jtherkal: Yessss! First, I love reply all mishaps. I could listen to reply all stories for hours. Never gets old. And second, this is just the right amount of crazy/slapstick for my sense of humor. Not too over the top, don’t dwell on any joke too long. I could watch that triple phone slap-coffee sequence ten times and still laugh. Who was it for? Bridgestone? Oh. They had some tires and whatnot, but this probably would have been a better non-tire commercial. Still, I love it. A-.
sjbooher: I’m right with jtherkal on this one. Liked the gag, liked how there were several quick in-and-out scenes, but wished it was more obvious it was for tires, somehow. B-
sjbooher: Cars! Cars! Cars! This time, buy a truck! At first I didn’t get it, but that’s because I was eating chili, drinking beer, watching my 1 year-old and writing notes down at the same time, all while trying to find anything to root for in the Super Bowl. Once my wife clued me in, I liked it. I’m not sure how many young’ns will get it, but young’ns aren’t the ones buying trucks. B-
jtherkal: I’m buying. A truck that tells you when your kid is in trouble? That is one reliable truck. And I didn’t notice, was there legal disclaimer that stated “truck does not drive itself or keep safe watch over your kids”? I was entertained, although I can do without ever seeing a fake whale jump in a commercial again. B-.
jtherkal: I get the gag. Ha. Ha. I must not be Bud Light’s target audience, because this just wasn’t very funny to me. And I hate the whole swash-buckling time period, so anything set during that era immediately turns me off. Is it that hard to make great commercials for Bud Light? D.
sjbooher: I like completely over-the-top jokes, and this qualifies. I like this type of “period piece” setting, but obviously not everyone does. I chuckled a little. Product placement? Can’t knock the hustle there. And Bud Light is normally so bad that they get credit for not going to the lowest common denominator. Grade on a curve. B-
sjbooher: I love nostalgia… but didn’t Pepsi make this ad last year? Will The Black Eyed Peas be in control of the world by the year 2020? B-
jtherkal: Wait, this WASN’T a Pepsi ad? will.i.am has fast become the hip-hop star white advertising executives are most comfortable throwing into the mix on just about any project. He’s our go-to guy. Tampons? Why don’t we do a montage of touching scenes of moms and daughters throughout history and have will.i.am remix Respect? Yeah, the kids will think that’s hip. And dope. I had another joke to make about this…oh yeah…I HATE The Who. I know all of their popular songs, but wish I would never hear another one again (aside from at the beginning of CSI). When will the NFL realize that the best halftime show is 20 minutes of highlights from the season set to music? F.
jtherkal: This year was the year of the underpants joke. Of the bunch, this was probably the best. Anyone have an opinion on why you’d pick one of Careerbuilder or Monster over the other? No? Because their ads don’t really tell you either. B-.
sjbooher: Apparently you pick Monster if you are a non-human (AKA a Boogie Man or a beaver). If you are a sophomoric idiot, you pick CareerBuilder. C-.
sjbooher: Whatever swayable beer market share is out there, it is Bud’s. There was no beer competition this year. This is one of those that was a good, kind of clever idea on paper, but the final product did not have “it”. And I do not like it, but I have to give Budweiser credit for simply raising the IQ level of their ads. B- on the curve.
jtherkal: Predictable. Bud clearly goes with quantity over quality. What did I give that space ad? This should probably be the same. D.
UPDATE: From sjbooher’s wife, an 8th grade teacher: “8th graders think that the human bridge is real and that it was done with real people. Amazing”
sjbooher: Beaver violinist? Good, clean fun, minus the woman-as-only-a-sex-object at the end. B-.
jtherkal: Monster typically has great Super Bowl ads. I don’t think they were far off here, but I think they could have had the jokes work a little harder. And I can’t knock a beaver for getting some ass at the end. That’s just how a beaver violinist rolls. Don’t hate. B+.
sjbooher: America loves dogs. And this was the first Doritos commercial so I didn’t want to lose my mind over them, yet. B-.
jtherkal: These Dorito’s ads were all made as contest entries, and I believe one winner got up to $650,000. I don’t know what the runners up got, but either way, I can’t get behind this. First, it’s no longer about Joe Average making an ad, these are higher production quality. A kid with a Flip doesn’t really have a shot, as much as they’d like you to believe it. Also, I hate seeing Super Bowl commercials before the Super Bowl. These were posted online and publicized. C.
sjbooher: Betty White = star of the show. Who is that old guy at the end, though? B-.
jtherkal: Old ladies getting tackled never gets old. And the idea that you’re not yourself when you’re hungry is a pretty fun one. I can see a few more coming out in this series. B+.