Super Bowl XLVIII Ads: Good, Bad and Odd

[Dimitriov]

The Axe one is brilliant.

Spoiler

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.

I for one fully understand the subtext you saw in that ad, but for me that was part of why I thought that the ad was well done.

The tank scene, and that Vietnam scene in particular, for me were more powerful because they subverted actual horrors that have occurred. The whole theme was "make love, not war" so I viewed those scenes in the light that they were actually playing out love stories as opposed to the horrific realities. That is that the girl and soldier really were in love with each other which was being intentionally contrasted against the kinds of things that actually occurred.

From that perspective it does have a beautiful, and somewhat idyllic, message that this is how events could have turned out in another world.

But I can certainly see how a person could view it as being insensitive to very real atrocities. I think, however, we can all agree that regardless of how well they pulled it off, it was still a nice departure from the drivel that has constituted Axe commercials in the past.

 

[TwistedEllipses]

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."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System

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.

When I was watching and it got to the "What detroit made" line, I thought it either meant the car (which would be a falsehood) or the production-line method of mass-manufacturing cars Ford popularised. It was a tad ambiguous and mentioning Detroit just reminds everyone how the industry has declined. American pride seems an odd route for Chrysler who are owned by the Italian car company Fiat, were known until 2007 as Daimler-Chrysler (after merging with the German Benz company in 1998) & had to be heavily bailed out by the U.S. government in 2008/9...

Anyway, it was interesting to see another country's adverts, even if it makes me wonder how long their advert breaks must be. If I had to pick a favourite, it would probably be the one from Radioshack and I don't even have any 80's nostalgia.

 

[vagabondwillsmile]

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."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_Highway_System

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.

When I was watching and it got to the "What detroit made" line, I thought it either meant the car (which would be a falsehood) or the production-line method of mass-manufacturing cars Ford popularised. It was a tad ambiguous and mentioning Detroit just reminds everyone how the industry has declined. American pride seems an odd route for Chrysler who are owned by the Italian car company Fiat, were known until 2007 as Daimler-Chrysler (after merging with the German Benz company in 1998) & had to be heavily bailed out by the U.S. government in 2008/9...

Anyway, it was interesting to see another country's adverts, even if it makes me wonder how long their advert breaks must be. If I had to pick a favourite, it would probably be the one from Radioshack and I don't even have any 80's nostalgia.

In general I quite like Chrysler's "Imported from Detroit" campaign that they've been utilizing the last couple of years. I do think it's nice that the company is proudly sporting its Detroit roots. Regardless of who holds the property now. So many American businesses are under the umbrella of organizations elsewhere in the world now, finding a completely domestic product may not be easy. The ad spots from Chrysler that I really like are the ones that are being shown outside the U.S. especially in England. They are very classy. One thing Fiat has brought to the table that they weren't able to find on their own is the ability to easily enter the European market - even moreso than the acquisition by Daimler Benz.

I don't think the pride is really misplaced. It isn't as though the aquisition caused all the factories and workers to move to Italy. They are still here (as is the company headquarters for that matter), many are proud of what they do, it's alright to express that in an ad I suppose. And in regard to the bail-out in 2008-2009, it may be important to note that Chrysler was the first of the big three to pay back their loan (Chrysler paid-in-full over $7 Billion in 2011 - just two years after the bail-out), and was the first of the big three to record a post-loan profit. As loans, and restructuring, and aquisitions go, they have been pretty successful.

So the spirit - the key concept - of the commercial isn't what bothered me. What bothered me was creating or, at the very least, insinuating imaginary history. There is so much REAL history they could been poetic about, it's a shame that shadow is cast on an overall positive message.

 

[RJ 17]

I was pretty unimpressed with the commercials this year when I watched the Super Bowl. I got an eye-rolling chuckle at the Matrix bit and I will admit to getting a decent laugh out of the doggy cross-breeding (the announcers at the dog show are great), but as for everything else...didn't really seem that much more than any random commercial you'd see while watching regular TV.

Sarah McLachlan getting attacked by the dog was the best.

 

[antidonkey]

The Radio Shack commercial was my favorite. That thing smacked me right in the childhood. After the happiness subsided though I was quickly reminded of how old I am. Still, It was great to see Sgt. Slaughter in the back ground......even if for only 1 second.

 

[SD-Fiend]

"Hello, fellow sport-loving Americans! Let's celebrate how sport-loving and American we are!".

Thank you kindly for making many base assumptions here. I thought this website was supposed to be about *games*?

If something doesn't interest you then don't click on it.

This site is about pop culture with an emphasis on games.