New Ad Campaigns For Superbowl

Here's today's edition from Amy:

It's day two of Super Bowl ads. Today, we'll watch ads starring Danica Patrick, John Turturro and Mrs. Potato Head. Let's launch!

Teaser ads. I'm usually not a fan because if you can't show an ad in its entirety, it's probably not that great to begin with. Bridgestone tires pleasantly surprised me last year with teaser spots starring Richard Simmons and a screaming squirrel. This year, the company is back with two 30-second ads that hopefully live up to the standard set last year. If Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head are involved, all signs point to yes. In "Taters," Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head are driving with the top down on a windy road. Mr. Potato Head turns a corner at a high speed and sees a herd of sheep blocking both sides of the road. Does Mr. Potato Head drive off the cliff or through the sheep? I'm sure he stops in time; I love love love seeing Mrs. Potato Head scream "sheep," especially when it's a drawn-out scream; because it sounds like another word. A swear word... Watch the teaser here and a behind-the-scenes making of the ad here. "Taters" will run between the first and second quarters of the game. "Hot Item" takes us to a galaxy, far, far away: Titan, Saturn's largest moon, to be exact. Space cadets with the music on high explore Titan in a fancy Bridgestone tire-equipped vehicle. See the teaser here and a behind-the-scenes video here. "Hot Item" will air in the third quarter. The Richards Group created the ads.

Would it be a Super Bowl without a controversial Go Daddy.com ad? Yes, but we don't live in a perfect world, so we will suffer through a GoDaddy.com spot during the first quarter. The so-called controversy this year is that GoDaddy.com had two spots approved, weeks in advance of the big game. It's not surprising and it's not controversial. The company left the decision of what ad to run up to the viewers, who voted online for their favorite ad. Similar to last year's ad, "Exposure," both "Shower" and "Baseball" are tacky, but harmless, and abruptly end just as the getting's good. Ads will run in their entirety online during the Super Bowl. Will you watch the "too hot for TV" endings online? I didn't last year and I doubt I will this year. A college student can do anything online now that he's purchased a GoDaddy.com domain name. Prompting Danica Patrick to take multiple showers a day is one of them. His buddies watch as he places another woman in the shower with Patrick. Watch the ad here. Well-endowed women deny being "enhanced," while Patrick is proud of enhancing her image... online. The spot abruptly ends with a woman thisclose to pulling her top down. You'll have to go online to see what's she's hiding. See the ad here. Both spots were created in-house.

I like Heineken and I like John Turturro, but I don't like them together. Heineken is launching "Warrior," the second spot in its Turturro series of ads, in local markets during the Super Bowl in the 1st Pod Position in Local Break #3 (between the third and fourth quarters). Turturro offers smooth words of wisdom, but he comes off a bit too serious and rigid. Maybe that's the objective, but I'm not getting the warrior vibe. The spot ends with Turturro sharing this little nugget: "This is not a beer; this is a sword. Wield it with honor. Or cut yourself off." Watch the ad here, running in Boston, Hartford, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix markets, among others. Wieden+Kennedy Portland created the ad.
Amy Corr is managing editor, online newsletters for MediaPost. She can be reached at amyc@mediapost.com.

Sphere: Related Content