jtherkal: I don’t even know where to start with this. Am I on mushrooms? Will my cat be on mushrooms? What is catnip? This is the very definition of overpromising. And of amazing. I can imagine the elevator pitch of this spot…
So the idea here is that opening a can of Friskies sends your cat into another dimension, where it meets a troop of dancing turkeys in a mystical field, it then quickly moves on to a field of cows with floating mountain windmills, then it boards an awesome fish sailboat and sails across the magical friendly fish sea into the chicken palace, where the dancing chickens and their babies welcome him. Basically, the cat is exploring and playing with all of the animals we chop up for it to eat. Also, we’ll write a special song that you can trip out to.
The sheer absurdity of this would put it #1 on my cat-food shopping list. A+.
sjbooher: It is memorable… and beautiful even though I, personally, would buy cat food based on nutritional value. Your cat’s (nor yours) tongue does not need to be happy. C.
sjbooher: The other Intel ad was such a success that I can’t even find this one online due to the robot one popping up so much in search results. That makes this one mediocre in comparison. C.
jtherkal: Apparently even a computer nerd doesn’t know how to use the “search” part of a computer. I found it in .5 seconds, which makes me smarter than you. But it doesn’t make your grade wrong. C+. The plus is for computer labs in college.
sjbooher: F. And I don’t have to explain why at this point, right?
jtherkal: How can you give an F to an ad with such great jokes! Man abandons softball for book party! Do you like Little Women? Yeah, I’m not too picky! Kazam! That’s gold, Jerry, gold! Now you’re going to tell me you don’t like Seinfeld. Go back to Russia. It is what we thought it was. C+.
sjbooher:We’ve proven throughout this year’s review process that you CAN make great ads without using lazy stereotypes… gender or otherwise! And here’s further proof, USA Today’s top 10 based on actual people’s reactions. So that’s how I can given it an F. Not only is it lazy and offensive, it’s ineffective.
jtherkal: Normally, I would give this an F for being so forgettable, but I read somewhere that they went and shot a lot of this at the pro-bowl, and then instead of buying ad space from the network for $3 million, they bought space from the NFL and somehow ran it through them–I’m assuming for less. Tricky enough for me. C+.
sjbooher: Goooooo big Papa, gooooooo big Papa. I love that song. I love that guy. The pizza… not so much, but I still buy it sometimes. A.
jtherkal: Hahahahaha. Sort of funny. Although Brett Favre unretiring jokes aren’t really new territory. Also, I’m not sure I would have remembered this as Hyundai, since I think I just saw a bunch of Sears ads with Brett. Was that Sears? C+.
sjbooher: Good point. I definitely remembered the ad, but not the product, at all. My initial A is now also a C+.
sjbooher: What just happened? What’s going on? The hilarious part, is that I GUARANTEE Joe Montana refused to let himself be filmed actually, you know, WEARING Shape Ups, and they still had him do a voiceover! Awesome. The sheer confusion this ad induced makes it a winner in my book. A slightly above-average winner, that is. C+.
jtherkal: Wait, that wasn’t a local cable ad? That wasn’t for Mr. Allens? 29.99 or 2 for 50! This guy knows what I’m talkin’ about. When I found this on YouTube, it was labelled: “SKECHERS Shape-ups Super Bowl Commercial feat. Joe Montana” Featuring Joe Montana!? Joe! Get a job in the booth! Sketchers?! This had no place in the Super Bowl and it made me feel sad. F.
sjbooher: If I’m drinking Bud Light when the world ends… F.
jtherkal: There’s no way that’s bad enough for an F. Science party, featuring the guy from Dharma initiative (?). Maybe it’s because your wife went to Space Camp without you. Bud Light ads are just what their beer is. Light, thoughtless, fodder that doesn’t really fill you up or taste bad. C+.
sjbooher: Whaaaaaaat? Bud can actually come up with a semi-original/creative joke and dip down to the lowest common denominator? Amazing. C+
jtherkal: A house made of beer cans. I like that idea, but it falls apart from there, literally. Bud Light in a fridge made of Bud Light saves this one from falling lower than it did. B-.