Okay, I should say that I “get” the Super Bowl commercials in that I understand why they are supposed to be funny. The problem is – they just aren’t. Or, at least as my Facebook status update stated just after the Super Bowl this year, I must not be the target audience of Budweiser or of Doritos. The Bud Light commercials were predictable and passe – sorry, but if I were stranded on a deserted island, and had the choice between radioing for help or running for Bud Light, I think I would choose the first option.
While Budweiser’s ads lacked charisma, I found some of the Doritos ads just downright offensive. One Doritos ad featured a man coming to take a woman on a date, and the woman’s young son observes this man eyeing her. When the woman leaves to finish getting ready, and the man reaches for a chip in a bowl, the boy slaps him across the face, telling him to keep his hands off of his Doritos AND off of his mother.
I spoke with many other parents after this, and we all agreed – if our children slapped an adult in this way, they would be in so much trouble. I know Gabriel would be in a timeout, would have toys taken away, and would have to apologize to his target, at the very least.
There were a few good ads, though. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the Google ad featuring the French love story. It was clever – no spoken words, it requires the viewer to read in order to follow along, and it brings one in to the story. It was not predictable – the final line has you thinking that the person is searching for “how to assemble a wedding invitation,” but instead he writes “how to assemble a crib.” Evan and I both let out an “Awwwwwww.” Very sweet! Of course, this ad was only voted the ninth best of the game. C’est la vie.
No no, you’ve got it all wrong. See, the boy smacked the man “upside the back of his head”, which is what makes it totally acceptable. Sheesh.