Super Bowl Ads? Worst. Batch. Ever.
It should come as no surprise that the Big Game is generally a secondary point of interest in our household. Given my career (and the fact that I'm a lifelong Detroit Lions fan) the commercials have taken center stage for most of my adult life. That said, while the game itself was among the most interesting, the ads of Super Bowl XLVII marked a new low.
The tone was set very early in the first quarter when goDaddy completely negated any interest that one of the more lovely humans on the planet might create by attaching her face to another that no HD viewer could love. Now, lest that be taken as a superficial slam against one less physically gifted, my objection centered on the sound and the close-up examination of poor personal hygiene. Notable? Unquestionably. Memorable? Unfortunately. A positive statement about brand? Fuhgeddaboudit. (I know I'll be trying for a while yet.)
Beyond a goat that, presumably, will kill for Doritos, a couple of Fellini-worthy attempts to sell cars to… Clowns? Carnies?…there just wasn't much worthy of comment. Two emotional appeals, one featuring the Clydesdale who never forgets and another resurrecting Paul Harvey for a genuinely touching tribute to the American farmer, were worthy, if a bit predictable. The overwhelming impression of the batch was that they just weren't very smart. Much like SNL skits at the end of a dismal slog of a writing week, each tried to generate a few seconds of interest and audience connection on a thin premise that couldn't sustain either.
Here's hoping the inevitable parodies are better.
