Superb Owl - 2014

So this was quite the disappointing year for the SuperBowl.  The game was pretty boring (and very upsetting if you were rooting for who I was rooting for).  Not only was the game a letdown - but the commercials were horrible!  For as long as I can remember, the commercials have been my favorite part of the night.  I mean, come on, I studied advertising....I remember how I'd try to shoosh my dad and his friends when it was my "game time".

For this particular game - I cooked up a whole bunch of food, and headed on down to the city to watch with some of my favorite friends from college.  As the game was about to start, I got out my notebook and pen ready to scribble down thoughts and synopsis' in order to write this post. (again - totally a nerd, I was excited to share my thoughts and took notes!!)  My Tim friend decided he wanted to be a part of this, and decided he would provide me with #hashtags for each commercial.  [Tim is an actual writer - gets paid and everything! He writes for the Bleacher Report, and you can read his stuff here!!]  I should also preface this with the fact that I was the only female there by the time the game began.  Also - for any commercials I didn't post, AdAge has them all posted here!

Tim and Jacobs - and this is just a portion of the food

quite a rowdy group of guys...Jacobs, Tim, Zach and Cade

So....
Originally I was going to go over every ad, in order.  But 1) they sucked for the most part, and 2) I left at halftime due to a nasty headache.  (Lala recorded the rest for me).  So I only have #whatTIMsays for a few of them.

I do want to touch on a few non-commercial related things.

America the Beautiful by Queen Latifiah was pretty awesome.  That lady can seriously belt it out - and she sings it the way it should be - no over emotion.

National Anthem was done by Renee Fleming.  She is an Opera singer and I had never heard of her, but her version was spot on. Sung the way it should be - with a little bit of an operatic flare...

And Joe Namath's Coat....form your own opinion.  But he also tucked up the coin toss. (you should really have someone call it before you toss it, it's kind of the general principal)

thanks for the great photo New York Post

Now - to the (used to be) good stuff.

The first ad was a Ford ad, which is very typical.  This spot was for the Ford Fusion Hybrid and had Rob Riggle and James Franco in it.  This was actually a series of ads (cost of three spots) and in my opinion - stoopid!   #BOO!

 

The next ad was the hidden camera Bud Light ad. This was also a two parter (total of 2 minutes which equals 4 spots!).  This had Reggie Watts, Don Cheadle, Arnold Schwarzenegger and One Republic.  (Also a llama and a bunch of twins).  I didn't really get it.  I feel it was way to over the top.  #WhyReggieWattsWhy? (part one) #HouseOfLiesSucks (part two)

Mazerati advertised for the 2014 Ghibli.  Everyone was surprised as to why they were advertising during the Superbowl.  Are they struggling?  It was an interesting and dark ad, but the saving grace was Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild, Annie) as their spokesperson.  Tim said it best: #ThatLittleGirlIsBadAss

Finally there was a commercial that made me laugh!  Doritos Time Machine.  This was funny and well done.  Doritos did not disappoint (at least me) this year.  #CoolerRanchIsBetter

Then there was one of the most awkward commercials I have ever seen.  We all thought the man was in love with the bull or vice-a-verse.  The word beastiality was discussed, but Tim's advice was simple: #SteerClearOfThisCommercial

While the next commercial was playing, we had no idea what it could possibly be for.  We did know that John C. Reilly was the voice over though. Then the end pops up and we were all extremely confused.  #ShakeNBake

Hyundai - Genesis was a pretty good ad all around.  It was family friendly, told a background and brought it to the future.  I didn't have much of a chance to pay attention during the game as everyone was discussing the previous ad (U2 RED Bank of America) and I myself loathe the band so I was not ready to accept a happy commercial.  Tim's wise words: #VeryGoodCommercial

Then we got to see what everyone had been talking about for a week or two.  The Cheerios ad featuring the bi-racial family.  It was simple, adorable and I loved it.  It's 2014 everyone - this shouldn't be an issue.  But damn if that little girl isn't precocious. #GoodForYouCheerios

The following ad received lots of credit and was actually ranked as the best ad of the bowl.  Everyone I was watching with wasn't so impressed, but I thought the concept was neat and really got their point across.  #LastDitchEffort

Chevrolet - World Cancer Day.  We all thought this was a sad and dark commercial. Then the end happens and realized what it was advertising.  #_________

GoDaddy apparently has a new spokesperson: John Turturro.  This ad left us confused and speechless. We weren't really sure what we had just watched.  Though, once I had the chance to check out: www.puppetsbygwen.com it made more sense.  Still, Tim is correct: #creepy

Bud Light then advertised for their new re-closeable bottle top.  Not sure why they felt the need to do this, but I found it annoying. And after about ten seconds of research - this ad was released in December, so a waste of money if you ask me.  #DidYouReallyJustMarketATwistTop?

Ahh - the beauty that is Tim Tebow.  T-Mobile is really using the fact that Tebow is not signed to their advantage.  T-Mobile had a whopping three ads during the game, and to be honest I thought they were all decent.  Here are both Tebow ads combined into one. And let me just say: Sigh... #WhatWouldTimTebowDo?

Another funny ad (at least I giggled) was the Volkswagen Wings commercial.  I thought it was cute, and the ending was pretty funny.  It got the point of long lasting vehicles across too.  Tim only had this to say: #GoingToTheBathroom

One of my personal favorites.  H&M with David Beckham.  He didn't speak, which made it that much better (have you ever heard his voice?).  #Don'tObjectifyMenRachel

Coca-Cola had two ads air.  One stirred up quite the bit of controversy.  I remember thinking to myself how awesome the ad was but knowing the backlash it was going to create.  The other was a cute kid one - the safe "Classic" (wink, wink) approach. 

The last ad I watched before half-time (and proceeded to head home) was for the Toyota Highlander, starring Terry Crewes and The Muppets.  This ad is adorable and funny.  I agree 100% with Time #ILoveTheMuppetsMan

So for the rest of the post, I'm just going to post the ones that I liked or loved. Enough with the terrible....

The Budweiser Clydesdale ads get me every year.  They have outdone themselves this year.  BRAVO!

 

Budweiser also had a beautiful tribute to American Heroes.  Wonderful and heartwarming.   Budweiser (not Bud Lite) ads tend to be extremely American and I thought both of these were great ads, that may or may not have left my face a bit wet.

Audi created an Ad for the A3- about hybrids.  The ad is called Doberhuahua.  I think it may have been Lala's favorite, and at first I thought it was super creepy, then I obviously wanted my own (dog, not car). 

Another highly anticipated ad was for Oikos - which was going to reunite our favorite men from Full House.  This was a bit more raunchy than I anticipated, but I thought it was pretty funny.  And boy does Uncle Jesse look good...

There are still a few I haven't posted, but in my mind, they weren't worth my effort ;)  All of these videos were posted from YouTube. Did I miss any of your favorites?  Did you like ones that I didn't?  I still have yet to watch the halftime show - but I'm expecting it to be a hell of a lot better than the games and ads.  Let me know what you thought of the "Big Game" this year...