super bowel ads

the economy is on everyone's minds. the media won't let us forget how america is racking up a debt that will soon make our quality of life comparable to the great depression. our government is fucked. obama or not - democrat at the helm, or terrible republican leaving an epic path of destruction behind.

why this debt bullshit effected the quality of the super bowl ads... i wish i could tell you.

at a time when every person's moral has dropped and almost everyone has a chip on their shoulder (after watching wall street squander their life savings), you'd think the creatives of the world could produce some comic relief. i'm not sure if this was the clients fault (which is possible, they have absolute final say. if they want something lame and unoriginal, they'll get it), or if the agency employees were just too concerned about losing their jobs if they brought something eccentric to the table... but somebody shit the bed.

i didn't get the pleasure of watching the super bowl due to complications with trying to figure out how to pay my cable bill without the required pin (not that it really matters. football is kind of lame). instead i got to suffer this morning, watching the horror show of bad ad after bad ad unfold.

there were a few gems (ish). i linked them below with a critique of why.



E*trade
http://superbowlads.fanhouse.com/quarter2/Etrade-Babies/2409738

E*trade kept their message, and built on it in a successful fashion. they stayed true to the product and dealt with the current economy in a humorous way instead of saying something as lame as 'times are tough' or 'money is tight.' the super bowl, like all sporting events, is an escape. people don't want to be reminded of their current failings and money losses.



Hulu
http://superbowlads.fanhouse.com/quarter4/Hulu-Alec_Baldwin/2409778

CP+B represent. i know i should be reppin' this one a lot harder, but i only found the last fifteen seconds to be what carried this to being 'good'. since i do know a large number of the creatives who worked on it, i feel a bit more obligated to defend it.



Cash4Gold
http://superbowlads.fanhouse.com/quarter4/Cash4Gold-MC_Hammer/2409774

did not think i'd be writing about this one. i enjoy their play of using MC Hammer, an obvious life failure, to subtly tie into the economy and liquidation of luxuries that our nation is experiencing. plus the line, " i could get cash for this gold medallion of me wearin' a gold medallion" slays me.



even finding three ads i liked was a challenge. Coke Zero can get an honorable mention for their play on the classic coke commercial (http://superbowlads.fanhouse.com/quarter4/Coca_Cola-Zero/2409773).

overall a very disappointing start to the year. i hope obama can offer a creative stimulus for the ad industry. that show of the 'cutting edge best' was just sad.