Okay, I was a little disappointed with most of the ads that aired last night, especially considering it cost $2.5 million per 30 second spot (so you’d think they’d put a little more creativity and innovation into them). The Tebow ad wasn’t as controversial as everyone was making it out to be–at least, I had no problem with it. There were ads that were far more offensive: misogynist and just plain yuck, denigrating women and portraying men as emasculated by relationships/marriages. And what was with all the sans-pants action? Seriously … THIS is what you think 93 million people are like?
That said, my favorite Super Bowl ad was the simplest one, and also the most effective. Google’s simple storytelling underlined not only the power of understated simplicity but also the importance of story. And it didn’t turn off half the population. (And it’s not even as if Google needs the publicity! Maybe that’s why … many of the other advertisers were trying too hard.)
And then, this morning, I came across this, from the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership in the UK. It’s beautiful, poignant, effective, simple. I wish more commercials eschewed the American tendency for making everything overblown.