The game may have been long over by the time Sha-Na-Na joined Bruno Mars on stage but the commercials went on as planned. You hate the sweater you paid $90 for last week? Too bad. Try being a brand that forked over millions in media and production to advertise during a game that was over after 12 seconds.
Oh well. Here’s who I thought the losers were.
Subway: “It’s Crunch Time”
What’s more off-putting? The brand that stands for eating fresh putting Fritos on their subs or letting a guy in a bad suit sing along with the “Cruncha-Muncha, Fritos on my sub” jingle? You choose. I’m too busy reviving Jared from his shock induced coma. Oh, look. They did it in-house.
SodaStream: “Sorry, Coke & Pepsi”
I don’t see why this spot is getting the love. It’s fine. But last year’s spot showed the true value of SodaStream much more effectively and it didn’t need ScarJo to do it, either. Here’s a tip: When you’re trying to differentiate yourself from the big boys, don’t act or spend like the big boys. This felt like SodaStream was a dot-com from 1999.
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (Crackle): “Reunion”
I didn’t mind the spot. The writing was funny. My only question is why? Why take a new type of show, shot in a new kind of way, on a new kind of network, and blow your brains out on the king of old school media? Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (which I love) represents the new regime. There was no need to do this.
Wonderful Pistachios: “Stephen Colbert”
After last year’s Psy and this year’s Colbert, maybe Wonderful should take the money they fork over to celebrities and give it to an agency to actually help them build their brand. If only there was a contest. Oh, wait. There was.
Audi: “Doberhuahua”
All that for the line, “Designed without compromise”? Trust me, somewhere along the way, someone compromised. Disappointing effort from a great brand.
Bud Light: “Epic Night”
It starts well. It ends well. It’s executed well. Still, a brand like Bud has to be in front of trends not behind them. Every second brand film feels like it was created by the crew of Just for Laughs Gags. Remember when Howie Madel helped orchestrate that over the top wedding proposal at Disneyland on the show Mobbed 3 years ago? This felt like the beer version of that. Besides, didn’t Heineken do that 6 months ago?
Intuit TurboTax: “Prom”
I love the concept. Love the writing. Love the performance. Hell I even love Shawn in slow motion. I just don’t really like the connection to the brand. That set up was for a faster tax refund? Eeeesh.
Squarespace: “A Better Web Awaits”
“We can’t change what the web has become”… is great territory. I absolutely love the promise of that notion. The spot just didn’t deliver on it. More importantly, I have no clue what Squarespace even does.
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