The 2013 Superbowl ads featured Kelly Cuoco as a genie, Korean Rapper PSY dancing with pistachios, Stevie Wonder, The Flaming Lips, Clydesdales, cars, football players, beer, trucks, soft drinks, and sexy ladies. And yes, the GoDaddy ad was skeevey and the E*Trade babies were back. So who ended up on top of the pile? All links below lead to Youtube.
Ram Trucks: Farmer – Now if you're going to do one of these patriotic tributes to the American spirit, you've really got to commit. So while Jeep got Oprah to pay tribute to veterans in an utterly predictable cornball spot, Ram gave us two minutes of radio broadcaster Paul Harvey's "So God Made a Farmer" speech, played over a gorgeous montage of still photographs. And made impact.
Allstate: Forbidden Apple – A continuation of the Mayhem series, which goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden to show Mayhem playing the forbidden fruit in one of his first gigs. Then the ad barrels through human history at a breakneck pace, showing Mayhem responsible for everything from letting the Trojan Horse into Troy to starting the Great Chicago Fire. A great appearance by an odd, but terribly appealing pitch man.
Got Milk? The Mustache – Beloved action hero The Rock would love to help rescue kitties and fight crime, but he has to chase down a milk delivery truck first. After all, he just can't start the day right without a glass of the good stuff. The ad is high concept but still very simple and easy to grasp. And it's so well executed with the CGI effects and surreal universe, it reminds me of the innovative "Got Milk?" ads of the old days.
Volkswagen: Get Happy – Sparked a surprisingly serious kerfuffle for potentially being insensitive to Jamaicans. This VW ad presents a white guy at the office who is happy all the time, to the point where he speaks in a strong Jamaican accent. When he takes his uptight co-workers for a spin in his new ride, they follow suit. Fortunately the Jamaican Minister of Foreign Affairs gave his blessing, so this charmer could make it to the air
Iron Man 3 – My favorite of the summer movie previews, composed almost of entirely new footage. No beating around the bush here. The ad gets right down to business, showing Tony Stark in the middle of his latest crisis, trying to save more than a dozen people who have been swept out of a plane. And that's it. Just 30 seconds to stick the hero in a very bad situation, and you'll have to go see the movie to see what happens next.
Jack in the Box: Hot Mess – Plays on 80s nostalgia, having Jack appear as part of a hair metal band in his youth. The gimmick is just okay on its own, but the final punchline is what got me to smile. I'm not sure I'd ever go near one of the sandwiches that is being advertised here (jalapenos and onion rings?!) but the ad still did a good job of emphasizing the brand and the Jack CEO character, who ironically didn't even exist until 1995.
Hyundai: Stuck – Hyundai had several good ads this year, but this was my favorite. A driver in a new Sonata finds himself behind a series of increasingly unpleasant and hazardous vehicles, and passes them one by one. Because if you're going to have an ad for selling cars, it's a good idea to have a concept that's actually about cars and what they do, and not, oh, a planet populated entirely by babies.
Mercedez Benz: Soul – This one is on the list solely for the genius of casting Willem Dafoe as the Devil, who offers to put the ad's young hero behind the wheel of a new Benz if he signs away his soul. Kate Upton and Usher also make appearances in the fantasy lifestyle that comes with the car. I'm not so sure if trying to promote a luxury vehicle as affordable is ever a good idea, but it gets the point across.
Best Buy: Ask Amy – I like Amy Poehler, and her appearance here as the most inquisitive Bust Buy customer ever was charming enough to briefly make me forget everything I know about Best Buy and their notoriously dysfunctional business model. And kudos for the inclusion of the cute Asian sales guy for Poehler to flirt with.
Wheat Thins: Night Vision – Technically not a Superbowl ad because it ran before kickoff, but of all the absurdist ads this year, I think this is my favorite. It's silly, but it's wonderfully well crafted silly, where it's equally plausible that your next door neighbor and a yeti are after your Spicy Buffalo Wheat Thins. And I would totally try that flavor too.
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