Yes, I watched the Superbowl, and of course I paid attention to the commercials. This year I was struck with a particular feeling that was hard to put my finger on, and it was a bit unsettling. I felt a tinge of sadness, as if I was looking at the world through a strange, dystopian lens. But sadness for what, I wonder. Am I changing, or is the ad world changing… is society at large changing? I think the answer is probably YES to all three.
The thing I noticed most …

Last weekend was the Superbowl. And after a week of analysis and banter, most people agreed that the VW and Chrysler spots were the big winners of the night. Particularly, if you check out the Brand Bowl 2011, you’ll see high “Sentiment” scores for both those spots.
As creatives we often get Briefs to communicate some point of difference that’s usually a tangible attribute; power, speed, seat warmers, or fine Corinthian leather. But very few times  do you find a true emotional insight within the brief. That’s often up to us …

There were no big surprises during the XLV Super Bowl. For me there wasn’t a great spot or anything even close to Apple’s 1984. There were however brands that wanted to be like Apple like Motorola launching their tablet. As usual, we got “bombarded” with car ads, beers ads, the eternal fight between Coke and Pepsi, and obviously the GoDaddy destructive advertising. There were other brands also close to destruction like the first appearance by Groupon. So instead of just posting all the spots featured during the game, I just …

I came across this Heineken guerrilla marketing event idea on a blog yesterday and found it really worth sharing…
It happened  on the eve of one of the biggest soccer matches you can imagine, Real Madrid vs AC Milan.
If you are American, just think about this happening to you during superbowl or if it’s not football, think one of the biggest events on a sport you love…
Watch it here:

- Philipe Diao

I promised myself I wouldn’t do this, talk about The Bowl, but damn it I gotta.
Of course everyone is going to talk about the Super Bowl and the ads they saw. “Dude what did you think?” “What was your favorite?” Then most people look at lists of ratings, most viewed and then watch them all over again blah blah blah. Well guess what. I haven’t re-watched them. I haven’t read or really said a damn thing about the Super Bowl ads. Nope zilch. Maybe a random headline but nothing has …

I’m pretty sure these Bud Bowl ads were the reason I was chopping at the bit to get my hands on both of these weak suds (although I’ve recently warmed up to Bud Light for economic reasons.) But between these anthropomorphic bottles, Spuds McKenzie, and Camel Joe, my generation was doomed. But looking back I can’t believe the impression these beyond corny spots had on us. I still catch myself reenacting Billy Bud’s march into the end zone on bar tops everywhere.
Not only did these ads plant the drinking …

I missed most of the game, but this little piece of genius really caught my eye:
http://superbowlads.fanhouse.com/2010/diamond-foods-nuts-and-popcorn/
Amazing.
If I ever get an ad in the Super Bowl, I really just want it to be this exact spot.
It just goes to show that the simplest ideas – in this case, “tasty nuts are a treat” – lend themselves the coolest executions. Not sure about “awesome plus awesome equals awesomer.” I definitely over use the word “awesome,” I think in general it’s just kind of lost its meaning… But, still. It is an awesome …

For the last 2 weeks, I’ve seen blogs, tweets and links to all the Super Bowl spots that will be airing. I don’t know about you, but the Super Bowl is like Christmas morning for me. I can’t wait to be surprised and laugh and enjoy all the commercials. Previewing them all before the game seems like it’s ruining all the magic. Like waking up Christmas morning and finding out that your parents took toys out of your toybox, wrapped them up and put them under the tree. I’m hoping …

In order for me to sidestep the back-story & avoid typing an extra 1,000 words, please have a look at the following news articles regarding two different Super Bowl TV spots intended to run this Sunday- one was accepted, one rejected:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/business/media/02adco.html?ref=business
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman2/publish/Sports_TV_52/Manhandled_The_gay_Super_Bowl_ad_ado.asp
WTF?!?!?!?!? I don’t know whether to be pissed off at or feel sorry for the frightened little men running CBS. Are we still living in America, “land of the free”? Hang on a sec, let’s take a closer look at the scenario…. Super macho, slightly homoerotic sport- check. Pro-life Christians …

The New Orleans Saints are going to the Super Bowl. Yep, THOSE Saints. The team whose fans previously donned paper bags over their heads to hide the shame associated with being a Saints fan. The team lovingly coined “The Aints.”  One of only 5 teams to NEVER reach the big game. And most importantly, the team that belongs to the city that was nearly destroyed by the biggest governmental FUCK UP in American history… “Heck of a job, Brownie!!!!”
So yesterday the Superdome- the dome that echoed screams of pain, horror, …