The Worst of Times

"The fan fave, "Free Doritos," was created by a couple of non-advertising people, who entered a contest called Doritos "Crash The Super Bowl" program. "

CBS Early Show, 2/2/09

Most years, I watch the Super Bowl for the commercials. It's been that way since 1984, when I had a big dog in the hunt. The one that actually changed the way marketers viewed and used the Super Bowl. But, this year, I cared about the game. I wanted the Arizona Cardinals to win, and I wanted Troy Polamalu to win. So, that was a problem. Arizona almost won, which means they lost. And, Troy Polamalu won. One outta two ain't bad.

Meanwhile, I took my "breaks" during the game to avoid missing the possibility of a really great spot. Too bad that a bunch of people have ruined some of the suspense by airing their spots on YouTube early. Or, funneling segments to news and talking head programs to judge before they've even aired in their entirety and in context.

By halftime, I didn't think I was going to miss anything anymore. The fourth quarter was actually about football -- really, really great football -- so, I took my "break" during the ads. If I missed anything, I can't find it today on any of the online fan voting sites.

Not to worry. I managed to name a favorite spot. Actually, it didn't air inside the game. It ran twice that I know about -- once in the final hour of the seven-day pre-game show and another time in the post-game show that was mercifully short to make way for "The Office." Which was insanely great. Maybe some of their writers can get involved in the Super Bowl ads next year....

I guess most of the fan sites voted for "Free Doritos" as their favorite. Hard to argue with that. I laughed out loud like a fool. But, it's another one of those spots that has a single punch line that makes it. And, depending on your attention span (mine is short), you might find it funny a few more times. Me? Laughed out loud one more time. That's it. That doesn't mean it wasn't great the one time it ran inside the game. But, I don't believe it's a good sign for the ad industry that the fan favorite was conceived by amateurs. I don't know what it means for the economy.

And, I know that some people are just really put out by the E*Trade baby. Sick and tired of him. Sick of seeing him be sick on camera. Tired of him nailing the jocular BMIC (Big Man In highChair), tired of the Blackberry, etc., etc. The spot that ran inside the game was fun -- "Take these broken wings..." I laughed a lot. But, "Big Game Singing Baby" didn't get my first place vote.

I vote for E*Trade "Golf Baby." The Taylor Made visor. The golf club setting.

"Frank, it was on the cart path...."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5431p7gxWOM