The Best of the Worst

File Under: Off the Cutting-Room Floor

Here is a blog post originally meant for a February publishing, but never made it to prime-time. However, this is my blog and I want to share with you anyway:

Regardless of how you feel about the Saints winning the Super Bowl, you have to agree the commercials this year were pretty bad, and by bad I mean positively awful. One of the perennial disappointments is GoDaddy. For the love of all that is good and decent in the world, please, please, PLEASE, stop making commercials. Boost Mobile - bad Boost, you get a time-out mister. Charles Barkley, you are ruining yourself, or your agent hates you; I'm not sure which it is. Budweiser, you are an American icon, we expect better from you next year. I think over that past couple of Super Bowls, Coca-Cola has been trying to send the message that to truly enjoy their product, you need to be tripping on acid first. To the decision-makers at Frito-Lay (Doritos): there is a reason why people earn degrees in marketing and telecommunications - so they can make funnier commercials. Denny's you come close but no cigar. Some companies need to follow the lead of FedEx and Pepsi and give up the big game ghost (however, steer clear of stupid online ad campaigns). A few commercials garner a chuckle or a lol, but those were few. As if you will not see this enough without my assistance, here are to me what are the best advertisements of Super Bowl XLIV:

Up first is the VW PunchDub Commercial. This makes it for the nostalgia factor and punching people is just plain funny - especially the young kid and his grandfather at 0:18.



The award for "Best Use of a Bill Wither's Classic" goes to EA's Dante's Inferno 'Go To Hell' Super Bowl Commercial. EA rarely if ever does not do anything that is not full of win. While the game may not be your cup of tea, it appears well crafted and visually captivating.



Next up in the Snickers Commercial: Game we've got Betty White receiving a full-body tackle and doing a little trash talking. Funny. Just to be certain the commercial delivers, Abe Vigoda joins the party. A good effort by Snickers.



Next in line is Monster.com Fiddling Beaver Official Super Bowl Ad. It is a beaver playing a fiddle. It works.



However, Monster is again one-upped by CareerBuilder.com 2010 Big Game Commercial - Casual Friday :30. While this commercial does not rise to the level of their Super Bowl XLIII spot, it still poetically captures the absurdity of life in an officer or corporation.