Posts
Macbook Air – okay, so this technically aired during the pregame kickoff show, and it isn’t a new commercial, but that thing is so cool I had to mention it. And I like the song.
Live the Dream with Corolla – okay premise – funny premise, bonus points for saying the badgers would gnaw his face off. I was disappointed there weren’t more to the series though.
Planter’s Cashews – giving Emerald nuts a run for there money in entertainment with a spectacularly unibrowed gal attracting male admirers with the alluring scent of cashews.
Geico Cavemen – mucho respect for making fun of the ultra lame (and now cancelled) sitcom.
Vitamin Water – I’m not sure if the product is supposed to make you lighter (get me a gallon!) or just a better horseman, but Shaq as a jockey is funny.
Budweiser – Hank the horse – training montage with one of the beautiful Clydesdales (or Percheron?) horses that was determined to get onto the team. I’ll admit, I cried a little. What can I say – I like animals and I’m a chick. I’m not ashamed.
Amp Energy Drink – okay, so the close up on the nipple was gratuitous (and icky), but the guy dancing to Salt’n’Pepa’s Push-it in order to jump start someone’s car (especially when his perfectly functional trunk is sitting there) was funny.
American Idol – I liked the super wishful, inspiring spots featuring this years hopefuls and Simon smiling (!!!), but the one at the end with Ben Roethlisberger singing was icing on the cake. The janitor’s comment that he used to love that song but now it’s ruined was classic.
Bud Light – with one major exception (see tomorrow’s entry), Bud Light had the best group of commercials. The two featuring new features of Bud Light – it will help you breathe fire and fly were great (although the fire one went on a little long). I also enjoyed the cavemen spot where one invents the wheel and the use it to carry the Bud Light on instead of rolling it. Okay, so the Geico guys probably didn’t think it was funny, but I did.
Pepsi Stuff.com – This was my favorite of all the ads this year. It featured Justin Timberlake getting thrown around and bashed into things with each sip of a girls’ Pepsi. Seriously who doesn’t want to see that guy get his ass kicked just a little? I like the guy fine, I mean, I grooved to SexyBack like everyone else, but he does seem like a bit of a douche. Kudos to you if you recognized Andy Samberg as the guy/girl preening in the blonde wig.
Watch all the ads here
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
The Worst
Pepsi Max – okay – so while most people probably found the head bobbing annoying I didn’t. This commercial is on my worst list simply because of the product. The last thing a Pepsi (or anyone in today’s world for that matter) needs is more caffeine. C’mon people – get off the juice!!
Under Armor – I’m not sure what it was specifically about this commercial that irked me. The training stuff was actually kind of cool. But then it got into the whole “We are the prototypes” army propaganda stuff and it lost me. I think I just got a strong vibe that they would all be sweaty and stinky and couldn’t get past it.
T-Mobile – Charles Barkley finally gets put into Duane Wade’s Fave Five and starts calling him all the time. Funny, but the joke went on way to long and wore out its welcome. There’s caller id on your phone dude – stop answering!
Bud Light – The one failure in a night of great ads, this one featured Carlos Mencia (ugh) with his class of ESL students in a bar. He tells them that American women like foreign accents, and what follows is a series of bad, and somewhat racist, jokes. The one redeeming feature – one guy’s come on line “you have the thighs of a SHerpa.” If I was a man (and single) I would so use that line.
AXA Equitable – I almost feel bad criticizing this ad because of the gorilla. He seems nice and like I said yesterday I like animals. But this spot was dull. Like, finances dull.
Doritos – the whole premise was good – give a new artist a platform and let people hear a bit of a song and maybe they will buy it on itunes and the artist will become the next big thing. Unfortunately, the song sucked. And there should have been several artists – this was definitely a campaign that needed a series of different spots.
Daytona 500 – I’m no Nascar fan by any means, but this ad sucked. Lots of cars driving through a motor – dumb. Airing it four times, even worse.
Sunsilk Make Life Happen – shots of Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, and Shakira because they are great women whose hair tells their story – huh? Weird threesome, Madonna hasn’t had the same hairstyle for more than ten minutes ever, and how the heck is hair supposed to tell your story? Bad.
Gatorade – Yes, I liked the dog. But saying that a dog and Gatorade are both man’s best friend is patently false. The only time Gatorade is your best friend is if you are seriously dehydrated from the stomach flu. That dog deserves better.
SalesGenie.com – the most racist cartoons I have ever seen. Ever. I’d rather go out of business than use this company to increase my sales leads.
Under Armor – I’m not sure what it was specifically about this commercial that irked me. The training stuff was actually kind of cool. But then it got into the whole “We are the prototypes” army propaganda stuff and it lost me. I think I just got a strong vibe that they would all be sweaty and stinky and couldn’t get past it.
T-Mobile – Charles Barkley finally gets put into Duane Wade’s Fave Five and starts calling him all the time. Funny, but the joke went on way to long and wore out its welcome. There’s caller id on your phone dude – stop answering!
Bud Light – The one failure in a night of great ads, this one featured Carlos Mencia (ugh) with his class of ESL students in a bar. He tells them that American women like foreign accents, and what follows is a series of bad, and somewhat racist, jokes. The one redeeming feature – one guy’s come on line “you have the thighs of a SHerpa.” If I was a man (and single) I would so use that line.
AXA Equitable – I almost feel bad criticizing this ad because of the gorilla. He seems nice and like I said yesterday I like animals. But this spot was dull. Like, finances dull.
Doritos – the whole premise was good – give a new artist a platform and let people hear a bit of a song and maybe they will buy it on itunes and the artist will become the next big thing. Unfortunately, the song sucked. And there should have been several artists – this was definitely a campaign that needed a series of different spots.
Daytona 500 – I’m no Nascar fan by any means, but this ad sucked. Lots of cars driving through a motor – dumb. Airing it four times, even worse.
Sunsilk Make Life Happen – shots of Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, and Shakira because they are great women whose hair tells their story – huh? Weird threesome, Madonna hasn’t had the same hairstyle for more than ten minutes ever, and how the heck is hair supposed to tell your story? Bad.
Gatorade – Yes, I liked the dog. But saying that a dog and Gatorade are both man’s best friend is patently false. The only time Gatorade is your best friend is if you are seriously dehydrated from the stomach flu. That dog deserves better.
SalesGenie.com – the most racist cartoons I have ever seen. Ever. I’d rather go out of business than use this company to increase my sales leads.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Honorable Mention
Sync “Anesthesia”- I have commented on these ads before, and this one is no different. Having the surgeon say “anesthesia on” and then just begin the surgery was good. Even the patient saying “Ow” was good. This ad only missed being on my favorites because they kept repeating the joke for all the idiots out there who may not have gotten it. Subtlety is sometimes better in terms of humor. It makes people feel good when they get the joke without having it beaten over their heads.
Audi R8 – This lame Godfather homage would have ended up on the worst list except for one thing: that car is super cool.
Bridgestone – There were two of these ads featuring a car swerving around objects in the road and they were both good. The first, I would have expected to hate due to the extended screaming done by the squirrel and the passenger and other forest creatures, but I actually found myself chuckling instead. The second had the car swerving around a deer, and then, randomly, Alice Cooper. This one would have gone all the way to favorites except that then the car swerved around Richard Simmons, too. Now ignoring the sheer improbability that Alice Cooper and Richard Simmons would ever be in the same place at the same time, this is just another case of the joke being carried too far. One random celebrity in the road, funny. Two, not so much.
Dell – I laughed out loud the first time the guy walking down the street with the Dell got slapped on the butt. Then I thought it was amusing that everyone was cheering him and patting his shoulder, etc. Then I just thought it should be over.
FedEx – Giant carrier pigeons wreaking havoc in the city. So silly.
Cars.com – There were two of these ads featuring customers at car dealerships who brought along “plan B”s unless they couldn’t get the right price, and they should have aired in the opposite order. The witch doctor was great, but the stone ring death match was greater.
Garmin – The car itself was pretty neat, and I didn’t think much of it when Napolean got out. But I laughed out loud when they brought out his tiny pony. One question though – did anyone else just feel like they were reenactors rather than the actually French army? I did but I don’t know why.
Life Water – This started out as an entry in the worst category. The Beyonce/Naomi Campbell looking person strutting around with her water – blech. But then the lizards started doing thriller and I changed my assessment.
CareerBuilder.com – These were pleasantly strange ads. It was mildly surprising when the spider came down and ate the singing bug during his duet in the “wishing won’t get you a better job” ad. And I loved the expression on the woman’s face in the “follow your heart” spot when her heart leapt out of her chest (looking like her boob exploded), walked over to her lobster (?) eating boss, and quit for her. She barely even looked surprised, much less dismayed to find a gaping hole in her chest.
GMC Yukon Hybrid – I liked the how the line drawing of Sisyphus (dig the knowledge yo) rolling the huge boulder up the hill seemed to change styles constantly, as if several different artists had drawn it. It was so simple and visual. I also like whenever there is a new hybrid SUV because it increases the chances I’ll be able to get one someday.
Comcast HD – The mother singing “More, More, More” when her son tells her about his new Comcast HD was delightfully creepy. Especially when she told him “her love for you is real.” And he looked appropriately weirded out by the whole thing, too.
Harmony Remote Control – “ Your Dad can watch your kids, but starting their favorite movie is another story.” Yeah, this ad kind of made fun of older people and their inability to work modern technology, but then again, I know people of a certain generation who practically need instructions to work the remote so maybe it wasn’t all that inaccurate. And the sound of the kids in the background running amok was a nice touch.
E-Trade Trading Baby – I was on the fence with this one. I am typically not a fan of the whole talking (or dancing) baby thing, but this was done well enough that it looked realistic. And the dry, voiceovers were great (“You might be saying ‘aren’t you a little young to be trading?’ and I say A) don’t worry about how young I am”). And they threw in a comment about how clowns are creepy, so that was good. But the spit up was unnecessary.
Coke – The political talking heads (James Carville and teh Republican guy) touring around town together was lame until they passed by on Segways*. But the one with the parade balloon being chased by Underdog and Stewie was great. It actually managed to look like they were just run away balloons, while also making it very clear that they were chasing, and fighting over, the coke. Of course, Charlie Brown got it in the end, and yeah, he’s a classic and all that, but I am way over Peanuts.
*upon second veiwing, I like this one more for 2 reasons: 1) they taught me that Jinx rules mean you have to drop everything and buy the coke w/o speaking, and 2) they just walk out on a tv interview - the host has got to be like "what?" I also now know the Republican guy is Bill Frist. Educational and entertaining!
UnHitched – the ad for this show featured a guy at a bar with a baby in a bjorn on his chest. He drips some dip onto the kids head and then licks it off. Now, I’m sure that many people (childless people) out there found this gross. But let me tell you: as a mother of two who has on occasion licked food off of her children, that is funny. And true.
Audi R8 – This lame Godfather homage would have ended up on the worst list except for one thing: that car is super cool.
Bridgestone – There were two of these ads featuring a car swerving around objects in the road and they were both good. The first, I would have expected to hate due to the extended screaming done by the squirrel and the passenger and other forest creatures, but I actually found myself chuckling instead. The second had the car swerving around a deer, and then, randomly, Alice Cooper. This one would have gone all the way to favorites except that then the car swerved around Richard Simmons, too. Now ignoring the sheer improbability that Alice Cooper and Richard Simmons would ever be in the same place at the same time, this is just another case of the joke being carried too far. One random celebrity in the road, funny. Two, not so much.
Dell – I laughed out loud the first time the guy walking down the street with the Dell got slapped on the butt. Then I thought it was amusing that everyone was cheering him and patting his shoulder, etc. Then I just thought it should be over.
FedEx – Giant carrier pigeons wreaking havoc in the city. So silly.
Cars.com – There were two of these ads featuring customers at car dealerships who brought along “plan B”s unless they couldn’t get the right price, and they should have aired in the opposite order. The witch doctor was great, but the stone ring death match was greater.
Garmin – The car itself was pretty neat, and I didn’t think much of it when Napolean got out. But I laughed out loud when they brought out his tiny pony. One question though – did anyone else just feel like they were reenactors rather than the actually French army? I did but I don’t know why.
Life Water – This started out as an entry in the worst category. The Beyonce/Naomi Campbell looking person strutting around with her water – blech. But then the lizards started doing thriller and I changed my assessment.
CareerBuilder.com – These were pleasantly strange ads. It was mildly surprising when the spider came down and ate the singing bug during his duet in the “wishing won’t get you a better job” ad. And I loved the expression on the woman’s face in the “follow your heart” spot when her heart leapt out of her chest (looking like her boob exploded), walked over to her lobster (?) eating boss, and quit for her. She barely even looked surprised, much less dismayed to find a gaping hole in her chest.
GMC Yukon Hybrid – I liked the how the line drawing of Sisyphus (dig the knowledge yo) rolling the huge boulder up the hill seemed to change styles constantly, as if several different artists had drawn it. It was so simple and visual. I also like whenever there is a new hybrid SUV because it increases the chances I’ll be able to get one someday.
Comcast HD – The mother singing “More, More, More” when her son tells her about his new Comcast HD was delightfully creepy. Especially when she told him “her love for you is real.” And he looked appropriately weirded out by the whole thing, too.
Harmony Remote Control – “ Your Dad can watch your kids, but starting their favorite movie is another story.” Yeah, this ad kind of made fun of older people and their inability to work modern technology, but then again, I know people of a certain generation who practically need instructions to work the remote so maybe it wasn’t all that inaccurate. And the sound of the kids in the background running amok was a nice touch.
E-Trade Trading Baby – I was on the fence with this one. I am typically not a fan of the whole talking (or dancing) baby thing, but this was done well enough that it looked realistic. And the dry, voiceovers were great (“You might be saying ‘aren’t you a little young to be trading?’ and I say A) don’t worry about how young I am”). And they threw in a comment about how clowns are creepy, so that was good. But the spit up was unnecessary.
Coke – The political talking heads (James Carville and teh Republican guy) touring around town together was lame until they passed by on Segways*. But the one with the parade balloon being chased by Underdog and Stewie was great. It actually managed to look like they were just run away balloons, while also making it very clear that they were chasing, and fighting over, the coke. Of course, Charlie Brown got it in the end, and yeah, he’s a classic and all that, but I am way over Peanuts.
*upon second veiwing, I like this one more for 2 reasons: 1) they taught me that Jinx rules mean you have to drop everything and buy the coke w/o speaking, and 2) they just walk out on a tv interview - the host has got to be like "what?" I also now know the Republican guy is Bill Frist. Educational and entertaining!
UnHitched – the ad for this show featured a guy at a bar with a baby in a bjorn on his chest. He drips some dip onto the kids head and then licks it off. Now, I’m sure that many people (childless people) out there found this gross. But let me tell you: as a mother of two who has on occasion licked food off of her children, that is funny. And true.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Previews
Narnia – I liked the first one and the second looks just as exciting. And of course, it is a great diversion in between Harry Potter movies. Wheeee!
Wanted – Yeah, Angelina Jolie may be a crazy person in real life, but you can’t argue that she is cool. Watching her stand there all confident telling the Atonement guy to “make the bullet curve” really makes you believe he can shoot in anything other than a straight line.
Wall E – Created by Pixar, endorsed by Buzz and Woody of Toy Story, with music from Brazil (the movie, not the country). What else could you want?
Semi Pro – Will. Ferrell. With a (totally real) white man fro. Love it. Plus, his crossover ad for Bud Light gave me my favorite catchphrase of 2008 so far: “Bud Light – suck it!”
I just noticed the period after Will - I was going to fix it, but I've decided I like it. Gives it a Bond, James Bond feel.
Wanted – Yeah, Angelina Jolie may be a crazy person in real life, but you can’t argue that she is cool. Watching her stand there all confident telling the Atonement guy to “make the bullet curve” really makes you believe he can shoot in anything other than a straight line.
Wall E – Created by Pixar, endorsed by Buzz and Woody of Toy Story, with music from Brazil (the movie, not the country). What else could you want?
Semi Pro – Will. Ferrell. With a (totally real) white man fro. Love it. Plus, his crossover ad for Bud Light gave me my favorite catchphrase of 2008 so far: “Bud Light – suck it!”
I just noticed the period after Will - I was going to fix it, but I've decided I like it. Gives it a Bond, James Bond feel.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
SuperAd Sunday
Well, it is time once again for that treasured of all American pastimes - watching the super sized commercials that are on during the SuperBowl. People all over the country will gather together and eat and drink copious amounts all to share the experience of watching these ads together. Okay, so football plays a small part in these parties, too, but I think it's mainly about the commercials. Anyway, I feel there has been sort of a downturn in recent years in the number of truly excellent SuperBowl ads - it seems that not as many are really funny or memorable. So I have high hopes for this year - especially since I'm looking for stuff to write about as my entries have been less than riveting this week. So let's get out the chips and dip, mix a white russian (or a beer if you're into the mundane), and, just for the heck of it - watch some football! (FYI - while I don't have much of a preference between the two teams, I think I may have to cheer on the Patriots - a perfect season is just too irresistable. Plus, no offense to Eli, but Tom is dishier.)
Saturday, February 2, 2008
I Like It Saucy
A while back there were some commercials for KFC's new sauceless chicken wings. Now, I will admit that I am not the best judge of this because I don't even like regular wings, but for some reason these sound very unappetizing to me. I can't really even put my finger on the reason, but I just feel like buffalo wings (like all good barbecue) are supposed to be messy and saucy. Spicy, dry fried chicken sounds like it would stick in your throat. Now, boneless wings is an idea I can get behind - who wants to gnaw on knobs of bone just to get some tiny specs of meat when you can have a whole juicy piece of chicken? Anyway, I don't quite know why I had such a reaction to this new idea - as I said before I don't eat wings of nay sort so I would expect not to care either way - but for some reason sauceless wings sound gross to me. I'm wondering if other's feel the same - I haven't seen the commercials in a while so maybe the wings weren't successful. On a related note - the commercials were dumb too, so maybe that's the reason they aren't on anymore.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Definitely NOT Sucking
Just want to give a shout out to Peter Stormare and the folks at VW for their excellent commercials a few years ago. They aren’t on any more but they were awesome.
Other commercials worth mention:
• Messin’ with Sasquatch – so wonderfully absurd and funny.
• Staples easy button – the one where an office worker suggests they use her easy button to find another’s easy button.”What if it causes a rip in the space/time continuum? What’s the worst that could happen? That – that’s the worst that could happen.” I love dry humor.
Other commercials worth mention:
• Messin’ with Sasquatch – so wonderfully absurd and funny.
• Staples easy button – the one where an office worker suggests they use her easy button to find another’s easy button.”What if it causes a rip in the space/time continuum? What’s the worst that could happen? That – that’s the worst that could happen.” I love dry humor.
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