2010 SUPER BOWL COMMERCIALS REVIEWED

This year's Super Bowl ads were a mixed bag, as Budweiser and Bud Lite turn in subpar work compared to what we used to see several years ago and many companies seem to stick with ads that are very similar to what they delivered in the past. The ads seem to rely less on bathroom humor than in recent years, which is good, but the humor that is there relies mostly on painful sight gags as in years past. For my awards and reviews of each ad, read on.

AWARDS

BEST AD: GOOGLE -- PARISIAN LOVE

This ad won't be the one everyone is talking about, but it is the best pure advertisement for a brand, showing the simplicity of Google and how it has become a part of our life through a love story told entirely in searches. Simple and smart, like Google.

FUNNIEST AD: CAREER BUILDER -- CASUAL DAY

Casual day is a bit too casual for one worker, with everyone in their underwear. Kudos for Career Builder for trying something different.

WORST AD: CENSUS

A production crew talks about..... something. Then they compare it to the Census. Why waste several million dollars on an advertisement for something we're obligated to do in the first place.

VAULTED THE MAN-EATING FISH: GO DADDY & E-TRADE (TIE)

The fake racy ads from Go Daddy and the E-Trade baby have both outlived their welcome. Let's put them both in a giant dot-com bubble and send them floating into the sky.

FAILURE TO RELIVE PAST GLORIES: BUDWEISER & BUD LIGHT

Budweiser and Bud Light used to duel with Pepsi each year for the best commercials. With one exception, the beer commercials this year were lame rehashes of previous concepts or simply tired.

REVIEWS OF EACH AD

NOTE: Overall scores for each ad are not an average, but overall impression. Number scores given are based on first impression, so my final choice for best and worst may not reflect the score given. Also, CBS Promos (with one exception) were not reviewed.

BUD LIGHT -- HOUSE OF CANS

Entertainment: 7 Selling: 2 Overall: 6

A lackluster start to the night as a man builds his house completely out of full Bud Light cans. Interesting idea, but not many laughs.

SNICKERS -- YOU'RE NOT YOU

Entertainment: 9 Selling: 5 Overall: 8

Betty White and Abe Vigoda both star in a commercial for Snickers in which both get knocked on their butts. Watching old people get knocked to the ground is always great. What's not to love. Very funny. Good to see two beloved veterans making an appearance in the big game.

FOCUS ON THE FAMILY -- TIM TEBOW

Entertainment: 7 Selling: 7 Overall: 7

It looks like Focus on the Family changed up their ad strategy and made a more tasteful (and truthful ad). Funny and creepy at the same time, but a much more effective message than originally stated prior to the game.

HYUNDAI SONATA -- WORK OF ART

Entertainment: 1 Selling: 7 Overall: 5

Hyundai shows us their brand new Sonata getting a gorgeous paint job. It gets the point across, but is a snooze compared to your average Super Bowl ad.

BOOST MOBILE -- BOOST MOBILE SHUFFLE

Entertainment: 4 Selling: 2 Overall: 3

A take off on the Super Bowl Shuffle by the Bears plays to the few football fans who remember Jim McMahon and the Chicago Bears of that year. Big money wasted, especially since the target audience (younger people) won't have a clue what the hell it's about.

DORITOS -- SHOCK COLLAR

Entertainment: 6 Selling: 3 Overall: 5

A guy taunts a shock-collared dog with his bag of Doritos with shocking results. An obvious joke. Will probably be in the top ten tonight, but not that funny.

ROBIN HOOD -- MOVIE AD

Entertainment: 3 Selling: 7 Overall: 4

Standard issue historical action epic promo. Yawn.

DORITOS -- HOUSE RULES

Entertainment: 7 Selling: 3 Overall: 6

Another Doritos ad with a person getting abused, this time a man trying to date a youngster's mom. The child sees him checking out mom and slaps him, telling him to keep his hands off his mom and his Doritos. Funny.

BUD LIGHT -- OBSERVATORY

Entertainment: 3 Selling: 3 Overall: 3

An even worse Bud Light ad, as people in an observatory witness an asteroid heading to earth and decide to party with Bud Light in their last moment. Predictable.

COCA COLA -- SIMPSONS HARD TIMES

Entertainment: 8 Selling: 8 Overall: 8

Mr. Burns from the Simpsons has lost everything and gains it all back with a Coca-Cola. A great ad that promotes the idea that if you open a Coke, you "Open Happiness." As pointed out by a wise friend who is in advertising, Coke cheaped out on the voice work for this one.

GO DADDY -- SPA

Entertainment: 2 Selling: 7 Overall: 2

Go Daddy has hit on a wonderful way to get traffic to their website each year: the ridiculous hope that you'll get to see a chick naked. You don't, of course. But who can argue with what works?

DORITOS -- FUNERAL MIRACLE

Entertainment: 8 Selling: 2 Overall: 7

A guy fakes his death so he can be buried with Doritos. Great ending.

BUD LITE -- AUTOTUNED WITH T-PAIN

Entertainment: 6 Selling: 4 Overall: 7

This is essentially the "Whassup!?!?!?!" ad done with autotune. Another dud from Bud Lite.

MONSTER.COM -- BEAVER VIOLINIST

Entertainment: 9 Selling: 9 Overall: 9

A beaver with the talent for the violin uses Monster.com to achieve his dreams. Cute, and effective.

WOLFMAN -- MOVIE AD

Entertainment: 4 Selling: 7 Overall: 7

Movie looks interesting, but it's just another movie ad.

BRIDGESTONE -- WHALE OF A TALE

Entertainment: 9 Selling: 9 Overall: 9

Another great animal ad as men race to get a killer whale back in the ocean. The final line is great.

SKETCHERS -- SHAPE UPS

Entertainment: 1 Selling: 5 Overall: 3

Lame shoe ad that touts how good the shoes are, but looks like something you'd see on a Saturday morning children's show.

CARS.COM -- TIM RICHMOND'S CONFIDENCE

Entertainment: 7 Selling: 8 Overall: 7

An effective ad showing a child prodigy growing into a gifted young man who needs Cars.com to shop for cars. Docked a point for being a rehash of last year's ad.

BUDWEISER -- BRIDGE IS OUT

Entertainment:9 Selling: 3 Overall: 9

Budweiser truck needs to get into town but the bridge is out. In a great visual effect, the people of the down create their own bridge so the truck can get through.

SHUTTER ISLAND

Entertainment: 6 Selling: 9 Overall: 8

Ad actually sells the movie and makes it look suspenseful.

LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN

Entertainment: 10 Selling: 10 Overall: 10

Oprah and Dave have a Super Bowl party and Dave's a bit angry about his Super Bowl guest. Priceless spot. (NOTE: Since this is a CBS promo, I've left it out of my awards)

CAREER BUILDER -- CASUAL DAY

Entertainment: 10 Selling: 9 Overall: 9

A guy is excited about the opportunity to enjoy casual day, until he realizes the business is a bit TOO casual. Funniest ad so far tonight, and sells Career Builder well.

DOCKERS -- MEN WITHOUT PANTS

Entertainment: 7 Selling: 5 Overall: 8

This ad made my daughter giggle out loud, with a bunch of men in their underwear singing. It's funny, but suffers from airing right after the previous ad which also had people in their underwear. Someone's pissed about their ad buy tonight, methinks.

HYUNDAI SONATA -- BRETT FARVE RETIRES

Entertainment: 7 Selling: 6 Overall: 6

Brett Farve celebrates winning the 2020 MVP award and isn't sure if he'll retire. Funny, and sets up a point about the reliability and longevity of the Hyundai.

BUD LITE -- LOST

Entertainment: 8 Selling: 3 Overall: 7

A take off on Lost, as a woman tells victims of a plane crash she's found a way off, only to be topped by a guy who finds the plane's Bud Lite stash.

DOVE MEN + CARE -- WILLIAM TELL OVERTURE

Entertainment: 7 Selling: 7 Overall: 7

A well done ad showing the progression of a young man's life, and introducing the first Dove exclusively for men.

DODGE CHARGER -- MAN'S LAST STAND

Entertainment: 7 Selling: 7 Overall: 7

A voice over lists all the compromises that men go through for women, all so they can drive a Dodge Charger. Ad would be better if the Charger looked like a car I'd want to drive.

TELEFLORA -- BOXED FLOWERS

Entertainment: 6 Selling: 6 Overall: 6

A reprise of last year's ad, an angry set of boxed flowers yells at a snobby woman about what boxed flowers say about her boyfriend. Better than last year's ad, but still, it's a repeat.

PAPA JOHNS -- SUPER BOWL AD

Entertainment: 1 Selling: 7 Overall: 4

Your typical Papa Johns ad with Papa John selling pizzas in Miami. Promotes a special deal on the website, which probably worked.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND -- MOVIE AD

Entertainment: 7 Selling: 7 Overall: 7

Another effective ad for a movie, showing Alice In Wonderland to great effect.

DR. PEPPER CHERRY -- A LITTLE KISS

Entertainment: 8 Selling: 7 Overall: 7

Gene Simmons tries to talk Paul Stanley into having a Little KISS along with the band. The end result, a stage full of normal KISS and pint sized KISS. Funny.

TRU TV -- GROUNDHOG DAY

Entertainment: 7 Selling: 6 Overall: 7

Tru TV sells their new NFL series with Troy Palomalu being plucked out and seeing his shadow on Groundhog Day. Mildly amusing.

UNIVERSAL ORLANDO -- HARRY POTTER

Entertainment: 5 Selling: 7 Overall: 6

Promotes a new Harry Potter experience at Universal.

FLO TV

Entertainment: 3 Selling: 7 Overall: 6

Another ad about a whipped and wimpy guy having to miss sports so he can go shopping. The solution, a Flo TV mobile TV. It made me want to find out what the heck the device is.

INTEL -- SAD ROBOT

Entertainment: 7 Selling: 7 Overall: 7

As an Intel employee says that the company has made its best product EVER. Unfortunately, he's not realized the reaction of the nearby servant robot that works for Intel listens in and thinks he's getting replaced. Cute.

FLO TV -- MY GENERATION

Entertainment: 3 Selling: 8 Overall: 6

Will I Am remixes the Who's My Generation over a montage of famous moments from the 20th and 21st century. There is something tacky about using tragedy to sell.

CARMAX -- SURPRISED ANIMALS

Entertainment: 7 Selling: 5 Overall: 6

The animals from You Tube's surprised animal videos make cameo appearances reacting to CARMAX commercials. Funny.

MILLER HIGH LIFE

Entertainment: 3 Selling: 3 Overall: 3

Real people do a Super Bowl Ad. Lame. But I guess that's the point.

PRINCE OF PERSIA

Entertainment: 2 Selling: 5 Overall: 5

Another boring CGI epic.

MOTOROLA -- MEGAN FOX

Entertainment: 8 Selling: 5 Overall: 7

Megan Fox takes a picture of herself with her mobile phone and wonders what effect it would have if she sent it out. Funny, but the fact that it is about a phone gets lost in the sight gags.

VW-- PUNCH DUB

Entertainment: 8 Selling: 8 Overall: 8

People all over play Punch Buggy when they see VW products. Great cameos at the end push this one over the top.

DENNY'S FREE GRAND SLAM

Entertainment: 6 Selling: 8 Overall: 8

Lots of people will be lining up for free breakfast, so this ad certainly will be effective. The flustered chickens were amusing but unnecessary.

MICHELOB ULTRA

Entertainment: 1 Selling: 3 Overall: 3

Your standard cliched active lifestyle light beer ad. In the Super Bowl? Snooze.

HOMEAWAY -- GRISWALDS

Entertainment: 7 Selling: 8 Overall: 7

Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo show up as tourists in a lousy hotel in this ad for a home rental service. Funny ad, but it kind of wastes Chevy and Beverly.

BRIDGESTONE -- ... OR YOUR WIFE

Entertainment: 1 Selling: 5 Overall: 3

A play on the Henny Youngman joke about "your money or your wife" falls incredibly flat. Gets the point across about the tires though.

KGB -- SUMO WRESTLER

Entertainment: 3 Selling: 8 Overall: 7

A text message service to answer your questions. The ad is based on a lame visual joke about comparing the service to Google, but I now would like to know more about the service.

COCA COLA -- SLEEPWALKER

Entertainment: 8 Selling: 5 Overall: 7

A man sleepwalks through the jungle, barely missing disaster, and finally reaching his beloved Coca-Cola. Well done.

E-TRADE -- GIRLFRIEND

Entertainment: 4 Selling: 3 Overall: 4

A new e-trade ad with a new baby (same voice, though) introducing two girlfriends. Am I the only one who found this creepy?

CENSUS -- SNAPSHOT OF AMERICA

Entertainment: 1 Selling: 1 Overall: 1

The worst ad tonight. It makes me want to leave the country; not want to be counted. Really, really, really bad.

GOOGLE -- PARISIAN LOVE

Entertainment: 10 Selling: 10 Overall: 10

This quiet ad forces you to watch the images, which consist entirely of searches entered into Google. The searches tell a story of a man going to Paris and falling in love. A brilliant ad that shows you all the ways Google makes your life simpler by being simple. A great melding of brand and advertisement.

KIA SORENTO -- TOYS ON THE TOWN

Entertainment: 9 Selling: 8 Overall: 9

Giant toys, including a sock monkey, tour the town in a KIA Sorento. Cute, but makes no sense until the end, which wraps it up beautifully. Another winner.

ROUNDUP WEED KILLER

Entertainment: 1 Selling: 7 Overall: 2

Roundup kills weeds. You needed $3 million to tell us that? Yawn.

BUDWEISER SELECT 55

Entertainment: 1 Selling: 2 Overall: 2

Another terrible generic beer ad. Whatever happened to decent beer ads at the Super Bowl?

VIZIO INTERNET APPS

Entertainment: 3 Selling: 5 Overall: 5

This chaotic ad is visually impressive, but it leaves me wondering what the hell they're selling. Is this a TV that runs the Internet? A computer? Something else? Little help here, Vizio.

EMERALD NUTS & POP SECRET -- WATER SHOW

Entertainment: 10 Selling: 8 Overall: 8

This great ad for snacks show shows a Sea World like display in which human beings replace dolphins performing water tricks for popcorn and nuts. Visually inventive ad and very funny.

DANTE'S INFERNO

Entertainment: 4 Selling: 7 Overall: 5

A video game advertisement that shows off the beauty of the game, but nothing you wouldn't see on any other day.

BUDWEISER -- FENCES

Entertainment: 3 Selling: 1 Overall: 2

A Clydesdale horse and a bull become friends and meet again with predictable results. You know it is bad when I'm hoping the Clydesdale gets gored.

HONDA CROSSTOUR -- FUNKY STUFF

Entertainment: 3 Selling: 7 Overall: 4

Honda makes the point that the Crosstour can hold a lot of stuff with a packrat squirrel. Point taken, but seems a bit nutty to put a commercial this boring on the big game.

DENNY'S -- FREE GRAND SLAM -- SCREAMING CHICKENS

Entertainment: 7 Selling: 8 Overall: 7

Chickens everywhere find out about the Grand Slam breakfast and are scared about having to make all those eggs.

AUDI CLEAN DIESEL -- GREEN POLICE

Entertainment: 9 Selling: 8 Overall: 8

To a reworked version of Cheap Trick's Dream Police, Audi shows images of people being arrested for not being eco-friendly. Funny commercial.

TACO BELL -- CHARLES BARKLEY MEETS DR. SEUSS

Entertainment: 6 Selling: 4 Overall: 6

A good looking and colorful ad with Barkley rhyming about Taco Bell. I have no idea what he was selling though.

DORITOS -- TIM'S DORITOS

Entertainment: 7 Selling: 4 Overall: 7

Two guys dressed in 80's female workout attire steal another man's Doritos, and wind up paying a price. Violent, but funny.

BUD LIGHT -- THE BOOK CLUB

Entertainment: 3 Selling: 3 Overall: 3

A man decides to stay for his wife's book club when he sees the Bud Lite. Bud Lite's ads are horrible this year.

HYUNDAI -- SONATA MONTGOMERY PLANT

Why are car commercials in the Super Bowl so bad? This one has a nice visual metaphor for the human effort that goes into a Hyundai, but its not entertaining or memorable.

Entertainment: 3 Selling: 6 Overall: 4

E-TRADE -- UPSET BABIES

Entertainment: 2 Selling: 3 Overall: 2

The E-Trade baby has rocketed the shark. Time to retire the baby and his friends. This one was the worst so far.

SKETCHERS -- SHAPE UPS

Repeat of previous ad. Still sucks.

GO DADDY -- TOO HOT FOR TV

Entertainment: 1 Selling: 5 Overall: 3

Admit it! You're still going to surf over to see a hot chick at GoDaddy.com. And then you're going to be pissed that you did.

DENNY'S -- FREE BIRTHDAY GRAND SLAM

Entertainment: 6 Selling: 7 Overall: 6

Another amusing but funny ad for Denny's, for a free Grand Slam on your birthday.