So the Super Bowl is over, and chances are if you weren’t a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers or Green Bay Packers before the game, you were watching Sunday’s perennial event for one reason: the commercials.
Whether they featured Justin Bieber or Darth Vader, most of the advertisements this year were solid and left viewers buzzing the next day about which were their favorites.
The most talked about ad was the Volkswagen Passat ad featuring a miniature Darth Vader. The Mini-Darth tried unsuccessfully to use the “force” on everything, from his pet dog to a toy doll. Towards the end of the commercial, Mini-Darth sits at the table, dejected that his “force” isn’t working. That is, until his father (Big-Darth?) pulls into the driveway in his Volkswagen Passat. Mini-Darth runs outside and tries to use the force on the car, until, instantly, the engine magically starts! Was it the “force” that caused the car to start?
Actually, it was his father who pressed the button from the house, and judging by Mini-Darth’s reaction, it was a good decision. This commercial premiered on YouTube a couple days prior to the Super Bowl, and managed to get 13 million views. Judging by the public’s reaction, it will probably be a staple on network television for a long time.
Another hilarious ad came from the Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” campaign. In the commercial, a slacker is house-sitting for his friend, who tells him to feed his fish, and that he’ll be back in a week. A week passes, and not only has he not moved from the couch, but he has neglected to feed the fish, which is now dead. Thinking quickly, he sprinkles Doritos into the fish bowl and, voila, the fish is alive again. The slacker soon realizes that Doritos are the answer to cleaning up the trashed house, and proceeds to sprinkle them everywhere, cleaning the house in the process. The clincher, however, comes at the end of the commercial, when he accidentally knocks over the ashes of his friend’s dead grandfather. After sprinkling Doritos on the ashes, the friend comes home and is greeted by his grandfather, who is back from the dead.
After seeing that commercial, I’m convinced that the new slogan for Doritos should be “The answer to all of life’s problems.”
The most creative ad may have been a ringer, as it was promoting the NFL itself. The ad showed different TV characters and TV families preparing to watch the Super Bowl. Every famous TV family was shown in the ad, from the Bradys to the Sopranos, and even Peter Griffin and his clan. I counted at least 20 different TV shows that were portrayed as getting ready to watch the big game, while the ad ended with the line “Best. Fans. Ever.”
Additionally, who knew that the Fonz was a Packers fan, or that Alf was a Carolina Panthers fan? After a great night of football and funny commercials, here are my top three ads: 1) Volkswagen Darth Vader; 2) Doritos Grandfather Revival; 3) NFL “Best Fans Ever.”
