Like all years, there were a lot of Super Bowl ads in 2013. Many of them hit, and a lot of them missed. And while an overall disappointing ad day came to a close, I thought of a few of the best examples of the Brand Bowl — for good and bad.
Here are five:
GoDaddy.com
The domain host and its longtime trademark Danica Patrick have been known to straddle the line, with mixed results, in the past. And few have forgotten GoDaddy’s support of Internet limiting acts PIPA and SOPA. But this year, the company’s Super Bowl commercial was just weird.
Setting a super model-gorgeous woman next to the classic book nerd and computer techie was weird. Labeling them their domain registry and Web hosting platform was weirder. And then making them kiss while the cameras zoomed in ... well, that’s just awkward.
Love it or hate it, I guess that’s one way to make people talk about you.
Taco Bell seniors-gone-wild.
I’ve been seeing a lot of support on Twitter for this commercial, but I don’t get it. Not only is the remixed Spanish cover of Fun.’s “We are Young” awkward and mistranslated in several spots, but I’m not sure what Taco Bell has to do with the elderly or any age group hanging out on late nights.
Maybe it was something a few people did in 2002. But does that really happen any more? Strange branding.
Coke See-The-Good.
The soda giant went a little different with this one, using security cameras to show strangers performing random acts of kindness, such as returning a wallet dropped on the ground and buying lunch for the elderly homeless man on the street. It was a nice sentiment, but the emotion of it was overshadowed by later ads — namely Budweiser (#Clydesdales) and Jeep.
Also, there's only one Coke ad people will remember this year.
Jeep/USO Support the Troops.
This one didn’t even seem like an ad, which probably makes it among the most effective. Jeep partnered with the USO to send a message of support, narrated by Oprah, to the U.S. troops engaged in military operations overseas. The commercial shows several of them as they are returning home to civilian life, meeting spouses, children and other family members.
On a similar note, Ram Trucks' "God made a farmer" ad also struck emotional chords with the viewers.
Oreo.
Sure, the cookie maker aired a mildly humorous commercial early that included a series of fights in library whispers —and who hasn’t argued with their friends over the better part of an Oreo, cookies or cream?
But this award really goes to a genius moment of opportunistic advertising — and it was all free.
Oreo released this ad on its Facebook and Twitter pages during what will later be known as the Infamous Super Bowl Blackout of 2013. Quick, witty and instantly tweetable; the ad hit 10,000 retweets before the fourth quarter.
Bravo, Oreo. Some opportunistic designer better be getting paid tomorrow.
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