2008 Super Bowl XLII Commercials

I am not really much of a football fan, but I always enjoy myself every year at our house when we have our annual Super Bowl get together. For me, it's about socializing, eating, and of course, watching the commercials!

While I didn't think the commercials were quite as good this year as they've been in the past ($2.7 million per ad apparently doesn't get you much these days), I did find a few quite amusing and I noticed that many of the commercials didn't target teenagers as their main audience. With featured songs such as Thriller and the theme song from Rocky, and references to the movie Godfather, advertising agencies were clearly trying to reach a more mature audience - one that has money!

My top three faves:

"My Talking Stain" Tide commercial - On USA Today's Ad Meter, which tracks second-to-second responses from a panel of viewers to their reactions to ads in the Super Bowl, this one was ranked number 10. Not bad to be in the top 10, huh? I personally would have put it higher. It was hilarious! The little talking stain, shaped like a squash that I put on my step during the fall season, should get the job! I love how they even added enough detail to make the shirt move as if the stain had a moving mouth. The fact that the stain got louder and louder as the commercial went on was perfect. The interviewer was clearly distracted at first by the stain and got to the point where he couldn't even hear the guy talking. Making the stain talk gibberish rather than English was perfect too.

"Hank in Training " Budweiser commercial - I don't think I've heard anyone in my office complain about this number 1 ranked commercial in the USA Today's Ad Meter. How could you not fall in love with the beautiful Clydesdale horse, Hank, and the adorable little Dalmatian who comes to his rescue with an empathetic look when Hank isn't picked for this year's hitch team? He goes one step further and takes him under his "paw" to train him. After enduring runs through snow covered forests, jogging in the rain, and pulling heavy objects that his friendly little Dalmatian friend sat on, Hank finally makes the team a year later. A "high-five" of paws/feet at the end added a special touch. Very heartwarming.

"Breathing Fire" Bud Light commercial - I didn't plan it this way, but my all of my favorite picks are right in line with other viewers - this Bud Light commercial was picked number 5 on USA Today's Ad Meter. This commercial was great as the guy starts out with the ability to breathe fire. He lights up the candles on the dinner table with a very Joe Cool, smooth-operator demeanor. His date is more than impressed and looks at him dreamily. Then the cat walks by. Allergies flare, and so does flames that come out of his nose and mouth when he sneezes. Half the place is destroyed and his date is left hiding behind her dinner plate. All the guy can say is "I am so sorry" as she looks back at him with her cat in her arms, both of them singed. The cat lets out a meow of disgust at the end of the commercial. Can you imagine that really happening? How funny!

My least fave:

Victoria's Secret - There was only one commercial during the Super Bowl that really got me a bit twisted. And ladies, you know which one I mean: the Victoria's Secret commercial with Adriana Lima tossing a football around! The last thing I want to see after I've just joined by Super Bowl party guests in eating lots of bad-for-you foods, had a glass of high-calorie wine, and am working on a piece of chocolately Super Bowl cake, is a thin, pretty gal in her underwear! Couldn't they at least show it in the beginning of Super Bowl before all the eating began? Maybe then I wouldn't have been guilted into eating less.