Kimberley Freeman, Freelance Copywriter
Zag Studios
Touchdowns
What worked best all the way around were the Career Builder spots--and each built on the last. The first set up the premise: "I'm working with a bunch of monkeys here." Perfectly cast is the worn down tired, here-we-go again guy who really needs a new job. All three spots are funny--especially the whoopee cushion and boss butt-kissing.
This Super Bowl exposure may actually have been worth it for Career Builder to add some edge to what's been a bland image for a me-too job search site. A media buy like this also creates the perception that CareerBuilder is big enough to actually be a viable alternative to Monster--and that they really "understand" the drudgery of office life.
The concept of combining all the ingredients needed to make a great Super Bowl ad is funny--and it worked. In this case, using a celebrity (Burt Reynolds) makes sense, and there was a great advertising inside joke: "product message (optional)."
It was a pleasant surprise that Fox allowed the groin kick. The only thing missing is a decent logo shot. The FedEx Kinko's lettering was on a dark background and barely legible.
Another good use of celebrity was the Diet Pepsi spot with P Diddy. He's stranded on the way to an award show and picked up by a Pepsi truck driver. Soon everyone wants to drive a Pepsi truck.
Not only does the agency poke fun at celebrity, they got the Pepsi logo into almost every shot. If FedEx had been able to manage this, they really would have had all the ingredients.
A great case of a concept perfectly executing a tagline. One man is rich but not smooth, the other is smooth, but on a couch on a video sales floor. Unlike many of this year's commercials, this one has a great ending.
The confused sales manager asks the smooth guy, "Steve, what are you doing? Where's your nametag?" This was simple, clear, funny--and even had a great voice over.
Classic Cedric, sitting in a bar with a pal, imagining his perfect fantasy of Bud Light and beautiful women on a beach. He's smiling and enjoying his beer until the reality of the two women nagging, ("When you gonna paint the hut?") kicks in and he realizes it's all about the beer. True.
Once again, the hot guy walking through town drinking a Pepsi draws lustful looks from everyone he passes--including previous spokesmodel Cindy Crawford, a tiny dog and Carson Kressley from Queer Eye/Straight Guy. This is a classic built on ten years of Pepsi classics--and another case of using celebrity well.
Fumbles:
Honda goes to a lot of trouble to make a sleek truck that looks more like a Cadillac appear tough and rugged. One of the two spots even has a quick flash of what appears to be a Dale Earnhardt "3" as a guy pulls a helmet from the bed.
Most of what we see is a grey vehicle in heavy fog, then grill shot followed by more fog, then the obligatory perched-on-a-mountain shot followed by "...above all, it's a Honda." Above all, a bad tagline.
Of all the companies and organizations that actually do have some affinity, this agency comes up with Rugby and Gladys Knight? "They both have a lot of hits, but what else do they have in common?"
The answer is quite a stretch, and the shot of Gladys Knight in her red evening gown sliding on her stomach is more offensive than some of the spots Fox pulled. A woman of her stature deserves better.
A grey car in a tunnel backs slowly until the suspense turns to boredom. The car blasts out of the tunnel--but the payoff (the "tink" of a shotgun shell hitting the ground) took way too long and the car looked like it was about to self-destruct. Cadillac seems to be going for the classic Mercedes minimal style, but ends up shooting blanks.
Silestone
Four famous sports figures--none of whom are likely to appeal to the target market of women--all claim to be Diana Pearl in cut after cut until finally, we learn that Diana Pearl is a counter top. Although this spot tries for humor, it comes off as bizarre, and who wants Dennis Rodman in their bathtub?
The biggest surprise?
Fox's network ads for 24. These were better than most of the big agency ads--especially the one featuring the macho voice-over guy butting in to deliver his lines to Wal-Mart customers while they're buying fruit and underwear.
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