Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

super bowl sundae

Forget the game: For me, Super Bowl Sunday is all about the new commercials. Sadly, I wasn’t very impressed by the majority of the ads. (Disclaimer: I started watching at about 6:30 p.m., so I missed all the pre-game stuff.)

While I appreciated the creative effort of some, I spent a lot of time staring, slack-jawed, at the television screen muttering, “WTF was that?!” (Case in point: the robot-meets-monster “love is strange” ad for the Hummer H3.)

My favorite ad of the night:

• Bud Light: “Secret Fridge” - The commercial started out pretty dumb (Guy stocks fridge with Bud Light. Guy wants to keep houseguests from drinking said Bud Light), but I actually laughed out loud at the goofy twist at the end. I don’t know how well this ad will stand up to repeated viewings, but it had some fun novelty value the first time around.

Honorable mentions:

• United: “Dragon” - I loved the dreamy, illustrated children’s book feel of this ad. I felt like I was being told a bedtime story.
• The Sprint Nextel ad with the two men in a locker room comparing the features of their respective phones — including “theft deterrent.”
• As Rob said, “I applaud Fabio’s willingness to lampoon himself” in his ad (Windows Media) for Nationwide Insurance.
• Degree for Men’s “Stunt City”
• MasterCard “A Narrow Escape” - I cheered the return of MacGyver … but where’s the duct tape and the theme music? (Not to mention the mullet?)