Super Bowl Commercials: Best of '06

You've met people like me. We exclusively watch the audition episodes of American Idol just for a laugh. We stop channel surfing just long enough to see the truly degrading moments of any number of reality shows. We have no interest in competition. We watch the Super Bowl just for the commercials. This shouldn't surprise anyone considering how much time and money goes into making these particular bits of advertising extra attention grabbing.

2006 saw some fair attempts at Super Bowl Commercial grandeur but, only one came close to past examples in terms of over-all originality and, more importantly, staying-power. That commercial is, (and I wish i had some literary technique to make this more suspenseful,) Sprint's "Locker Room."

If you haven't seen it, I cry for you.* Honestly. It goes like this: Two men are depicted in a locker room when they begin comparing cellphones. They discuss the usual features (TV, Email, music downloads) and then one of them trumps the other when he states that his phone has "crime deterrent." Naturally, the second man tests this claim only to get a brand-new, fully-featured Sprint phone beamed into his forehead. Twice. End of commercial. Beginning of my comments.

What makes this commercial the top of the heap is that it presents a certain self-image that most people strive for and few achieve. That image is that of a self-assured, clever cynic. Note that Ben, the man throwing the phone (and yes, I do know his name) is much shorter, and much quieter, than his counter-part. Ben is that part of us that remains both unaffected and undeterred by those around him. He shrugs off every attempt his victim makes in putting him down and, when he realizes that they are evenly matched, effortlessly adjusts his strategy. The audience is left with something to remember not only because it makes them laugh (and if you didn't laugh at a man being hit in the face with a cellphone, I doubt that you've ever laughed at anything) but because it gives them something to envy. Envy, of course, being the life-blood of the advertising industry.

Sprint put an interesting twist on it, though, in not trying to make us covet the product itself. They could have had a fact-filled moment, displaying the phone itself. But, they opted for a more personable presentation. The situation is both possible and realistic, making it much more memorable. Not to mention the fact that, at one point in life, we've all wanted to throw our phones at someone's head.