Super Bowl XLV: Unveiling of Commercials, Black Eyed Peas Halftime LED Show

One thing that wasn't disappointing about the Super Bowl was the game. Unfortunately I can't say the same thing about our poor National Anthem, some of the dreadful commercials and a hot mess of halftime show. Thankfully for the latter there were not any wardrobe malfunctions, though the sound at times was horrendous. One commercial for Doritos had me laughing hysterically while others brought some smiles to my face. Super Bowl XLV is now in the history books, but the ads will live on throughout the year on TV.

"America the Beautiful" and Christina Aguilera's Messy Anthem

First up was Lea Michele from "Glee" singing a perfect rendition of "America the Beautiful." She later tweeted by saying "Omg that was an out of body experience!!!!! so amazing!!!" The audience gave her rousing applause. On the opposite end Christina Aguilera looked like she was in pain singing the National Anthem by changing up some lyrics. It certainly did not go unnoticed as the crowd booed her at the end for it. Granted, "The Star Spangled Banner" is not easy to sing, but I'm sure she has sung it many times in her singing career.

The Best Super Bowl Ads

One thing many non-football fans look forward to on Super Bowl Sunday is the ads. I thought overall they were much better this year then last year's polar extremes. It was sad not to see Betty White again. There were no commercials with a great new song like last year's KIA commercial featuring the toys coming to life. They played the song "How You Like Me Now" by The Heavy, an English funk/rock band. However, here are my top five ads from Super Bowl 45:

5.) The beaver and the motorist for Bridgestone Tires. At first the motorist swerves to make sure he doesn't hit the beaver. Then one stormy night the motorist is driving the same route and a tree falls right in front of his car. He has to make a sudden stop, thanks to Bridgestone Tires. All of a sudden you see the bridge is completely washed out taking everything out to sea. The beaver comes out and the motorist realizes the beaver saved his life. What a great ad and one I won't forget.

4.) This one was for Pepsi Max with an African American couple. The lady is always faulting her man and suspecting he has a roving eye. I loved the scene where he is in the bathtub trying to eat a hamburger in peace. She finds him, snatches the hamburger and replaces it with a bar of soap. Yuk. You could almost taste those suds.

3.) KIA Optima had a great one where a helicopter uses a magnetic suction cup to pick it up off the road where it is to be transported on a yacht, but then Poseidon intercepts it out of the water. It is beamed up onto a UFO where the aliens test drive the KIA. A wormhole shows up and the KIA is transported back in time to the Mayans as a sacrifice.

2.) Eminen was actually in two TV ads, but the best one was about dispelling the myths the media makes about the city of Detroit. You see the finer side of the city instead of all its urban blight. The ad is about the Chrysler 200 luxury sedan. At the end Eminen appears as he's about to perform in his hometown of Detroit.

1.) My favorite one of all was for Doritos. The guy is called on to housesit for his friend's goldfish and plants. He'll be back next week. A week goes by as the sitter is too pre-occupied with watching TV and eating Doritos all day long. He suddenly realizes his friend is due back today. The housesitter feeds the dying goldfish Doritos and is back to excellent health. The house plants are all but gone, but Doritos saves them. Then he accidentally breaks the guy's urn with his grandfather's ashes. When his friend comes back to his house he sees his grandfather alive and well, thanks to Doritos. Wow, that would be great if Doritos did all that.

The Worst Ads (and there were plenty)

1.) There was one that made no sense and it sounded like a joke. It was for Groupon. Timothy Hutton makes a plea about the country of Tibet with beautiful images. At first I thought it was a public service announcement. Instead, it's for getting discounts at a Tibetan restaurant in Chicago.

2.) This is more disappointing than being the worst. It featured the Anheuser Clydesdales very briefly. A gunslinger comes into town wanting a Budweiser. They just ran out, but a shipment comes in the last seconds. Then everyone starts singing the Elton John song "Tiny Dancer." Once again this commercial made no sense at the end. Why sing an Elton John song during the Old West?

3.) The Best Buy commercial with Ozzy Osbourne was hilarious until it's the Bieb's turn. Please get Justin Bieber some acting lessons stat. He looked so clueless, scared and nervous on that set. I loved when Ozzy said "What's a Bieber?" I wish I never knew.

Black Eyed Peas Smash Up Show

I'm not a fan of this group, but I like their current song that samples from "Dirty Dancing." They do put on a great show when they've appeared on results nights and award shows. Needless to say, they were a bit out of their element at the Super Bowl. Their song selections were excellent, but there was way too much going on. The sound was awful at times. One interesting element was the LED dancers. That was truly impressive the designs they were making on the field. What really bothered me was I wanted to see just the Black Eyed Peas, not Slash or Usher. I felt they were unnecessary additions and did not fit in with their futuristic theme at all. It was a nice change of pace to see a contemporary group at Super Bowl's halftime, though I miss my classic rockers.

SOURCES:

National Football League: Super Bowl XLV, NFL.com

"Christina Aguilera Booed for Forgetting Lyrics, Lea Michele Applauded at Super Bowl", AceShowBiz

Bruce Horovitz, "Best Super Bowl ads: A doggone tie for Ad Meter", USAToday.com

Peter Hartlaub, "Best and worst Super Bowl ads of 2011", SF Gate.com

Matthew Perpetua, "Black Eyes Peas Perform Futuristic Sci-Fi Spectacle at Super Bowl Halftime Show, Rolling Stone