The 2014 Super Bowl was pretty much done by halftime, so really all that was left was to watch the ads. We look at the best and the worst of the bunch.
Morpheus bursting into opera singing made me LOL, and the special effects resulting from that were spectacular. I haven't bothered to watch them all, but I doubt the others can top that.
Morpheus bursting into opera singing made me LOL, and the special effects resulting from that were spectacular. I haven't bothered to watch them all, but I doubt the others can top that.
I noticed the street lights bursting AROUND the car and the bending spoon HELD BY the lady in the red dress. But yeah, the car and lady look really nice, too.
I admit, I was growing a tad weary of any gung-ho 'Murica commercials, so I admit I disliked the Coco-Cola one on concept alone... but I admit it wasn't BAD even if I knew some "speak American, you foreigners" would object.
Personal favorite was the Radioshack one. 80's kid here. It was a nostalgia bomb.
Though part of what makes it brilliant is how unexpected it is from that particular brand. Ultimately it's just a variation on the terribly overused let's all hold hands across the one world message, but at least it does it cleverly.
Unlike Coca Cola's, which is just cloying in a way that had me flashing back to old United Colors of Bennetton Ads. But the hysterical reaction to the ad makes up for the banality of the ad itself.
Edit: Didn't watch them all though. I know US TV is notorious for its commercial breaks but good grief... is this one longer than the game itself?
-Volkswagon Wings: Easily the funniest commercial this Superbowl. I practically laughed my head off this one.
-Radio Shack 1980's: As a pop culture buff, I enjoyed this one immensely, though I admit not everyone would get it.
-Axe Peace: Sappy, but very sweet at the same time. Or maybe I'm just a big sap.
-Toyota w/ Terry Crews and the Muppets: Because the Muppets are awesome, and I admit I found it amusing.
-Doritos Cowboy: Funny and awesome!
-Budwiser's Hero's Welcome: Because I'm sentimental, that's why.
-America the Beautiful: See above.
-Wonder Pistachios Stephen Colbert: ...Because Stephen Colbert.
I really don't remember any of them. I'm terrible at watching TV. I had it on next to my computer while playing Skyrim and list interest before half time.
I liked cokes, and the amazing spider-man trailer but I watched both afterwards. Though I only watched coke because my racist/redneck/stupid distant relatives went on facebook to talk about how unamerican it was and how they will now boycott all Coke products which is retarded given just how many there is.
The first thing I thought when seeing the America the Beautiful commercial was that it was going to bring out the haters. It's not even really xenophobia, just people getting enraged when they hear a language that is not their own. If they had sung it all in English and just showed the various peoples and cultures in the ad, it probably would not have been as "controversial" (although some would have still raged, but a lot less), but the inclusion of the different languages seems to be what set people off. It's sort of ironic that these people call themselves patriotic and probably show up at Tea Parties even though from the beginning the US has been based on ideals, rather than someone's language/nationality/religion.
One thing I have to say: The Bob Dylan commercial where he insinuates that it was the US interstate system that inspired the Autobahn? It's *literally* exactly the other way round.
"The Interstate Highway System gained a champion in President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was influenced by his experiences as a young Army officer crossing the country in the 1919 Army Convoy on the Lincoln Highway, the first road across America. Eisenhower gained an appreciation of the Reichsautobahn system, the first "national" implementation of modern Germany's Autobahn network as a necessary component of a national defense system while he was serving as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II.[9] He recognized that the proposed system would also provide key ground transport routes for military supplies and troop deployments in case of an emergency or foreign invasion."
This bugs me alot. There were alot of things factually wrong and weird about that commercial, but this one really bugged me. As an American, I see way too freaking frequently that blatant lying and misinformation is often tolerated as long as it's "patriotic." This commercial's just an example of this, but that whole thing bugs me whenever I see it.
Ehh, I say let people be proud about their respective countries as they enjoy a pastime that they believe encompass their culture. All that said, the Coca-Cola commercial was a bit eyerolling and well, 'robotically' structured. If you're going to do the whole 'multicultural super America feel-good' thing, then I think Cheerios shows how it's done right.
On one note I hate the fact the we glorify commercialization so much to the point that we have reviews and playbacks, but the hilarity and ingeniousness of many of them help make up for it.....I mean, it has Morpheus singing an Italian-opera, Morpheus, you'd be a stickler to get mad at that.
I'm probably a bad American because I didn't care for any of the Budweiser or Coca-Cola commercials, and if I rolled my eyes any harder they would've popped out of my skull. For the most part, I thought most of the commercials this year sucked, but I did appreciate that they spread them out this year rather than have them all in the beginning.
For me, the Radio Shack, Toyota with Terry Crews, Kia with Morpheus, and Audi with the 'fuck you' dog were pretty awesome. The Go Daddy one with the body builders made me snort my drink (which hurt because it was whiskey), and the Doritos ones were pretty funny.
Though part of what makes it brilliant is how unexpected it is from that particular brand. Ultimately it's just a variation on the terribly overused let's all hold hands across the one world message, but at least it does it cleverly.
Unlike Coca Cola's, which is just cloying in a way that had me flashing back to old United Colors of Bennetton Ads. But the hysterical reaction to the ad makes up for the banality of the ad itself.
Edit: Didn't watch them all though. I know US TV is notorious for its commercial breaks but good grief... is this one longer than the game itself?
I don't know - I thought the Axe commercial was nice until the bit with the soldier and the Vietnamese village girl. That whole ordeal was hell on earth - the things that the troops went through were horrific, absolutely, but what would happen to some village girls after a raid were every bit their equal.
So when he drops his rifle and they embrace in the commercial, I felt like it was spitting in the faces of such girls.
Maybe their ad team just didn't know much about the kinds of things that happened there. They can't be blamed for not knowing, but I thought this stuff and subsequent investigations into it were common knowledge.
It's clear they were trying to do something nice, but because of that bit, it failed in execution for me. This ad seems to be on a lot of favorites lists, so I freely acknowledge that I'm seeing, or reading something into, the ad that many other viewers don't; and in context, I'm sure it's something that was never even intended. But I just can't ignore that element.
One thing I have to say: The Bob Dylan commercial where he insinuates that it was the US interstate system that inspired the Autobahn? It's *literally* exactly the other way round.
"The Interstate Highway System gained a champion in President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was influenced by his experiences as a young Army officer crossing the country in the 1919 Army Convoy on the Lincoln Highway, the first road across America. Eisenhower gained an appreciation of the Reichsautobahn system, the first "national" implementation of modern Germany's Autobahn network as a necessary component of a national defense system while he was serving as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II.[9] He recognized that the proposed system would also provide key ground transport routes for military supplies and troop deployments in case of an emergency or foreign invasion."
This bugs me alot. There were alot of things factually wrong and weird about that commercial, but this one really bugged me. As an American, I see way too freaking frequently that blatant lying and misinformation is often tolerated as long as it's "patriotic." This commercial's just an example of this, but that whole thing bugs me whenever I see it.
I noticed this too. Oh, how my eyes did roll. I mean this is middle school history class stuff - even in the States. I don't think marketing departments are generally the most cultured, historically-aware group.
As much as I love the Muppets and the 80s, the Doberhuahua commercial clinched it. It was cool seeing Alf again, though, that takes me back. Actually remember when Radio Shack was THE place for electronics of all kinds, so i kind of hope they really go somewhere with this retooling and become great again.
The Doberhuahua commercial, the Budweiser Clydesdale/puppy commercial and the Axe body spray commercial were my favourites. The patriotism thing doesn't really bother me since it's the Superbowl, but the misinformation in Chrysler's commercial really just annoyed me.
Coca-Cola's also seemed a bit forced, but the reaction of the xenophobes and bigots is just mind boggling.
I really liked the Microsoft ad, seeing how some of this stuff is used in the real world, not just them pushing surface/8.1/xboxone. I got a little choked up, especially with the kid who had magic legs, and the soldier who got to see his newborn child... it really reminded me that technology really is magical to people, I just take it for granted every day and forget that to some people it's not just a computer... its life changing.
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