The Best And Worst Super Bowl Ads
With a price tag of up to $100,000 a second, companies that bought ads in Super Bowl XLIII are banking on buzz. NBC sold spots up until the last minute, convincing marketers that even in a harsh economy, Super Bowl ads can help build a brand and drive sales. The network scored several first-time sponsors, including Mars’ Pedigree dog food, Denny’s and Cash4Gold.com.
Advertising’s big game will play out over water coolers and across the Internet for days after the Super Bowl. “It’s one of the few times a year that people watch for the commercials as much as the game itself,” says John Anton, the marketing chief of Pedigree. “If you want to maximize your reach, you can’t avoid the Super Bowl.”
Broad comedy--and, animals, as always--were among the night’s biggest hits. Careerbuilder.com created a spot with a hilarious list of signs that it’s time to change jobs, including the presence of a toenail-clipping, spandex-wearing colleague. Castrol used chimps as “grease monkeys.”
Many of this year’s sponsors decided that tough times called for peddling nostalgia and optimism. General Electric (nyse: GE - news - people ) used an animated scarecrow and the song “If I Only Had a Brain” to advertise its “Smart Grid” technology, which is the company's play to create a more efficient power system. Two of Coca-Cola's (nyse: KO - news - people ) commercials were part of the company’s “Open Happiness” campaign, which it launched in January. Another was a remake of the 1980 classic Mean Joe Greene commercial, with Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu in the starring role.
Even though the Super Bowl draws the biggest female audience of any NFL game--Anheuser-Busch was certainly playing to gals with a spot that featured one of its signature Clydesdale horses falling in love--most big advertisers catered to men. Pepsi (nyse: PEP - news - people ), with almost six minutes of advertising across several of its brands, used the Super Bowl to hawk a rebranded Pepsi Max, a diet soda aimed at men. And GoDaddy, a peddler of Internet domain names, aimed straight for the frat house crowd with two sexually suggestive spots with racecar driver Danica Patrick and other busty gals.
The GoDaddy spots were among just a few with big celebrities this year. Conan O’Brien was featured in a funny Bud Light ad. Cash4Gold featured Ed McMahon and MC Hammer--who have been public about their financial problems--selling their possessions for cash.
Forbes asked four advertising experts--Jerry Della Femina, Michael Lebowitz, Martin Puris and Elisabeth Vanzura--to weigh in on this year’s crop of Super Bowl commercials. What were our judges looking for when evaluating these ads? Says Puris: “An important idea combined with brilliant execution. Not one or the other--both.”
Audi - Jason Statham Racing Through Time
Doritos - Crystal Ball
