Students and professors at SCAD-Atlanta didn’t just enjoy watching the Super Bowl game, but also relished viewing the commercials during the game this past Sunday, Feb. 1. In spite of the economy’s current downturn, corporations lined up to spend three million dollars for a 30-second second advertisement.
“The all-over tone of this year’s Super Bowl commercials was one of caution. Everyone, and quite rightfully so, is concerned about the economy and did not want to ‘offend’ anyone with the wrong message or make their ad or product seem controversial,” said Mark Rokfalusi, professor of advertising design.
“Among my favorites were the Coke Heist, the Hulu/Alec Baldwin commercial, Career Builder.com spot, the Pedigree Crazy Pets spot, and the Pepsi Max: I’m Good commercial,” he continued. “These spots had at least a storyline or something about them that was original or at least took somewhat of a chance.”
Kelly Peterson, a fourth-year advertising student and Bill Chapman, professor of broadcast design and motion graphics both watched commercials and provided critiques on several commercials from their perspectives as an artist.
Like Rokfalsi, Peterson said that she particularly enjoyed the ad for Careerbuilder.com.
“The message in the commercial is that ‘it might be time for a new job when … ’ The commercial repeats itself, adding a new part each time. It begins with a woman in her car screaming in distress, and goes on to say ‘if you constantly wish you were somewhere else,’ showing a hilarious image of someone on a dolphin’s back in the ocean, and then on to say if you are “always dreaming of punching small animals” with an image of a stuffed koala being hit in the face as he is enjoying a cup of coffee. It ends up repeating about six times, quicker each time,” said Peterson, “Sure repetition is one of the oldest tricks in the book, but it was definitely effective and entertaining in this ad.”
Peterson and Chapman both had different viewpoints on the GoDaddy.com commercial. “What’s better than a trio of IT geeks sitting around watching live webcams, especially when it’s a sexy sports personality in the shower,” said Chapman, “If that truly is the Go Daddy demographic, I’m sure they all jumped online to see if that really exists, and by now, it most likely does.”
It seems Peterson didn’t enjoy the GoDaddy.com ads much: “They have been rehashing the same campaign idea for as long as I can remember.”
Peterson said that she thinks it’s great for commercials to be humorous, but she thinks they tried so hard to be funny that it didn’t work out “They tried to make it racy or sexy, but I think it came off as tacky and cheap,” she said.
“The commercials ended at an awkward point to me as well, and left viewers who are unfamiliar with GoDaddy.com feeling possibly even more estranged from them,” said Peterson.
Both Peterson and Chapman enjoyed some particular drink-related commercials such as Gatorade and Coke. Chapman said that Gatorade turned a simple salty-drink into an icon with the help of successful sports personalities.
“The straightforward visual treatment matches the directness of the message and the audience, and their focus on challenges to success,” said Chapman, “Direct and passionate, even if the drink is the least talked about component, it’s about how the drink helps you succeed. Works well at that primal level.”
According to Peterson, Coke had three ads this year. One was an animated short story in which an array of insects steals a bottle of Coke from an unsuspecting guy taking a nap on a blanket. The bottle goes on an intriguing adventure down a hill and spills out much to the bugs’ delight.
“It is a very pleasant ad that definitely captures the essence of Coca-Cola in general, but more specifically their current campaign to ‘open happiness,’ Petersen said.
Coke also took us back in time with Coke Zero ad that directly mimicked the well-known ‘Mean Joe Green’ ad,” said Peterson, “The commercial further affirmed that they don’t mind picking on themselves. The brand manager from Coca-Cola popped into the scene to stop Coke Zero from ‘stealing their ad,’ because as we all know Coke Zero has ‘stolen their taste.’ Clever, classic, and humorous.”
Chapman also viewed a commercial by Toyota, and he said that it had a very nice mix of style and well executing visuals to demonstrate a clean, elegant look.
“Notice how the visual curves and vectors in the live shots are graphically consistent with the form, detail and overall shape of the Venza,” said Chapman, “Lighting is also contrasted against the imagery and the automobile. While not an original for the Super Bowl, it peaks your interest as a new car buyer.”
Rokfalusi said that he was looking for at least one stand-out commercial from the whole bunch, but when he tried to mentally picture a favorite, nothing appeared.
“The feeling I also got was one of the beginning of the end of the Super Bowl commercial or commercials as a competitor to the game, or the reason why people watch the game, or commercials,” said Rokfalusi. “I took notes on the commercials and rated them as: a star for being at least better than the rest and an OK. I had five commercials listed with stars and 16 that were just OK. The rest were either sexist, repeats or just completely forgettable,” said Rokfalusi.
“It wasn’t a good year for Super Bowl commercials. I hope the economy and peoples’ guts both get stronger by next year’s Super Bowl, or the commercials just might be flushed down another bow.”