Ads of the Big Game

With 30-second spots priced at $3 million to air during the Super Bowl, it's not the time for advertisers to play it safe. Here's my take on how this year's advertisers scored (or fumbled):

Touchdown:
I'm going to award the touchdown to Volkswagon's "The Force." It's memorable, funny and resonates well with the target demo. I'm also giving an honorable mention to Coca-Cola's "The Siege" because it looked like part of a great movie, and I wanted to see more.

Field Goals:
Best Buy "Ozzy vs. Bieber" - "What's a Bieber?" Heh.
Bud Light - Especially "Dog Sitter"
Bridgestone - Especially "Carma"
Coca-Cola
Chevrolet - Most of their ads were good, especially "Eco Misunderstanding"
Doritos
E-Trade "Tailor"
Mercedes-Benz
NFL "Super Bowl Celebration"
Pepsi Max - Especially "Torpedo Cooler"
Play60

Safeties:
Audi "Release the Hounds"
Kia "One Epic Ride"

Fumbles:
BMW
CareerBuilder - Funny, but they are still not demonstrating a clear understanding of the job climate.
Chrysler - Nice try at changing your image, Chrysler, but I don't think this ad is enough to drive a younger demo to your dealers.
Go Daddy "The Contract"
Go Daddy "The New Go Daddy Girl" - I would have given this ad a field goal for the surprise twist, but it doesn't seem to be resonating with consumers.
HomeAway - They get points for trying to push the envelope, but overall, this spot was a miss.
Hyundai
Lipton Brisk
Mars/Snickers - I was prepared to throw the penalty flag on this one, but it seems to be resonating with consumers. I just don't think it's anywhere near as good as the Betty White spot.
Mini Countryman - Not a good sign that I had to look up the product name for this spot
Motorola - They're not going to gain market share on the iPad with that spot.
Salesforce "Chatter.com Launch"
Stella Artois
Teleflora "Help Me Faith" - Not edgy enough

Penalties:
Budweiser "Wild West" - Flag on the play for inappropriate use of the storied Clydesdales
Skechers Shape-Ups - Really? THAT was their Super Bowl debut?

Replay Requests:
I've been referencing the Hulu AdZone as I write this post and I see by their list that Sony Ericsson and Cadillac ran spots during the game. I don't remember seeing these spots at all and I watched the commercials faithfully, taking breaks during the game itself. I think that pretty much covers the value of those spots.

Car Crash: The auto advertisers were out in full force for the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, their creative wasn't out in full force. Although I'm not normally in favor of Super Bowl advertisers running ads that aren't "new," I was pleased to see Honda run the Odyssey commercial with the Judas Priest music bed. The Super Bowl was the perfect venue for this ad. Volkswagon is the runaway winner in this category.

Head-to-Head:
Carmax vs. Cars.com - Carmax wins with memorable emphasis on customer service.

Coke vs. Pepsi - Personally, I like the Coke ads better but I have to give the nod to Pepsi. In ads, pain always wins over peace and harmony.

Groupon vs. Living Social - Living Social takes this one. The intro of the Groupon ads doesn't keep the viewers' interest long enough to get the jokes (which aren't all that funny anyway).

Check out the Super Bowl ads on Hulu's AdZone here:


Note: I chose not to include ads for films or television shows in my assessment.

Which was your favorite Super Bowl commercial this year?