The /Film Super Bowl XLIII Ad Awards
Company Who Most Clearly Spent All Their Money on Buying Advertising Time (and nothing else): Vizio
Best Use of Common Movie Plot Device (Guy Getting Randomly Hit By Bus): Doritos
Best Use of Koala Abuse: CareerBuilder
Nothing much to say about this ad, except it’s awesome.
Ad whose product was most difficult to guess: Sprint
This “Roadies Running Airlines” ad is pretty clever, but after the first run through, the commercial’s content seemed about as connected to its product as your standardMentosad.
Most Heinous Desecration of Childhood Film: GE
GE thought it’d be a good idea to make a bastardized, much-freakier version ofThe Wizard of Oz’sScarecrow sing a commercially altered rendition of “If I Only Had a Brain.” Instead of turning me on to GE, all they did was make my inner child weep with sadness.
Best Non-Reference Reference to a Movie Franchise (The Transporter): Audi
Technically, they don’t say that it’s Jason Statham’s Frank Martin driving the Audi in these commercials, but we all know the truth. Also, I love the look of utter disdain on Statham’s face when he considers stealing the Lexus (Statham fans will know this look is comparable how he appeared throughout the entire runtime ofIn the Name of the King).
Best Use of Wanton Violence (Three-Way Tie): Doritos, Pepsi, and Bud-Light
These ads show that while wardrobe malfunctions will get moralizing adults asking, “Won’t anyone think of the children?,” portraying everyday guys being electrocuted, thrown out of office windows, and sustaining brutal head injuries won’t make anyone bat an eye. Also, Doritos is here because seeing an old man’s testicles get shattered with a crystal ball is high-brow comedy at its finest.
Best Use of Classical Music (Prokofiev): Coca Cola
This Cola-ized arrangement of Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” aside, I’m actually a fan of how this commercial makes nature out to be a Rube-Goldberg-esque contraption designed to deprive one man of his refreshing beverage.
Ad That Most Actively Plays Up The Disadvantages of Its Product: Hulu
Baldwin’s charisma and comedic brilliance translate quite well into this ad for Hulu, which makes television out to be toxic, brain-rotting activity. Nonetheless, I, for one, welcome our new Hulu overlords…
Biggest WTF (Four-Way Tie): Sobe, E-Trade, Coca Cola and Castor Oil:
Don’t really know what to say about any of these, except that babies shouldn’t ever talk outside of theLook Who’s Talkingfilms, online avatars are frightening when inserted into real life situations, and monkey-human making out is so, so hot.
Discuss: What were some of your favorite Super Bowl ads this year?
