive in Style

Client: Chrysler
Ad Agency: Wieden+Kennedy

Kenny G: Riot Suppressor

Client: Audi
Agency: Venables Bell & Partners

Empower the People

Client: Motorola
Ad Agency: Anomaly

So Jack Isn't Dead?

I am sure that most of you have heard by now that in an effort to engage the audience Jack in the Box debut a spot during the Superbowl where Jack, their mascot, gets hit by a bus. After he is hit he goes into a coma that he was in for a month. Now that Jack is out of the coma, The Hang In There Jack campaign is coming to an end. You can see the campaign at Hang In There Jack.

The famous Jack is announcing plans for a new logo and a new Web-site design. Advancements do help get people out of comas, right? Personally I was turned off of the burger chain a few years ago because of an incident but that's not saying they aren't good. They just aren't what I prefer.

I can't find the ad agency responsible for the Hang In There Jack" campaign but I am working on it. I must say they went all out for this campaign, developing a site where people can visit Jack, Leave well wishes, and even a physical address to send get well cards. Also you can of course see the drasma happening in the hospital.

One of their ad agencies is Secret Weapon Marketing but I am not sure if they are responsible for the Hang In There Jack campaign. But Jack isn't so they can come up with more cheesy campaigns.

Best,
A.B.

A Note on the Superbowl

I was discussing the Superbowl ads with some buddies at work and they thought all of them sucked. Some of the ads they thought were a little funny but not worth the 3 million spent on them. Here are the most obvious reasons why:

1. The ads were over done to the point of annoyance in the eyes of one of my buddies. (The talking baby has been going for a few years.)

2. Most of the ads, my buddies felt didn't take into consideration that our country is in a recession.

3. Most, if not all the ads were not funny. If they were a little funny, my buddies at least couldn't remember the product being advertised.

Finally after thinking about it for a bit maybe the concept of the "Free Doritos" spot was taken from the Sprint 2006 Superbowl Commercial below. Most likely I'm wrong.



But who cares? I thought at least some of the spots were good, which after all, is the case every year.

Best,
A.B.

And The Winner Is

The Doritos spot above was the big winner during this years Superbowl according to two articles I've read. USA Today assembled a panel and YouTube gave stats on what commercials were watched and voted on the most. Both of these sources declared "Free Doritos" as the winning commercial debuting during the Superbowl this year. You can get to the article mentioning the USA today panel (here).

I am a little disappointed in myself because I didn't include the commercial above in my poll on the far right side of this blog. But I guess I didn't watch the ads closely enough the first time around to realize that the ad is pretty good. The "Free Doritos" spot was created by Joe Herbert, Batesville, IN according to Adrants. You can find out more about Joe at his site to encourage voting for the commercial at doritosvote.com.

Speaking of user-generated content, I don't think that Doritos has had any commercials done by professional ad agencies for quite sometime. And I have to say from the response the commercial got, if they never use an agency again I wouldn't blame them. People love user generated content. The Free Doritos spot was funny, memorable, and creative all of which are elements you want in a Superbowl commercial.

Finally, I think people enjoy these types spots more because it gives them a feeling that someone just like them can create an ad featured in the big game.

Best,
A.B.

A Sign of the Times?

Like most Americans, I watched the Superbowl on Sunday February 1st. But unlike most I was more interested in the ads. One of the worst ads shown during the Superbowl in my opinion of course, was the Cah4Gold commercial featuring Ed McMahon and MC Hammer. In the spot the two celebrities tell consumers how Cash4Gold works. For those of you who don’t know, you simply trade-in unwanted gold positions and get cash back. Advertising for this company traditionally appeared direct-response infomercials but in the Superbowl, it seemed a bit out of place.

The “Big Game” has traditionally been for ads that are funny, creative, and from well-known brands that have created other commercials we have seen. The game is a platform for them to showoff their newest and best TV spots. I don’t think anyone expected to see an infomercial turned 30-second spot during the game.

Also, aren't those two particular celebrities struggling financially like the rest of us so are they really a viable authority on making some “extra cash?”

Euro RSCG Edge created the spots, their execution was fine but because of the nature of the spot I don’t think they had much room for “out of the box ideas.” I mean the spots, I believe originated from infomercial concepts as mentioned earlier.

With the current state of our economy, thousands of people losing their jobs, and everyone looking for ways to make some extra cash to get by, maybe having an infomercial during the big game should be expected? But then again maybe it’s just a sign of the times?

But once again, what's on this blog is simply my opinion.

Best,
A.B.

Super Bowl XLIII Commercial 2009

Well as most of you know, yesterday was the Superbowl and what comes with it, the multi-million dollar ads. Below are some of my favorites and I was hoping to get some feedback from you guys by having you vote on what ads you thought were the best out of the ones I thought were good. "You can vote by choosing your favorite ad from the poll on the far right. Also, below are the spots and the agencies that created them.

You can see all the Superbowl spots by going to this AdAge article.

E*Trade: Talking Baby

Agency: Grey, New York

Coke: Coke Heist

Agency: Wieden & Kennedy

Coke Zero: Mean Troy

Agency: Crispin Porter & Bogusky

Taco Bell: Speed Date

Agency: Draft FCB, Irvine

GoDaddy.com: Baseball

Agency: In-house

GoDaddy.com: Shower

Agency: In-house

Well enjoy the spots everybody.

Best,
A.B.

Steelers Troy Polamalu

The Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamula is in a new Coke Zero ad that is a remake of the 1980 classic "Mean Joe Green" Coke ad. For those of you who don't know what ad I'm talking about, please click here. You'll be able to see the new version of the ad on Superbowl Sunday. The new spot will have a "twist" to differentiate itself from the famous eighties spot, from what I understood from Adfreak.

In my opinion, the spot was created for nostalgia purposes only. If you are part of the younger generation and don't know who "Mean Joe" is or haven't seen the original commercial before, then how could you make the connection? Also, I have to be honest, if I didn't actually study advertising and learned about famous campaigns, I wouldn't have been able to make the connection either. For the games' target audience, however, the spot should resonate and remind people about how Coke used to be a part of their childhood. Like I said, it's all about bringing back that feeling of nostalgia.

Yes, I think this commercial will present the brand in a good light and sell more Coke. Selling your product is of course the ultimate goal in any business.

The spot is being done by Miami’s hot creative shop Crispin Porter + Bogusky.

Best,
A.B.

Marketers on Super Sunday

Today, I want to give you guys a list of who will advertising during the game on Superbowl Sunday. So here goes:

1. Anheuser-Busch
2. Audi
3. Bridgestone
4. CareerBuilder
5. Cars.com
6. Coca-Cola, Co
7. E-Trade Financial
8. Pepsi's Frito-Lay
9. General Electric
10. GoDaddy
11. Hyundai
12. Monster
13. NFL
14. Pedigree
15. PepsiCo Beverages

I found an AdAge article that actually provided the list. All the agencies are listed in the article linked.

Best,
A.B.

3D Ads on Super Sunday

Dreamworks Animation and PepsiCo's SoBe Lifewater have joined together with Intel Corporation and NBC to present an ad in 3-D for the first time in television history. The ad will be debut trailer for Dreamworks’ new 3-D animated film "Monsters vs. Aliens," which comes to theaters in the U.S. on March 27th. To get the full experience of the trailer it must be viewed using 3-D glasses that the Intel Corporation has produced. The glasses will be distributed by PepsiCo’s Sobe Lifewater brand.



Te question is, why would a bunch of young guys and ladies sitting around, drinking beer, and having fun suddenly stop to put on a pairt of plastic glasses just to watch one spot? It just doesn't make any sense to me.

I don't believe there are any ad agencies involved in this process. Someone please leave a comment letting me know otherwise.

Best,
A.B.

No Second Date?

What do you guys think? I bet he won’t be getting a second date.



This TV spot brought some laughs when it aired during the 2004 Superbowl. It absolutely captured the attention of its intended target audience. The spot aired on Superbowl Sunday when 80 percent of the U.S. is watching the game. It was definitely a conversation starter the next day, and by default, made itself a memorable commercial. People recalling funny ads they've seen will help the product sell in grocery stores.

DDB Chicago created the spot for Anheuser-Bush.

No long analysis for this one, it was just funny and memorable, which made this creative execution an effective communication tool.

Best,
A.B.