James Gregory, CEO, CoreBrand

The advertising in this year’s Super Bowl was somewhat underwhelming in its creativity, but considering the economy it was nice to see as many new ads as were shown. There were the usual number of mediocre entrants, balanced with a few really clever standouts. Here are my picks for the best, worst and notable others.

BIGGEST ADVERTISER

Hyundai was a big surprise with the number of ads they ran. Clearly they are making a big statement that they have arrived. The creativity of the ads was pretty bland and they didn’t say anything particularly meaningful until the second half when they announced that Hyundai had been picked as car of the year. Of course they did the usual shots of Japanese and German executives being upset and complaining that Hyundai had won the car of the year award – “They finally get your name right” --  “Hyundai like Sunday.”

If they are going to spend this kind of money in media it would be logical for them to balance out media spending with an investment in creative.

Hyundai assurance was effective in this economic downturn. You can return the car if you lose your job, no questions asked. It was an interesting concept and effective in this economic downturn.

BEST AD FOR WOMEN

Geared for these difficult economic times was an ad by Avon – By selling Avon – I can’t get fired or laid-off because its my business.  Strange to have an Avon commercial as the first commercial but if you are going to have one directed to women it might as well be the first spot when they are likely to have the largest audience. The ad was cleanly communicated and effective.

BEST DORITOS AD

Doritos had a large presence and highly creative, breakthrough advertising. The crystal ball in which the someone could ask a question then throw the ball at the Doritos vending machine thus breaking the glass and getting free Doritos was effective until the second wish which had the sap throwing the crystal ball at the boss and hitting him in the privates. That was just painful.

Another effective Doritos ad showed that good thing happen when you eat Doritos; woman’s clothes get blown off, policeman turns into a rabbit. But then he gets hit with a bus. Painful again. Do we see a pattern here?

HONORABLE MENTION

Castrol offered an attention getting ad with grease monkeys. All the monkeys were dressed up as garage attendants working on cars. It got a little weird with one monkey kissing the owner. 

MOST EFFEFFECTIVE COMMERCIAL

One of the best commercials was for Cars.com. He congratulated his doctor at birth, in junior high school gave a note to an older girl to call him and she did, he did heart surgery at an opera house with a ball point pen, but when it came to car buying he was nervous so to regain his confidence he went to Cars.com. The commercial was attention getting and effective.

BEST SELF-PROMOTION

There was an exceptional amount of self-promotion about NBC-TV. Most of it was run of the mill but one funny exception was,  “What happened to your butt?” An interesting ad about LYAO Syndrome—Laugh Your Ass Off syndrome promoting NBC television comedy shows.

BEST VALUE – GREATEST POTENTIAL FOR ROI

Teleflora had a very simple message. “Never send your flowers in a box – you don’t know what they’ll say.” Always send them with a Teleflora vase. This was an excellent commercial because it comes right before Valentine’s Day. Best value for the cost – will undoubtedly generate a significant return on investment.

SHORTEST

Miller High Life – had a 1 second commercial, just shouting the word “High-Life.”

MOST ENTERTAINING

Bridgestone offered an entertaining commercial with astronauts driving on some planet, dancing and partying, until they get back to their car the wheels have been stolen and the car is on blocks. It was a good commercial but what does it say about their tires?

WINNER OF THE SUPER BOWL ADVERTISING

One of the most effective commercials was by careerbuilder.com. I don’t know how long the commercial ran but it seemed like it was on for two minutes. It kept repeating the phrases. “If you hate going to work, if you are not respected at work, if you daydream of being somewhere else, if you want to punch small animals, if you cry all the time… it may be time. careerbuilder.com.” Excellent commercial and my top pick for the Super Winner of the Super Bowl.

BEST CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The Best Corporate Social Responsibility ad -- Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes building playing fields for kids. It was an easy category to win as they were the only entrant.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS

Some disappointments include the much touted Coca-Cola Zero – Mean Joe Green revival commercial. It wasn’t nearly as classy as the original.

Also disappointing were the GE Corporate Ads -- Wizard of OZ – High production cost ad “Smart grid electricity distribution” – GE – but what was the point? If it was supposed to be a corporate branding ad it didn’t make any point that would clearly communicate benefit to the company or the country. The same was true with the “Capturing the wind” commercial – the connection to the vision of the company wasn’t clearly communicated.

Cash4Gold was an odd entrant it was starring a very old looking Ed McMahon who turned in his gold toilet and his gold hip replacement for cash. This is especially sad considering that he is having serious financial problems.