Our Take: Super Bowl Winners, Losers

The dishes are dirty and the recycling is full. The Super Bowl is over and it’s time to clean up. It’s also time to debate about who won and who lost – the advertising battle. The wacky beer ad, the sleek car ad, the fun-loving soft drink ad, and the detergent ad that outdid them all.

We saw plenty of what we expected: Lots of celebrities, plenty of food and beverage companies, and an overarching theme of unity. We also saw Danny DeVito get hit by a bus in an M&M costume. A typical day at the office. Here’s a list of my 5 winners and losers.

WINNERS

Tide

Hands-down favorite campaign. What better way to talk to a Super Bowl audience than to make fun of all the clichés we’re so familiar with. Tide literally took over the broadcast, leaving me waiting to see if each spot would end in an “It’s a Tide” ad punchline. Brilliant.

E-Trade

What’s funnier than a grandpa running in slo-motion as a Baywatch-style lifeguard? Well, a grandma “droppin’ beats” as nightclub DJ, for one. Yes, this one was silly and a little stupid, but that’s the kind of thing Super Bowl spots are built on. Oh, and they happen to drive home a great point: Manage your retirement.

Verizon

If you’re not going to make us laugh, then make us cry. This ad touched our hearts with real life stories of heroic first responders through the voices of those whom they rescued and also put a new perspective on the importance of a reliable network.

Budweiser

As hard as it is for a Milwaukeean to give props to Anheuser Busch, Budweiser’s spot highlighting their canned water relief efforts brought me around. This is just great storytelling and brand stewardship.

Hyundai

In an effort to highlight the fact that every Hyundai purchase goes toward cancer research, the company set up detectors at the Super Bowl, pulling Hyundai owners out of line into a “security room” only to be greeted by cancer survivors ready to thank them for their support. High emotion. High impact.

LOSERS

Bud Light

Can we be done with the whole “Dilly, Dilly” thing already? I get it; this is a serious, dramatic medieval war setting with casual modern dialogue. Hilarious. And the “Bud Knight?” Did you spend more than 6 minutes concepting this ad?

Diet Coke

Diet Coke has new flavors, one of which is Twisted Mango. That’s what I got out of the spot with the girl awkwardly dancing with a Diet Coke in her hand. What I didn’t get is any sort of entertainment or connection with the brand.

WeatherTech

I love their floor liners. I hate their Super Bowl ads. This whole ad was about the fact that they built a factory in America. Great, WeatherTech; how about you connect that with any of the literally thousands of positive implications that could have on the people watching?

Dodge Ram

I’m sure they had good intentions, but maybe think twice before using Martin Luther King Jr’s words to sell trucks – Especially when the speech used in the ADVERTISEMENT has a larger theme of ANTICAPITALISM. This is the largest stage in the world. You have to do your homework.

Groupon

Tiffany Haddish is a very funny comedian. Too bad they essentially use her as an announcer to bookend a football-in-the-gut gag. If you’re going to feature a celebrity, use them for what they’re good at.