tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post3588543841486398771..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Super Bowl commercials were not funnyBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12643694238085934932013-02-10T16:56:50.755-08:002013-02-10T16:56:50.755-08:00I don't think that the Audi prom commercial wa...I don't think that the Audi prom commercial was bad. What's so bad about kissing a girl? She didn't pull away and it's not sexual assault if she likes it.Ellenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-66718690480871379512013-02-08T23:03:36.593-08:002013-02-08T23:03:36.593-08:00I fear that humor is a vanishing commodity. Even ...I fear that humor is a vanishing commodity. Even the cartoons in publications noted for their sophistication have become obvious plays on words rather than insightful comments on culture and society. As for commercials, I long ago decided that Superbowl fare is no tastier than what's served up any other day. The Geico pig is about the only amusing critter, and he doesn't have to do anything but look like a pig.Lemastrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01960283969022248863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-34126535474148147662013-02-06T16:33:07.105-08:002013-02-06T16:33:07.105-08:00The farmer ad brought tears to my eyes.
But it'...The farmer ad brought tears to my eyes.<br />But it's too bad those farmers are few and far between now with the huge agri-business. It was like that when I grew up in Indiana, but not at all like that now.KellyCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49513019633248236572013-02-06T13:40:46.710-08:002013-02-06T13:40:46.710-08:00The Amy Poehler/Best Buy ad was great, and I hate ...The Amy Poehler/Best Buy ad was great, and I hate Best Buy... but I laughed. <br /><br />I agree that many played the sexist/racist card... it was annoying. Most forgot the objective of advertising - to sell something. So many were trying to be cool you missed what the product was. <br /><br />Halftime was fine but the best part was Destiny's Child together. They sounded much better together than Beyonce by herself. GoldenKerinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56010565049242202842013-02-06T11:08:14.481-08:002013-02-06T11:08:14.481-08:00Ken,
Come on, you should know better.... Eddie Al...Ken,<br /><br />Come on, you should know better.... Eddie Albert would be appearing in a Lincoln spot. Remember, Oliver Wendell Douglas' farm vehicle of choice in his GREEN ACRES days was a '65 Lincoln Continental with suicide doors!Mike McCannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06369457898152250682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-44607003981952257442013-02-05T19:50:05.398-08:002013-02-05T19:50:05.398-08:00The God Makes a Farmer and The Clydesdale ads were...The God Makes a Farmer and The Clydesdale ads were unusually effective because of their usage of still photography rather than video. "Turn Around" ads by Kodak from the 1950s made people cry for a reason. Both ads were also cravenly manipulative, politically and emotionally, but they did the job.<br /><br />What really struck me was how sexist most of the commercials were, as if we somehow had never heard of 1970s feminism. It was like every other ad was being marketed with the ancient "you buy this product, you'll get to have sex with a beautiful woman." It was genuinely rancid and creepy.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-66367950829440099582013-02-05T16:33:52.537-08:002013-02-05T16:33:52.537-08:00Well, unlike almost everyone else on here, I thoug...Well, unlike almost everyone else on here, I thought the commercials were actually pretty good. So did many of the simpletons I was with - we laughed a bunch of times - more than 5 for sure. A white guy sounding exactly like a Rastaman, trying to cheer up his coworkers' gloomy Monday? How can anyone not see the humor in that?! So much for my delusions of being a semi-intelligent person, I guess.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26075977778606158372013-02-05T10:23:24.056-08:002013-02-05T10:23:24.056-08:00Thank you Jonathan for sharing your response to th...Thank you Jonathan for sharing your response to the Clydesdale ad. I thought it was only me who felt that. I'm usually tuned in to the sensitivity of these things, but the ad just seemed too cliche to be sincere and I really thought it must be a parody. This anecdote may explain why I thought that. <br /><br />The first time I saw the 1985 Amazing Stories episode, Mummy Daddy (story by Steven Spielberg and teleplay by Earl Pomerantz), I thought it was stupid. I couldn't believe they were using every horror movie cliche in the book. I was so annoyed until I realized that I was the idiot; that it was all very intentional; a parody of the genre. How could I have doubted Steven and Earl? I gave myself a few palm slaps to the forehead and went from thinking it was lame to realizing its brilliance. Fortunately, I had taped it and watch it every year around Halloween. (I now own the DVD set.) I love that episode and continue to enjoy the humor in it, but that last scene still gives me chills.<br />RareWaveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12778784501326773464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-60138218980784266472013-02-05T06:21:30.037-08:002013-02-05T06:21:30.037-08:00@Liberal Guy: as a lifelong midwesterner, I can gu...@Liberal Guy: as a lifelong midwesterner, I can guarantee you that the family farm does exist, and that the people running them are as depicted in that ad. It's fathers and sons and wives and daughters working long hours doing back-breaking labor, and yes, driving pick-up trucks. Your point of reference is skewed.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07471477779947610652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43242922333882605762013-02-05T00:04:33.091-08:002013-02-05T00:04:33.091-08:00The real racist ad was the Dodge Ram ad. All these...The real racist ad was the Dodge Ram ad. All these white farmers with families being shown when in reality the true farmers are all the migrant workers in America. If farmers are driving a pickup truck through there farms it as overseers of there illegal workers who are often underpaid while working in the hot sun paying for the "Farmer" who drives around in an air conditioned truck. that same Farmer probably leaves his truck running to keep cool in the summer while using using up resources and polluting the air so that in the future his farm will be further threatened by climate change. <br />OK went a bit far but still there are many questions about if the family farm still exists and if so what form it is in. The ad made me think more about that then buying a Dodge truck and I don't think it really worked well. Liberal Guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75707778525650818692013-02-04T21:25:39.964-08:002013-02-04T21:25:39.964-08:00Yes. Somewhere in the universe David Ogilvy is cr...Yes. Somewhere in the universe David Ogilvy is cringing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30579247048888534892013-02-04T17:43:50.799-08:002013-02-04T17:43:50.799-08:00hate the beer... love the Clydesdale... it made me...hate the beer... love the Clydesdale... it made me weepy. I missed the Paul/Harvey- Dodge ad. I must have been battling for buffalo wings at the timeSharoneRosenhttp://www.sharonerosen.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16135147128596507072013-02-04T16:27:10.621-08:002013-02-04T16:27:10.621-08:00Clydesdale and Farmer. I apparently didn't see...Clydesdale and Farmer. I apparently didn't see a number of the others. I loathe Best Buy so would have tuned them out. Ditto Oprah. Cap'n Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783977137812876489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-45811055805591288472013-02-04T16:26:00.720-08:002013-02-04T16:26:00.720-08:00Yikes Carol, you are the epitome of the PC Police....Yikes Carol, you are the epitome of the PC Police. Lighten up, Francis.Mac51noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-70741444238542045682013-02-04T15:19:11.847-08:002013-02-04T15:19:11.847-08:00My personal favorite was the Red M&M singing M...My personal favorite was the Red M&M singing Meatloaf's I'll Do Anything for Love (but I Won't Do That).Rich Shealerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06349316644704593604noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19018924889582743652013-02-04T14:21:20.064-08:002013-02-04T14:21:20.064-08:00Is it just me or did anyone else totally misunders...Is it just me or did anyone else totally misunderstand the Budweiser clydesdale campaign. I thought it was a parody of sentimentality. In what universe does a guy get sad because a parade animal fails to recognize him. I thought the spot was making fun of something like the YouTube video where the British guy reunites with the lion he raised and released to the wild. Not until reading the comments on the blog did I realize people find this truly touching. Is there anyone else in disbelief that this campaign, which goes back years I know, is some people's sincere favorite? Jonathan Ernsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06233592272916854337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-35066866632847657142013-02-04T13:54:04.031-08:002013-02-04T13:54:04.031-08:00You say the Super Bowl ads weren’t funny.
You als...You say the Super Bowl ads weren’t funny.<br /><br />You also say the first rule of advertising is to sell the product. That's true. It's also the only rule.<br /><br />Humor only works in an ad as a sales tool if the joke it leads up to is inextricably entwined with the sales message. Usually it isn't, and the joke is on the advertiser.<br /><br />The ad you and your partner wrote for CHEERS (in yesterday’s post) works because it starts with a bona fide joke "Super Bowl Sunday, Diane, the only reason for living not found in a mug" and builds to the big laugh of a character -- Diane -- introduced as feeling superior to the goings-on around the Super Bowl talk suddenly being revealed as being into it as much as everybody else (including the viewers). One watching the ad cannot avoid getting the humor. But the critical thing is one can't get the humor without getting the personalities of the people (in particular Diane) involved and where the banter takes place, which is hammered home with the closing bit -- "what'd you say the name of this place was?"<br /><br />I gather this ad was placed sometime within the first season, and viewer ratings were pretty bad.<br /><br />There is no way to measure what effect the CHEERS Super Bowl ad had on its eventual iconic mega success. But I have an idea. Especially given the 80 million audience size. A truly great ad needs only to be seen once. That's one of the realizations Super Bowl advertisers do get right.<br /><br />If you and your partner were paid the same or less than you would have been paid for at least three full sitcom scripts, then, quite seriously, you were both grievously underpaid.<br />michael stillman, torontonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-26729824441279897972013-02-04T13:46:00.793-08:002013-02-04T13:46:00.793-08:00The bar has been raised to four million dollars an...The bar has been raised to four million dollars an ad. Four Million Dollars! That seems to be the threshold when an ad has to be effective and not always humorous. <br /><br />If you felt the Audi ad was offensive then YOU'RE sending the wrong message. For some, the prom is the most awkward stage of their life. You've got a lifetime to worry about offending someone ahead of you. If these moments don't occur then you're not human. The only violation is you not being sympathetic to that stage of life.<br /><br />The VW ad would have been much more effective if a Rasta Man walked through the office and just stared at them forcing them to see how stupid they were. Or, if he started to imitate them, it would bring it home.<br /><br />And for the Ram ad....Are you crazy? You want to use Green Acres to push trucks? Next, you'll want to have Phil Silvers knock on their door and try to sell them a lemon. The days of portraying farmers as hicks are long over. These people have pride and are the thread of America. They seem to have more common sense than a lot of you on this blog toay. As long as the flyovers continue the attitude that they only watch Hee Haw, Green Acres and the Beverly Hillbillies, Dukes of Hazard, they'll never be able to sell trucks. They're not trying to target you, Mr. City. You're not their market. Many people buy a truck who don't need one. Why, because they're buying the image of what you saw in the Ram and not Fred Ziffel. The only way you can infuse humor into an ad about farmers is to have the joke on someone else, not them. Go watch Kingpin and take a lesson. Woody Harrelson milks a bull. <br /><br />Your line of "Whatever Sxht they sell" tells me just how out of touch you are with the farmland. <br /><br />The Ram ad is a pivotal turning point of what you'll be seeing for future Superbowl Ads. The type of ad campaign that can be used afterwards without that builds and isn't burned out 20 minutes after the game clock stops.<br /><br />Especially when next years ads will cost five million dollars, 2015 ads six million dollars and so forth.<br /><br />At least it's better than burping the Alphabet. Wait, that was 1995 and the Dot Com era. <br /><br />They've had nearly 20 years and Go Daddy still can't get it right. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The Hope Nazi. No Hope for You!!!!noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31902005454909177032013-02-04T13:21:26.089-08:002013-02-04T13:21:26.089-08:00@ Postino "I think Beyoncé probably has a nic...@ Postino "I think Beyoncé probably has a nice va-jay-jay, but I don't want it in my face over my HDTV."<br /><br />Maybe you shouldn't sit so close to the TV? ;)Rich Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04883386588727303782noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-77990011337331154342013-02-04T13:09:17.560-08:002013-02-04T13:09:17.560-08:00In the multigenerational family room party I atten...In the multigenerational family room party I attended, the winner by far was... Leon Sandcastle.<br /><br />Farmer was decent. Jamaica was reasonably funny. Horse was alright. Amy drew a chuckle. Fast 6 and Star Trek both caused smiles. Surprising how bad most of the rest were.Mike Valmikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8154742232249909492013-02-04T13:04:40.421-08:002013-02-04T13:04:40.421-08:00Those ideas are gold, Ken...gold!!!Those ideas are gold, Ken...gold!!!Ralph C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12488657064245017543noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30945017318629282862013-02-04T12:20:42.538-08:002013-02-04T12:20:42.538-08:00I left the room and came back in just in time to s...I left the room and came back in just in time to see Beyoncé bump and grind, keeping the spirit of the 1950s burly-Q houses in Times Square. I think Beyoncé probably has a nice va-jay-jay, but I don't want it in my face over my HDTV.<br /><br />The football game interrupted the commercials way too often. <br /><br />Which reminds me, it is supposed to be a football game, after all, and why people actually care about commercials is beyond me. Don't we just shun them any other time? Nowadays a cable channel like TNT shows commercials in four-minute blocks, which allows me to repair a light switch, cook a microwave meal, or have a meaningful phone conversation with my physician without missing a minute of the program.Postinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05853607848670921106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-71549432079846901972013-02-04T12:03:37.972-08:002013-02-04T12:03:37.972-08:00I'm not sure that laughter is the main goal of...I'm not sure that laughter is the main goal of a commercial. There are funny commercials and there commercials that are not funny. I think that a good commercial plants the product firmly into your mind and hopefully generates sales for the product.<br />For example, I don't remember if their commercials were funny or not but I like beer and will now keep an eye out for the new beers from Budweiser and Becks. Nixonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-66048877831627575102013-02-04T11:50:40.409-08:002013-02-04T11:50:40.409-08:00Amy Poehler is always appealing and funny, and her...Amy Poehler is always appealing and funny, and her ad was, too. But if it had been any other actress, we'd have noticed that the theme was that women are mostly clueless about technology. (And that older women enjoy hitting on young sales clerks who have to be nice to them. No wonder you can never find a Best Buy employee when you need one.)BigTednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-3492657536526269572013-02-04T11:16:53.483-08:002013-02-04T11:16:53.483-08:00Did anyone else catch the second Dodge commercial ...Did anyone else catch the second Dodge commercial about twenty minutes after the first where all Paul Harvey said was "Good day."?Rich Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04883386588727303782noreply@blogger.com