As I did last year, I intend to keep a running commentary on the only aspect of the Superbowl that I particularly care about: The commercials. Feel free to stop by.
in terms of the team, we will be pulling for the Colts for one simple reason: We allowed Caroline to decide based on the following conversation:
"Caroline: Which do you like better, teddy bears or ponies?"
"Ponies!"
So there it is.
PAD
6:24: I'm not sure I just heard that right. Did the crowd just boo a player...because his last name is Mohammed? I don't really follow football, so did I just mishear? Or is there some other reason?
6:25: Heh. Ford superdoody. He said superdoody. What kind of a name for a truck is that, superdoody.
6:26: Dooooooody. Superdoooody. Bet it's a real piece of crap.
6:35: Funny Bud Light commercial. Best Rock Paper scissors competition ever.
Not sure if "Eat Doritos, have an accident" is the message you want to give.
Blockbuster: Oh, that poor mouse.
6:39: "Sierra Mist: the drink for guys who have no concept of personal appearance." Best message since Doritos.
Okay, I'm thinking that even if you know Karate, if someone tries to rob you of your Sierra Mist, probably better to just give it to them, especially if he's armed.
6:56: If I'm not mistaken, we have just seen the first male/male kiss in Super Bowl history. Nicely done, Snickers.
6:49: Feel bad for the space guy.
Okay, that's the funniest commercial so far...the idea of hiring an auctioneer to blow through the vows so you can get straight to the Bud Light. Thus far the BL guys have the advantage.
6:58: "Chevy: The car for people who can't sing worth a damn."
Another score for Bud Light.
7:16: I don't know that I'dhave any use for Go daddy, but it's a cute commercial.
I'm not interested in having a Coke, but I sure want to play that video game.
7:23: Okay, doesn't have a damned thing to do with beer, but I want to see a whole movie about that dog.
Aw crap. Garmin.
7:28: Okay, I liked the careerbuilder.com ad. if I ever decide to get a real job, I might check that out.
I like the cashier in the Doritos ad.
Ariel has just seen the car she wants when she's old enough. And, hey...the Naked Cowboy, a staple of Times Square. Go figure.
7:36: Okay, not all Bud Light commercials can be good.
My heart hurts.
7:38: What a sad little robot.
VERY nice use of Black History month by Coke.
7:46: Connectile Dysfunction. There's a term that'll catch on.
7:53: Another clever use of Black History month, this time from Doritos. I suppose the point is derived from the fact that both head coaches are black.
7:55: Of course, if the old guy had drank Coke all his life, perhaps all the corn syrup and additives would have killed him when he was younger.
7:58: I sure hope they're paying John Goodman a lot of money for Dunkin' Donuts, but I keep being afraid they're just paying him in Donuts.
Dude...just put the autographed shoe up on ebay and use the money to buy a dozen more pairs.
8:22: Toyota. Eh. Not particularly clever.
Y'know, I don't typically find "Mind of Mencia" funny, but that commercial was funny.
8:43: Yet another great Bud Light commercial. "Seriously, what'd you say?" Love it.
"Not Fade Away" Interesting: A commercial directed squarely at women during the Superbowl.
8:48: Still liking Careerbuilder.
We gotta get the Taco Bell lions together with the Bud Light Gorillas.
Since I wear mostly t-shirts, not much use for Van Heusen.
8:56: ROBERT GOULET?! Okay, I love that. I'm going to start buying Emerald Nuts just because of those.
Okay, that phone commercial would have been funnier to me if I'd known who the athletes were...
8:58: DO YOU HAVE A FLAG? (Sorry, I know it's not a commercial thing, but I like Eddie Izzard, so...)
8:59: "Well said, Mr. Turkey Neck." Okay, that was great.
"Federline! Fries!" Yeah, he'll be hearing THAT a lot.
And the best entry from Bud Light yet. Best three commercial set of the evening.
9:11: Cute Toshiba ad. Great stunt work.
9:15: Budweiser: For a great case of crabs.
Iraq? Why are they saying all these great things about Iraq? I don't...oh. A rock. Never mind.
Yeah, that's what I need: A built in GPS.
9:27: Okay Bud commercial. The Bud light guys are doing a better job.
9:34: Ah, male urinary problems. That's exactly what you want to hear about after 20 beer commercials.
"Things you can do with one finger." Glad they finally got to the one that I immediately thought of.
9:39: Still liking careerbuilder.com. If I ever get a career....
9:51: Honda...eh.
Doesn't make me want to buy Snapple, but that was cute.
Much funnier losing football team than the comparable losing baseball team commercial urging people to watch the World Series.
"Caroline: Which do you like better, teddy bears or ponies?"
Man, that should be grounds for child cruelty charges or something. ;)
GO BEARS!
Word has it that Apple will be having a surprise spot sometime during the game. That will definitely be the one to watch for if it exists. Also, sorry about the GPS. Although a pain, the insurance will hopefully cover it.
Did the crowd just boo a player...because his last name is Mohammed?
They're chanting "MOO", not boo. They always do that for Mushin Mohammed.
heh... he blogged "doody".
I'm at work and the sound is turned down, but the game is on. That blockbuster commercial looked funny. Wish I could have heard it.
Since I'm in Indiana, there was much cursing on that first TD. What a way to start the game!
My only critique of the Doritos commercial is that the guy managed to open his chip bag prior to it's use as an air bag. The combination of bag popping, chips crunching, chips flying could have been more intense. But I love how they pulled off the good Samaritan bonking her head on the guy's car. Too cute!
Negative several thousand points to Bud Light for using Mencia, though.
"They're chanting "MOO", not boo. They always do that for Mushin Mohammed."
Ohhhhhhh! Okay.
I remember one Mets game where one of the players was really hearing it from the crowd after striking out twice with bases loaded in a losing game. Asked about it by the reporters, he said, "Yeah, that's one of those moments where you wish you had a nickname that rhymed with 'Boo' so you could pretend they're cheering you."
PAD
The GTA Coke ad (7:16) has been shown in theaters for a while now. Cool, innit?
AHA! Your GPS was taken not by a thief, but by Ultraman, who needed it to fight Mapasaurus!
As one of those about to be "downsized" by Ford,
'Superdoody' is the least offensive derisive word I've heard about Ford to date.
7:38 - saw the Coke Black History Month ad before Pan's Labyrinth yesterday. Wonder if we'll get an all-new Coke ad?
7:53: Another clever use of Black History month, this time from Doritos. I suppose the point is derived from the fact that both head coaches are black.
Yep, It's been one of the major talking points on ESPN for the past few weeks.
7:55 - And the third theater Coke ad from yesterday (yes, three Coke ads out of seven total ads).
7:58 - Huh? All I got were CBS self-promos, an Embarq ad and local insertion. Sigh.
Anybody else get the bit ad for CBS with Letterman and Oprah at the beginning of the game? That was pretty damn good. :)
> 7:55: Of course, if the old guy had drunk Coke
> all his life, perhaps all the corn syrup and
> additives would have killed him when he was
> younger.
That was actor Nicholas Coster, who portrayed Admiral Haftel in the ST:TNG episode "The Offspring" -- Haftel was the one who wanted to take Lal away from Data.
Time for some unnecessary rrrruff-ness over on Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl III!
BTW, the commercial set you're getting in New York is definitely an overlapping but non-identical set to what we're getting here in St. Louis -- we got no commercial with John Goodman, which is ironic considering he grew up less than four miles from where I sit typing this.
Man, it's solid CBS self-promo ads now, two breaks straight. Okay, and one moldy old KFC ad.
I don't remember a Super Bowl being played in a rain storm like this before. Does anyone else remember one?
My favorite commercial so far was the one with the giant map monster fighting the GPS super hero.
Another really cool Coke ad (8:42) that I saw first in the theater, albeit not yesterday. :)
I don't remember a Super Bowl being played in a rain storm like this before.
That's because there hasn't been one.
If the Bears would just quit fumbling the damn ball...
The Federline commercial was great, although I doubt many people will admit it in tomorrow's post-mortems.
And I liked the last Bud Light commercial, but I don't buy Jay-Z beating Don Shula at football, holographic or otherwise.
My take on the commercials:
Toyota Trucks— Silly ad execs—don't they know that James Bond only uses sports cars? Okay, yes he used a tank in Goldeneye, but still...
Chevrolet—A ton of music featuring the Chevy. The royalties must have been huge. I can hear thousands of RIAA members crying out in orgasm.
Coke—Apparently a Grand Theft Auto Take-off. And remember, mothers—your children can be either criminals or fat. Your choice.
GM--Remember kids, if you don't do a good job, go kill yourself, especially if you're human. It'll save the company a ton on salary, insurance, and retirement. It's a win-win situation!
Coke—Civil rights through the years, and Coke has been there every time! Apparently, Coke was created well before Civil Rights, which may have had some effect on the movement. Hey, Rosa Parks might have drunk a Coke before she entered that bus, and that's the important thing here.
I wonder if one of the Coke will mention this quote from Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech:
We don't have to argue with anybody. We don't have to curse and go around acting bad with our words. We don't need any bricks and bottles, we don't need any Molotov cocktails, we just need to go around to these stores, and to these massive industries in our country, and say, "God sent us by here, to say to you that you're not treating his children right. And we've come by here to ask you to make the first item on your agenda fair treatment, where God's children are concerned. Now, if you are not prepared to do that, we do have an agenda that we must follow. And our agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from you."
And so, as a result of this, we are asking you tonight, to go out and tell your neighbors not to buy Coca-Cola in Memphis...
Civil rights history...and Coke was there!
Dude, Battlestar Galactica theme fanfare for the presentation of the trophy.
I loved Garmin and Federline!
I thought Prince rocked, too!
Gotta say, for me the Coke "Grand Samaritan Auto" commercial was easily my fave for how utterly over the top it went.
My comment on the Coke Black History Month as was, "Apparently to Coke no black history has occurred since 1963."
Then again, my feeling is that mocking Super Bowl ads is one of the highlights of the game.
Never watch the Super Bowl but caught two things that were awesome:
1. Prince Halftime - Spectacular! I did not think it would be this good, especially after Paul McCartney's snoozefest last year. And so many covers that I would not have pegged on him. It was good that it wasn't a total celebration of Prince but a mix of songs that he thinks are cool.
2. The Federline commercial. If K-Fed can be self-deprecating like this without going overboard or showing up too much (No Surreal Life appearances) he might have a career as a D or even C list celebrity.
I'd already seen the Coke GTA commercial and I love it. Anyone who hates it has a hole in their soul, even if they hate it because it's a Coke ad.
I didn't watch the game. I didn't see the ads. I slept, then went to work, running the pathetic movie "Old School." It is a film I didn't see in any venue before, and for that I am fortunate. Instead of paying to see it, I was paid to broadcast it. And that puts me ahead of anyone who watched the game, either for the football or for the ads, on TV or in the stadium.
I just think it's a pity that Walgreen's no longer sells their generic version of Thereflu. 'Cause the people getting soaked in that stadium will need it, and after paying scalpers a fortune to get their tickets, they won't be able to afford the official Thereflu.
I'm in complete agreement about the beer commercial with the dog -- I only saw one, the one where he ended up as a faux dalmation, so I dunno if the "now my heart hurts" later had anything to do with it, but I'd watch a movie with that dog.
And you're not the first person to ask if they WERE booing the player for having the last name Muhammad. I saw the answer in your replies, and will pass that along to the person I saw asking about it elsewhere.
6:24: I'm not sure I just heard that right. Did the crowd just boo a player...because his last name is Mohammed?
Yeah, I thought the exact same thing too, and even mentioned it aloud to my buddies. One of my friends corrected me, but, for about 30 seconds, I was pretty shocked.
Anyway, I didn't see any good ads because I'm in Godforsaken Frozen Canada and they overwrote all the U.S. of A. advertisements for Canadian-bought ads. Therefore, I saw the same damn promos for "Prison Break" and "Deal or No Deal: Canada!" about 10 times durring the game. But, we did get an ad for "300" (which looks awesome) and that very funny GM ad about the robotic arm that is thrown off the assembly line, tires to find a new job and doesn't succeed, and throws itself off a bridge, then it "wakes up" and finds out that it was all a dream. Pretty awesome stuff. Didn't get to see the K-Fed ad, though, which kinda sucks, but the Robo-Arm totally makes up for it.
Ads aside: the game was pretty tight for the first half (then got sadly blown open in the 2nd half). And Prince's halftime show was pretty awesome. Just the fact that he covered a Foo Fighters song then transitioned into "Purple Rain" makes it an awesome show. Gonna watch it again on youtube now.
Also, screw Peyton Manning cause he's a jerk and I wish he hadn't won.
Wow, I just re-watched Prince's show, and it was pretty spectacular. I wasn't digging it that much when it first started off, but the ending triple-punch combo of All Along The Watchtower / The Best Of You / Purple Rain was insanely good. With no sense of hyperbole, I'm pretty sure that'll go down as the Greatest Halftime Show Ever.
Jimmy Hendrix, Dave Ghrol and Purple Rain all in the space of 5 minutes?! I mean, jebus christ!
Also, screw Peyton Manning cause he's a jerk and I wish he hadn't won.
-Rex Hondo-
>Blockbuster: Oh, that poor mouse.
Did they rerun the Carl & Ray commercial where the CGI bunny and guinea pig try to use a 'real' mouse to get on the Internet?
>My favorite commercial so far was the one with the giant map monster fighting the GPS super hero.
Didn't follow the game (didn't even know which teams were playing) but reading the above makes me wonder if this was by the same guys who did an ad some years ago where an Ultraman type character, decked out in distinctive Pepsi colour patterns was being chased by a soft drink delivery truck bearing the name Cave Cola in distinctive Coca Cola colours/font until he gets trapped in a cul-de-sac. At which point the truck driver gets out, comes up to him and ... drops to his knees and begs him for something to drink. Whereupon the Ultraman knock-off hands him a Pepsi which the driver gulps down happily.
The Blockbuster Mouse as mouse commercial was the best, with the Bud Rock, Paper, Scissors a close second. The Coke GTA was hilarious, even if Coke does suck and Pepsi rules.
I hope the terrorists don't try to bomb CBS for showing Mohammed's image on TV....
I don't know about those Blockbuster commercials. You can tell that they're trying really hard to be funny, but they just always come across as mean-spirited and condescending. Did feel for the mouse, though.
The Robert Goulet commercial had my vote for best spot even before the best line of the night, "It may even keep Robert Goulet away."
TallestFanEver stated: "Also, screw Peyton Manning cause he's a jerk and I wish he hadn't won."
I agree--but he wins Most Valuable Player anyway. Manning didn't win that game, the Indianapolis Defense did. There was no MVP, but if there was, it should go to the entire Indianapolis Defensive Line. Especially after all the crap they took all season.
--Captain Naraht
(Hortas love the NFL and Cutsy Monikers)
You might not know if you'd have any use for GoDaddy...but I checked to see where your domain was registered, and it is registered through GoDaddy. So Glenn knew.
Posted by: Captain Naraht at February 5, 2007 10:32 AM
TallestFanEver stated: "Also, screw Peyton Manning cause he's a jerk and I wish he hadn't won."
How is Peyton Manning a jerk? Because he has a great work ethic? Because he's humble in post-game interviews and always tries to spread the credit to the rest of his teammates? Because he's a good leader on the field and his teammates respect him?
Posted by: Captain Naraht at February 5, 2007 10:32 AM
I agree--but he wins Most Valuable Player anyway. Manning didn't win that game, the Indianapolis Defense did. There was no MVP, but if there was, it should go to the entire Indianapolis Defensive Line. Especially after all the crap they took all season.
They took crap during the regular season because they weren't getting the job done. They silenced their critics in the post-season by improving their performance. While I'd agree that their surge was impressive, let's not go overboard: Chicago's offense was really so-so at best and relied on the defense to keep them in games during the regular season. But their defense couldn't contain Peyton Manning and his potent teammates on offense.
So, yeah, Peyton and the offense really did win this one. I'm a Bills fan through-and-through, by the way. But I'm also a fan of Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning and was rooting for them all the way.
Bill Myers: "How is Peyton Manning a jerk? Because he has a great work ethic? Because he's humble in post-game interviews and always tries to spread the credit to the rest of his teammates..."
While I certainly agree about the workaholic ethic, I'm not so sure about spreading the credit. As a Steelers fan for years I was paying attention to the post-game from the playoffs last year when the Steelers beat them in the Divisionals 21-18. I taped that game, and much of the first half seemed to be Manning's fault until he got his rust off from the bye week. He was great in the second half.
But in the post game interview he seemed to be heaping blame on everyone but himself. He also was the player I believe who coined the phrase "idiot kicker" (but not for last season's loss to the Steelers.)
Manning has been less of a blamethrower this season but he does not "share the credit" as much as a Rothlesberger or Tom Brady, or nearly as much as he should.
Bill Myers: "They took crap during the regular season because they weren't getting the job done. They silenced their critics in the post-season by improving their performance."
I agree with you there. The crap they took during the REGULAR season was deserved. But in the Super Bowl the Colt offense only scored one touchdown that wasn't off of a turnover and were stopped more than once in the red zone. The Indy defense gave the offense opportunities, and even then the Colts only scored 29 points.
I'm wondering if the other team doesn't score, how much is that the offenses fault or to the defenses credit? My take is that if Indy's D deserved the crap in the regular season, then they deserve a lot of recognition for their Super Bowl effort. Good Job Guys!
--Capt. Naraht
P.S. I'm also kinda wondering how many people that post here are football fans (besides Bill and I) and enjoyed the game above and beyond the commercials. I was rooting for the Bears but was happy the Indy Defense did so well.
Well, I'm a life-long Bears fan and I love football (and yes, I have ocasionally posted, although I mostly just read), so this was a painfull game to watch. It was however a great football game, righht until the point where Grossman decided he WOULD be the reason the Bears lost.
Oh, and I comlpetely disagree with Manning as MVP. His numbers were pretty pedestrain and eh didn't really do anything to stand out. Should have been co-MVPs for Addai and Rhodes.
And going back to the begining of the thread (and post), the fans chant "MOOSE" at Muhammada, not "MOO"
I'm just glad the Bears lost so this generation could be spared the "Superbowl Shuffle."
Even though I was rooting for the Colts, I would've been happy no matter who won. After all, Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy were the first African-American head coaches to go all the way to the Superbowl. And everything I've read about them both indicates they're both classy guys to boot -- something you can't say about a lot of people in the NFL.
It was one of those storybook Great American Moments I'm glad I lived to see. I'm not naive enough to believe that we have finally arrived at "the promised land," but we've gotten one step closer.
By the way, here's a link to an ESPN.com article that discusses the incident that precipitates Manning calling Mike Vanderjagt an "idiot kicker:"
http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/2003/0202/1503003.html
Note that Manning's remarks were in response to Vanderjagt making disparaging remarks about Manning and Tony Dungy while Vanderjagt was still part of the team. Vanderjagt was being unprofessional in the extreme. Manning's reaction may have been inappropriate as well, but his anger was understandable.
Also, I've seen post-game interviews following Colts' victories where Manning emphasized that the win "was a team effort." So, yeah, I feel pretty comfortable saying he's good about spreading credit around.
By the way, here's one of the quotes from Peyton Manning that people pounced all over in order to "prove" he doesn't like to shoulder the blame or share credit:
"It seems like for so long it's been 'Colts win', but then 'Peyton Manning loses... Either give me all the credit when we win or give the team the blame when we lose. The way it should be is Colts win or Colts lose. That's the way I always thought it was."
Maybe he should've "manned up" and just taken his lumps from the "out-to-getcha" sports news establishment. But he's human. And he's right. Everyone really was putting the blame on his shoulders but never giving him credit for the wins.
Everyone loves a winner? No, not so much. I think a lot of people feel threatened by a winner. Peyton Manning is one of the greatest QBs in the history of the game. So I think people amplify his faults to a degree that they don't with other QBs.
Bladestar posted:
I hope the terrorists don't try to bomb CBS for showing Mohammed's image on TV....
I know this was intended a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it's not "Mohammed's image", but "The Prophet's image" that's prohibited. Many Muslim men have the name "Mohammed" (or some form such as "Mehmet" or "Moammar") and have been seen on television over the years (the Libyan leader broadcasts speeches frequently but I'm unaware of his being bombed by terrorists--only Americans).
Muslims also object to images of Ibrahim, Musa, and Isa (Abraham, Moses and Jesus) being shown on television and film as they are also Prophets.
And going back to the begining of the thread (and post), the fans chant "MOOSE" at Muhammada, not "MOO"
See, that's what I get for living in Denver and not Chicago, and never being able to get to a game. It sounds like just 'moo' through the TV. :)
As for the game, the Bears were in it, but the whole team failed: Benson's fumble, and then his injury affected the offense more than we could've imagined at the time. Allowing a long drive out of the gate in the 2nd half really killed the defense too.
Maybe if the Colts had played the entire game in the Bears red zone, the Bears would've won. ;)
Grossman can only improve, and it really pisses me off to no end that the only thing many other Bears fans want to do is run each and every QB out of town, regardless.
Grossman isn't totally at fault-the Bears defense acting like a sieve didn't help matters at all.
And, this is Grossman's first full season at QB-injuries have kept him from playing most of the previous 2 seasons.
Still, Griese should've been in there in the 4th quarter...
Dave
So, when's spring training start?
Go Cubs!
About that Snickers commercial...
http://americablog.blogspot.com/2007/02/snickers-superbowl-web-site-promotes.html
Mehmet is the Turkish version of the arabic name Mohammad. Moammar, I think, is a different name.
Frank, I was most struck by how far off the mark the Snickers ad was as far as:
1) Completely missing out on who their targeted audience was (i.e. testosterone-fueled football fanatics most of whom are watching with their buddies) by going with the gay joke.
2) The hair-pulling follow-up not only implied that homosexuality was something to be disgusted by (I was in a house with a dozen people, most of who echoed a unified "ewwww".), but left the impression that tough guys are complete idiots bent on masochistic acts to purge themselves of any homosexual ambiguity.
Nobody was left out in this commercial. Short-sighted and very foolish ad execs at the very least....
Anybody else bothered by the commercial where the GM robot loses his job? I can't believe this commercial got made. In real life, dozens of blue collar workers have been replaced by automated factories. What segment of the population really likes football? Blue collar workers? And we're showing a commercial that a robot dreams he's laid off, and eventually attempts suicide? Hmm. . .
I can't believe this commercial got made. I really can't. I guess GM isn't all that obsessed with COMMON SENSE when it comes to marketing itself.
Is this homophobia? Well, yeah. These two guys have some issues over their shared
moment of unintentional gayness. But is the ad homophobic? Only if you consider
that moment between Steve Martin and John Candy, ("Those aren't pillows!") in
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES homophobic. The humor here is not directed at
two gay men who, upon kissing, are punished for their act. No, it's directed
at two straight men who, upon ACCIDENTALLY kissing, are so mortified that they
react beyond all reason. The joke is about straight men being silly.
adam, the joke is the way in which it was received by the masses. I have spoken to more than a few people who were, in their words, "disgusted" by the accidental lip lock. The two men in the commercial weren't being silly, they were repulsed and self-abusive as a result of their encounter. The response by many was disgust toward the kiss. Was this the intent of the commercial to reinforce negative thoughts towards homosexual behavior? I doubt it. It was pretty damn ignorant though.
Not to mention the fact that the "alternate ending" on the Snickers site you can vote for shows one of the men beating the other with a wrench for kissing him, which DEFINITELY induces homophobia and gay bashing.
(also noted is that MARS company is a very right wing, homophobic corporation who donates to many associations that fight against gay rights)
I went into a bit more depth in my coverage here: http://www.pinnycohen.com/2007/02/05/ad-reviews/super-bowl-ad-review-2007/
I'm curious what you think of them.