Here are my final grades of Super Bowl Ads.
Grade A
Snickers (Betty White)
Doritos (Kid Slaps Date)
Budweiser (Human Bridge)
Hyundai Sonata (Brett Favre)
Flo.TV (Change Out Of That Skirt, Jason)
Coca-Cola (Sleepwalker)
NFL (Thank you, fans)
Budweiser (Steer wants to be a Clydesdale)
Grade B
Electronic Arts (Dante’s Inferno) – B+
Bud Light (House of Cans)
Bud Light (Asteroid Party)
Coca Cola (Simpsons)
Bud Light (Lost spoof)
Dodge/Chrysler (Man’s Last Stand)
Intel Core Processor (Hurt Robot)
Flo.TV (My Generation)
Motorola Blur (Megan Fox)
Volkswagen (Punch Club)
HomeAway.com (Vacation/The Griswolds)
E-Trade (Talking Baby)
Google (Paris, France)
Kia Sorrento Crossover
NFL (Arcade Fire/Primetime Draft)
Honda Accord Crosstour
Denny’s (Free Grand Slam Breakfast)
Audi A3 TDI (Green Police)
E-Trade (Crying Babies)
Chevrolet
Cars.com – B-
Flo TV – B-
Grade C
Hyundai Sonata
Boost Mobile (Super Bowl Shuffle spoof)
Doritos (Dog Revenge)
Universal Pictures (Robin Hood)
Go Daddy.com (Danica Patrick Massage)
Monster.com (Gopher Fiddling)
Universal Pictures (The Wolfman)
Skechers (Shape Up)
Paramount Pictures (Shutter Island)
Teleflora.com (Talking Flowers)
Dr. Pepper Cherry (KISS)
Universal Studios: Harry Potter
Denny’s (Free Grand Slam Breakfast)
Michelob Ultra (Lance Armstrong)
kgb (Sumo Wrestler)
Round Up
Budweiser Select 55
Hyundai Sonta (Hand Made)
Go Daddy.com (News Anchors)
Denny’s (Free Grand Slam Breakfast)
Campbell’s Chunky Soup
Pace Picante Sauce
Grade D
Focus On The Family (Tim Tebow)
Bud Light (Singing)
Bridgestone (Save The Whale)
CareerBuilder.com (Casual Friday)
Dockers (I Wear No Pants)
Papa John’s/NFL
truTV (Full NFL Contact)
Walt Disney Pictures (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time)
Bridgestone
Taco Bell (Charles Barkley/$5 Box)
Bud Light (Book Club)
Grade F
Doritos (Eating Doritos in a Casket)
Dove Men+ Care
U.S. Census
Emerald Nuts/Pop Secret (Water Tricks)
Doritos
But the best of them all was not an ad, but a CBS promo for the Late Show with David Letterman featuring Dave, Oprah Winfrey and Jay “Big Jaw” Leno. Confirmed by Oprah herself on Twitter tonight, the promo was a complete surprise. Bill Carter of the New York Times, the quintessential chronicler of the Late Night TV wars, tells us how it all came together last week.
Overall, there was a strange theme of people in their underwear in the ads. Seeing Betty White in a Super Bowl was tremendous and that was the best after the Dave/Oprah/Leno promo.
