2012 Super Bowl Ad Winner is….
Cars, Bikinis and Cars. I think thats all ad agencies think will make money on Super Bowl commercials. As I look over my tweets and notes I made during the game, I find overall there was a lack of creativity in many of the commericals in Super Bowl XCVI. The common denominator or sex, women and sex seems to continue to be the driving force for many who want to get the instant attention of the audience, yet the long term connection to the product is lost. The real winner of the 2012 ad war in my opinion, based on strong creativity and keeping your product still at the center, was the following:
1st place; Doritos "Dead Cat Bribe"
My criteria for winning is you can't tell a friend about the spot without saying; "The Dog had a bag of Doritos". That makes that spot a big winner. Doritos had a second spot later in the game, also low budget and cute, and again its chips were dead center in the spot.
2nd Place: The Chevy Silverado "Armageddon"
It had it all, Barry Manilow, Twinkies, Armageddon and raining frogs. With a final jab at Ford. The positioning statement at the end says it all; "From the beginning of your work day until the end of the world". And thanks to Ford being in the news with a lawsuit to pull the spot, I also was looking forward to seeing it because of the buzz. So Ford helped Chevy out quite a bit with the extra pub.
I Wish We Could Forget Awards:
G.E.
I don't understand the parent company of NBC, GE and their obsession with institutional spots. Most people used to think of G.E. as refrigeators and toasters, now they want to be jet engines and medical scanners? GE is the classic branding nightmare of a corporation that should go under based on their bad branding but since they are huge they can waste as much money as they want and just tickle their stockholders wallets.
GoDaddy.com
The webservice also continues its well know sex driven ads. I don't know why any company wants to be positioned as the "Hooters" of web hosting. I think its bad business, and so do most of the women and men I know.
Honorable Mentions
Honda CRV & The return of Ferris Bulluer was a nice trip to the past. However the two spots that I think were the most heartwarming was the touching Ronald McDonald House spot featuring a child holding pictures of his recovery. And the Bud Light "Here We Go" commerical featuring a nice tag for a Dog Rescue organization. Again well done, and that warm feeling is a brand being built.
In just a few hours I have already forgotten most of the ads. I know Jerry Senfeld was in one for Acura, but it did nothing for me. I know Toyota had a flashy spot with cars and bikinis but so did two or three other car ads. However I can still hear Barry Manilow and see a man with his dog (with seat belt fastened) driving through the ruins of civilization, and a dog bribing his owner with a bag of Doritos. That made for a good 90 seconds of television.
John Ondo is an Emmy Nominated Filmmaker, Media Consultant & Author. His company, Ondo Media,specializes in helping emerging businesses and non-profits develop and produce a media strategy. Based in Columbus, Ohio. John Ondo, can be followed on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and our Ondo Media Vimeo site
