Was there a game on yesterday too?

February 7, 2005 9:40 AM

Everything about the Super Bowl ads is here. You can vote on your favorites and least favorites, see what the experts picked, see the controversial spots that didn't make the cut, and more. (There are also links to info about some game that was played yesterday). My favorites? The Ameriquest ads: the one where the cat knocks over the sauce and it looks to the girlfriend like the guy is killing the cat, and the ad where the guy at the convenience store is mistaken for a robber.
posted by braun_richard (43 comments total)

The superbowl was yesterday?
posted by jperkins at 9:46 AM on February 7, 2005

You're cool 'cause you don't care about football, jperkins.

What a sorry crop of commericals that was.
posted by DieHipsterDie at 9:49 AM on February 7, 2005

Watch them all here.

Gotta love Canadian content laws - while you guys were watching the good stuff, we got ultra lame Home Hardware and Canadian Tire ads.
posted by Quartermass at 9:50 AM on February 7, 2005

The marinara one was excellent but my favorite that just edged it out was the skydiving Bud Light ad where the pilot comes running back and jumps out of the plane after the beer without a 'chute on.

Worst? GoDaddy's incredibly lame titty ad. Though the superheroes Mastercard ad was pretty pathetically bad as well.
posted by fenriq at 10:07 AM on February 7, 2005

I liked the Diet Pepsi truck one w/ P. Diddy. The others that I remembered were pretty lame.
posted by gyc at 10:11 AM on February 7, 2005

Personally, I wish less attention was paid to the advertising on the Super Bowl. It's just advertising, after all. It seems that every TV news show for the last week has featured at least five minutes on these ads, and on the ones that were pulled. Of course, those got shown over and over, thanks to the "news" shows. When watching the news, we now not only get commercials, we get "news stories" about commercials, not to mention commercials for the news shows we are at that very moment already watching. If they thought they could get away with it, they'd call the Home Shopping Network "news."
posted by Kirth Gerson at 10:14 AM on February 7, 2005

I wonder how many people watch the super bowl for the ads because they're told people watch the super bowl for the ads.

Can we also use this thread to try to figure out what message The Simpsons were trying to get across with that episode, or what people thought of American Dad?
posted by drezdn at 10:15 AM on February 7, 2005

I liked the Ameriquest ad with the cat the best but when I said that at home, my wife asked, "Who was that ad for?" And I had no idea. I know now since I read this post but I still have no idea what Ameriquest does. I don't really care either but I'm guessing that the ad failed since I can't connect it with any sort of product or service.
posted by octothorpe at 10:19 AM on February 7, 2005

I was a big fan of both the Ameriquest ads (the cat-knife-sauce ad being the better of the two), as well as the P. Diddy Diet Pepsi ad. The Budweiser reach-around to Our Troops ad was appalling.

It's just advertising, after all.

And sometimes (sometimes), advertising is clever and funny and interesting. But I guess we shouldn't discuss it. My bad.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:21 AM on February 7, 2005

For all my misgivings, I really liked American Dad. So delightfully over the top.
posted by Quartermass at 10:24 AM on February 7, 2005

I think the Anheiser-Busch commercial would've been more poignant if at the end a little girl came out from the crowd of clapping people and gave one of the soliders a piece of armor for the ill-equipped Humvees. That would've been really touching.

I thought the Hammer commercial was great. A cheap-shot, but it worked for me.
posted by Arch Stanton at 10:32 AM on February 7, 2005

The Ameriquest "Cat Killer" and the Emerald Nuts "Unicorn" ads made me laugh.

Didn't think McDonalds cashing in on the "Ebay - Virgin Mary - Grill Cheese Sandwich" was done well.

The Mustang Ad was too long and repeated too many times.

But I really wish they'd left all the damn monkeys at monkeyfilter (although monkeys fling poo better than those quarterbacks threw passes).
posted by DBAPaul at 10:47 AM on February 7, 2005

rerr, "Ebay - Virgin Mary - Grill Cheese Sandwich" meme
posted by DBAPaul at 10:48 AM on February 7, 2005

I liked the Ameriquest ad with the cat the best but when I said that at home, my wife asked, "Who was that ad for?" And I had no idea.

I think many SuperBowl ads are not so much meant 'for' someone as much as they are for just getting the name out there. Look at how many times 'Ameriquest' is already in this thread.

Getting across what they do is less important that the fact that should you ever be looking for a company that does whatever the hell they do, that name will jump out at you when you come across it.
posted by HTuttle at 10:57 AM on February 7, 2005

I thought American Dad was not only just a rehash of Family Guy, it was a completely unfunny rehash. Though I'd watch a show based around the Paul Lynde-sounding alien.

And the Simpsons, my all time favorite show, is now just a shadow of its former self. That episode was also unfunny, and all of the episodes seem really forced now, and they keep reusing the same old bits.
posted by braun_richard at 10:58 AM on February 7, 2005

I loved the monkey ads! Am I the only one?
posted by davenportmom at 11:01 AM on February 7, 2005

You're cool 'cause you don't care about football, jperkins.

With two kids ages 1 and 2, I have better things to do with my time than worry about professional football. And it occurs to me that with tivo I actually wound up watching nothing that aired yesterday, completely sparing myself.

Oh, and you're equally as cool because you have that hip username, diehipsterdie. Very urban.
posted by jperkins at 11:06 AM on February 7, 2005

It seems like the weirdest/best/most horrifing ads are local ads here in Portland. Two years ago it was the first Trunk Monkey ad, which later became the worldwide phenonenon. But this year, the ad that was got the most WTF!'s was Insurance by gospelspots.com [warning: heavy-handed religion in QT]
posted by ..ooOOoo....ooOOoo.. at 11:10 AM on February 7, 2005

I didn't watch any of the Super Bowl (not being elitist, just a fact), but put my vote in the "American Dad sucked balls" column. I admit I'm not the biggest fan of Family Guy (I tolerate it), but American Dad was like everything I hate about Family Guy amplified by about 1 million.

Oh, and The Simpsons wasn't that great either, but that part with Mario had me crying.
posted by emptybowl at 11:14 AM on February 7, 2005

I saw the game at my brother's house. He had given the Tivo ample time to build a substantial amount of fastforwarding through the first part of the game, specifically the commericals.

I, not having a goddamn clue about anything sports-related, could care less about the game itself, and was left to scream "MONKEYS!" when he fastforwarded through those commercials. He was forced to rewind because, you know...monkeys.

Needless to say, I was justified.

Oh, and two things:

1) The Ameriquest cat ad was more creepy than funny.
2) Tell me if I'm being cynical, but any ad "honoring" anything, be it firefighters, the troops, or anything 9/11, that ends with your company's name is just tacky. "Buy Anheuser-Busch products, 'cause we care about this particular thing."
posted by unsupervised at 11:14 AM on February 7, 2005

Oh, and you're equally as cool because you have that hip username, diehipsterdie. Very urban.

DieHipsterDie is hip? I'm calling for the death of all TV hatin', martini lovin' ironic fashion wearing urban hipsters.

You may have better things to do than watch TV. The only reason you announced it though was to show how above TV and sports you are.

Anyway, the commerical with the troops walking through the airport was just too sappy not to laugh at.
posted by DieHipsterDie at 11:17 AM on February 7, 2005

You mean there were commercials on during the game?

American Dad was interesting. A rehash of Family Guy perhaps, but still funnier than 99% of what you'll find on broadcast. And Roger is HILARIOUS.

"...we're at terror alert orange! Which means something might go down somewhere in someway in some point in time..."
posted by panoptican at 11:21 AM on February 7, 2005

The monkey ads were good.

braun_richard, that was part of the reason I didn't have any interest in American Dad.

And I love the Simpsons, I don't want to start hating it. I think I'll just watch the reruns.

jperkins, yeah, I sympathize with your lack of time to sit and watch the game but your comment was all snark.
posted by fenriq at 11:23 AM on February 7, 2005

Okay, the Simpsons was ass. But Jeff Albertson? It was worth it for that moment.

I think the ads pretty much sucked this year, though I liked the cat and tomato sauce and the monkeys kissing butt. The Kinko's commercial was mildly amusing, too. Burt Reynolds? Dancing bear? Sign me up!

(I thought his username said The Hipster, The. Come on, someone had to say it.)
posted by sugarfish at 11:27 AM on February 7, 2005

Has anyone else noticed how morbid many of the commericals were this year? Not the least of which was that interminably looped Mustang commercial featuring a muscle car induced case of exposure. Death is the new talking animal!

The commericals were not very good in general. Marinara cat-stab was good, as well as the Burt Reynolds beat-dance commercial.

The game itself, however, was actually pretty solid. And American Dad made me laugh, despite being Family Guy Redux. I can't imagine both American Dad and the return of Family Guy will be on simultaneously for long - what would be the point?

2) Tell me if I'm being cynical, but any ad "honoring" anything, be it firefighters, the troops, or anything 9/11, that ends with your company's name is just tacky. "Buy Anheuser-Busch products, 'cause we care about this particular thing."

Remember that godawful Budweiser 9/11 tribute, with the Clydesdales kneeling towards Ground Zero? I seem to remember the Super Bowl party making a simultaneous "AAAAAA" for that.
posted by Sticherbeast at 11:28 AM on February 7, 2005

no love for burt reynolds and the bear? or cedric the entertainer's designated driver dance? DUDE.
posted by pxe2000 at 11:28 AM on February 7, 2005

Burt Reynolds? Dancing bear? Sign me up!
... as well as the Burt Reynolds beat-dance commercial
no love for burt reynolds and the bear?

Ah! I'd entirely forgotten about it! The "groin kick" really did me in. Top-notch advertainment.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:35 AM on February 7, 2005

Damn, I wondered if anyone else saw the Jesus ad. That was seriously fucked, but it did grab my attention.
posted by docpops at 11:37 AM on February 7, 2005

American Dad was interesting. A rehash of Family Guy perhaps, but still funnier than 99% of what you'll find on broadcast. And Roger is HILARIOUS.

"...we're at terror alert orange! Which means something might go down somewhere in someway in some point in time..."

Yeah, because THAT joke's never been made before. Seth McFarlane is a hack.
posted by emptybowl at 11:44 AM on February 7, 2005

The Simpson's was bad, and American Dad was even worse. It seems like the people that make these shows now have no understanding of comedic timing. They just seem to throw as many gags at the wall as possible to see what sticks.
posted by jefbla at 11:59 AM on February 7, 2005

The monkey ads were bad, since chimps are great apes, not monkeys. ;)

I only watch the ads. Who won? My fave was the Mustang ad. But it was a poor year, not many ads that worked. The Godaddy ad terrible.
posted by dabitch at 12:09 PM on February 7, 2005

Didn't watch the Superbowl and so didn't see any ads. I had the emasculating experience of having my girlfriend teach me how football worked two years ago. She's the fan in this relationship. And, anyway, since no team I'm partial to for any reason was in the game, I didn't see a logical reason to watch.

However, my roommate and I did watch the Simpsons afterwards. I wish they'd closed shop two years ago. It's not horrible yet, but it'll get there if they don't stop soon.

As a consequence, we also saw that American Dad show. I have never been impressed with Family Guy (poor writing, poor animation with little originality to it), but I think I actually was negatively impressed with American Dad.

American Dad has now caused something else which would have received a certain level of being impressed from me to have less of that than it deserved.
posted by Captaintripps at 12:17 PM on February 7, 2005

since no team I'm partial to for any reason was in the game, I didn't see a logical reason to watch.

I watch because I enjoy a good game, irrespective of who's playing.

Unfortunately, last night was not a very good game. Very sloppy. And then the Eagles went into total brainlock with about five minutes left, even though they were still in it. But I guess this follows the pattern established in the last six years: the odd-numbered Super Bowls were good, and the even-numbered Super Bowls weren't.
posted by casu marzu at 12:27 PM on February 7, 2005

Can we also use this thread to try to figure out what message The Simpsons were trying to get across with that episode

I think they were trying to say that very few Americans would actually want the kind of saccharine crap that would result from the family-values hysterics getting their way.

And while I agree The Simpsons ain't what it used to be, and is indeed more a collection of gags than a cohesive whole these days, it still does have some fine moments. (The over-the-top Passion of the Christ parody had me chuckling, as did the Donkey Kong homage.)

As for American Dad, I wouldn't want to condemn it based on one episode, but it felt kind of like Macfarlane was out of his depth with the whole war-on-terror thing. Maybe I'm asking for too much verisimilitude from my cartoon satire, but it stuck in my craw that the dad was CIA and not, say, Homeland Security. I mean, wouldn't it occur to you at some point during the development process that the CIA isn't quite the right fit for a gung-ho terror warrior these days?

And while we're on the topic of terrah, any thoughts on that Anheuser-Busch "Thank You" ad with the surprisingly photogenic soldiers in desert camo getting a rousing ovation as they walk through the airport? Felt kinda like if Fox News shot a segment of Oprah as a covert recruiting ad to me.
posted by gompa at 12:32 PM on February 7, 2005

I thought the game was good, but I think Donovan McNabb's poor play in the first half cost the Eagles a chance to win. (I like McNabb and I was rooting for the Eagles.) They should've been up at least 10-7 at halftime, maybe even 17-7. And their clock management at the end of the game was horrible.

Apparently the GoDaddy ad was supposed to run twice, but the NFL persuaded Fox to pull it after it ran the first time. GoDaddy has a longer version of the ad on their web site.

the odd-numbered Super Bowls were good, and the even-numbered Super Bowls weren't

I thought that was Star Trek movies, except that the even-numbered ones are good.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:37 PM on February 7, 2005

TV hatin', martini lovin' ironic fashion wearing urban hipsters

Damn. And I thought it was those stupid low-riding girly trousers. God, I hate those. Do people not realise they give you a second ass? Sure - you can call those unfortunately relocated bumps 'muffins' as some do - but, really, it's a second ass. Phooey on that.

Um, anyway. Look, Monkeys!
posted by Sparx at 12:43 PM on February 7, 2005

I thought his username said The Hipster, The. Come on, someone had to say it.

Someone pointed that out once. As my German is almost nil, I had no idea.

There were so many commercials and so much time between halves that I managed to finish a quarter of the book that I'm reading.

And Pepsi commericals have always been the worst of the lot. AB being a close second.
posted by DieHipsterDie at 1:52 PM on February 7, 2005

The NY TImes as well as that USA Today site said that the Miller ones were rejected (the policy was apparently "please don't air a negative ad about our biggest advertiser of them all Bud") - but we saw those Miller Lite ads in New York - they must have been local placements.
posted by juanjamon at 2:19 PM on February 7, 2005

(MC) Hammer should get a special prize for being in TWO commercials for two different products.
posted by sklero at 2:26 PM on February 7, 2005

DieHipsterDie,

He's making a reference to a Simpsons episode in which a parole board asks Sideshow Bob about the large tattoo on his chest that says "Die, Bart, Die", to which he replies that it isn't a threat but merely German for "The, Bart, The". And of course, no German-speaking man could be evil.
posted by Sangermaine at 4:22 PM on February 7, 2005

Unfortunately, last night was not a very good game. Very sloppy. And then the Eagles went into total brainlock with about five minutes left, even though they were still in it. But I guess this follows the pattern established in the last six years: the odd-numbered Super Bowls were good, and the even-numbered Super Bowls weren't.

Umm... 39/2 = !*@!#$*
posted by esch at 4:41 PM on February 7, 2005

When I've hosted SUper Bowl parties, everyone stayed glued to the tv for the adds. It's ad superbowl also. The Pressure got to them this year.
posted by Coltrane at 11:43 PM on February 7, 2005

I'm sure you just stumbled on the keyboard, but it's ads, short for advertising, not adds which is adding something, which ads seldom do.
/peeve
posted by dabitch at 12:46 AM on February 8, 2005