Best Of The Superbowl

Let me preface by saying I didn’t actually watch the Super Bowl this year. I could care less about the Giants and the Patriots and there really isn’t a need with the half-time show all over YouTube and the commercials even being released a week early.

First of all, the half time show. It seems that Madonna has solidified herself as the eternal pop goddess to rein over all other music minions. I didn’t know anything about the show beforehand, but there were a ton of cameos from LMFAO to Nicki Minaj, M.I.A. and Cee Lo Green. And if you have ever listened to MIA before, you shouldn’t be surprised that she flipped off the camera. Mad props to a fantastic show, but of course the producers had to make up for the abomination that was the Black Eyed Peas last year.

So being in the ad biz myself, I had to watch the infamous ads. Super Bowl spots just don’t have the prestige that they used to. The majority were for movies and cars – America sure is is desperate to sell us some damn cars. Anyways, I had a few favorites that stuck out from the rest.

1. Maybe the most manly, epic Super Bowl spot ever created. Victorias Secret Supermodel Adriana Lima, Motley Crue, A Rhino Rodeo, a lumberjack sandwich and MMA fighter Chuck Liddel. But for Kia, really?! I think it’s going to take a lot more than one bad ass commercial to make them into a bad ass car brand. Props to David & Goliath for this little bit of entertainment (plus a 5 hour promo video of Adriana Lima waving a flag for all you dudes out there.)

2. This commercial has it all – beer for the guys and a little rescue dog that’s simultaneously cute and ugly for the chicks. The beer spots tend to be near the top of my list every year but I really like that this one was tied to an animal-loving cause. Props to McGarryBowen in Chicago for this cute spot.

3. The Acura spot playing up the Seinfeld-Leno car rivalry also makes my LOL list. It must have been so much fun to be one of the creatives at RPA Los Angeles brainstorming all of the ridiculous things that Seinfeld would offer in exchange for being the first owner of an Acura NSX from the Soup Nazi to Manhattan zip lines.

Honorable mention goes to the witty E-Trade baby by Grey New York.

And then, there’s the majority of the ads that just kind of blended together. Chrysler (and W+K), way to make the exact same ad as last year except with Clint Eastwood instead of Eminem. You’re from Detroit, we get it. Most of your cars still suck (and I can say that because I drive one.) There was bound to be a 2012 apocalyptic ad, but the “oh sh*t” moment happened at the end when they called out their friend who didn’t make it because he drove a Ford. Ballsy move, Chevy. I wonder if Ford will retaliate…

The vampire ad for Audi was pretty funny, but I don’t know many Twilight-obsessed tween girls that can afford that calibur of sports car. The polar bear ads were pretty weak too. Polar bears + football = lame. Then the Hyundai Cheetah spot really pissed me off. As a former big cat enthusiast (I was obsessed when I was little), I know that Cheetahs are the only cat that can’t roar DAMMIT! They make little chirping sounds like this. The Doritos sling baby was annoying and predictable. As was the missing cat spot. Lets just say I didn’t like any of the Doritos spots. Cars.com did a direct lift from Johnny Knoxville’s dual character in MIB 2. Why can’t these agencies come up with something original?!

The Chevy Sonic spot was interesting and obviously trying to appeal to the youth market by taking a cue from Jackass and Red Bull. Except, I’m not sure how it sells the REAL benefits of the car considering you will never go skydiving or bungee jumping in that (or any) car yourself. The Pepsi spot was pretty weak too. Here’s their recipe: start with some Pepsi, add a reality show winner (Melanie Amaro from X Factor) and throw in a few random celebrities. (although I can’t say I’ve seen Elton John in very many commercials.)

Thats enough outta me. If you want to watch all of the spots, I’ve found the best source to be fastcocreate.com.

Random Ad Of The Day

I like this American Apparel banner I stumbled across today. I personally feel like their ads are polarizing between WTF and AOK. I guess I tend to like the ones without people in them. Is it just me or does every American Apparel photo look like the beginning of a soft-core porn from the 70’s or 80’s?!

Versace Launches At H&M

Saw this on Ad Week before the break. The creepy yet creative spot was directed by Johan Renck and portrays Ms. Versace as an omnipotent controller of cute dresses and an army of skinny blonde models. Models Lindsey Wixson and Daphne Groeneveld resemble vacant fembots (not to mention more youthful Donatella clones) as they prance around a whimsical fashion factory, draped in remakes of vintage Versace threads.

And although Versace designed the dresses to be distributed to the masses via H&M, it seems she doesn’t want the masses to actually wear them. According to the New York Daily News, Versace cancelled their photo shoot that would feature real New York 20-somethings modeling the new line. I’m sure the collection will still sell out of the stores and this is nothing compared to American Apparel’s plus-size model search that backfired.

My Agency Really Appreciates Me

LoL. Nice to know I am appreciated by an automatic, generic email. (Although technically I have been working here longer than a year first as an intern and then a contractor before being hired full time last November.)

Misogyny is Funny

I can say that ’cause I’m a girl. Anyways, I was cleaning up the computer and came across this vintage VW ad that I saved in a miscellaneous folder. LOL I can’t believe this stuff was actually produced. Well, guys were the only ones with real jobs and authority back then (I miss Mad Men! It needs to come back on the air like, now!) I’m in a weird mood.

And that reminded me of this British comedy sketch by Harry Enfield.

Bi-Creative

I think I’m bi-creative. I mean, sometimes I’m drawn to a blank document where I can write endless lines of witty words. Other times, I open Photoshop and play around with pictures and type. Should I really have to choose one or the other?

I think I first realized my bi-creativity as a kid. I was always writing crazy stories, mostly about cats. I was both author and illustrator for said stores. But I also spent hours reading Seventeen and Cosmo Girl, ripping out the pictures and ads that I liked. I also made up logos and doodled characters next to my notes when I was bored in school.

I kind of experimented in college, but then again, who doesn’t? Most of the time I was openly writing research papers or tv scripts or updating my LiveJournal. But I always felt an urge to play with colors and layouts and tried to design pretty powerpoint presentations on the d/l. I interned as a copywriter my senior year but enrolled in the Art Direction track at Miami Ad School soon thereafter.

I wanted to take a bit of both writing and design classes, but the school made it clear that I had to choose one or the other. The only exception was my Stand Up Comedy class, in which I had to write and memorize a monologue pretty much every week. My muses included Stephen Colbert, South Park and Mitch Hedberg. The teacher called out some of the other copywriters and said they needed to step up their game because this Art Director was kicking their asses. I was super excited to end up being one of the headliners for our show at the end of the quarter.

Right now I’m technically on record as a designer, but I’ve been paid for my wordsmithing as well. So I guess I’ll just continue to bounce back and forth between both the literary and design worlds. Don’t judge me.

I Want To Be Friends With These People

I’m sure that’s the response advertisers were hoping for with this and other awesome videos for Vooray, as I discovered is a super fun & sporty clothing brand. Their tagline is Live. Ride. Play. which they portray perfectly in this vivacious video series.

(This one is for jetlev.com but I wanted to include it because it was shot in Miami!)

These videos were created by Devin Graham + friends. Check out his YouTube channel for more awesomenss.

JLo, The New Face Of Fiat

Pop Diva Sings And Dances To Sell Cars (Joonbug)

Call me nuts

I don’t completely hate the Atlanta Airport anymore. It’s been redesigned and streamlined with a giant new Delta check-in area, security screening stations and food court.  I also love the airport signage; big, bold sans-serif (I heart Helvetica!) typography with a limited color palette and simple icon accompaniment. Minimalist, yet functional.

Speaking of redesigned, when I flew in on Sunday, I ate at an Atlanta Bread (I guess they dropped the “Company”) in the new food court, which has obviously rebranded itself to look more like Panera. Even its new logo looks like a Panera’s, if it was painted on a cave wall by a Neanderthal (or an Aboriginal, according to Brand New). In any case, it drew me in and I thoroughly enjoyed my California Avocado sandwich on Focaccia bread.  (I’ve been on an avocado kick lately.)

Jet Blue and Southwest are still my favorites, but Delta had one thing that made me happy: peanuts. I was so annoyed when most of the other less-customer service focused carriers starting giving out only pretzels, or nothing at all! Peanuts and flying are one of the great American combinations, like movies and popcorn and ballparks & hotdogs. Yea, yea a small percentage of the population is allergic, but I’m pretty sure they would know that before getting on a flight. Save a couple packets of pretzels for them. Peanuts also have more protein and [IMO] keep your tummy more satisfied so you can stave off the many unhealthy temptations throughout the airport. That’s pretty much the only thing I like about Delta right now as I am writing this sitting in the terminal, waiting for my delayed flight.

Speaking of nuts, I can’t believe Keyboard Cat is a “spokes-meme” for pistachios now. [Interesting how much digital and social media is influencing traditional advertising. I saw this spot on TV last night.]

Ice, Ice, Baby

This is the coolest digital ad thing I’ve seen in a while. (I couldn’t insert the actual .gif, but here’s a substitutionary slideshow.)

 

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It has successfully distracted me for the past 30 minutes, and I’m sure our entire agency’s productivity just suffered a significant dip (since as you know, most creatives are ADD). I created at least 6 animated gifs , and re-posted them on half a dozen friends’ Facebook walls and even felt it deserves its own blog post.

I have no desire to watch his new show that’s premiering tonight, but I will watch myself over and over in an animated gif. I should get back to work now…

Ice Yourself at http://www.ibeatyou.com/iceyourself