Bowl ads lackluster

By Gina Massetani

I have to admit that although I enjoy sitting down with a hot dog and soda in hand to watch the Super Bowl, I almost find the commercials to be even more entertaining than the game - I know I am not the only one out there.

It has become a tradition that after the Super Bowl is over and the post-game shows are nearing their end, commentators discuss the quality of the commercials and pick their favorites.

Although a handful of good commercials made it on air this year, not one tops those of past years. Just looking back to last year's Super Bowl, Snickers had a great commercial with the hilarious Betty White as a football player. And who can forget about Budweiser's hilarious talking iguanas, or the always impressive football-playing Clydesdales?  

Sadly, this year's commercials  definitely fell short. Most people sat bored and confused during the break, in awe over the absence of truly humorous commercials.

 When even the Budweiser commercials fail (what does a Western sing-along of "Tiny Dancer" have to do with beer?) it's clear that the standards have dropped.

Companies spend millions of dollars for 30-second commercials in hopes that their creative advertising will sway consumers to buy their products.

Advertisers are constantly trying to think of new, innovative and creative ways to present their products so that they stand out against the competition.

But despite the billions of dollars and countless hours that went into this year's Super Bowl commercials, only two stick out in my mind as entertaining.

Snickers did a respectable job, although it was just a remake of last year's Betty White spot, instead featuring Richard Lewis and Rosanne Barr.

Actor and comedian Richard Lewis plays a logger who complains about being too tired and hungry to work. After he eats a Snickers, he returns to his muscular logger form. The commercial ends with comedian Roseanne complaining about her back before getting nailed in the chest with a log.

But for me Doritos took home the Super Bowl commercial of the year.

A young man leaves his roommate in charge of his pet goldfish and plant and tells him to take care of them until Thursday. Not surprisingly, when Thursday rolls around the fish and plant are both found dead.

In a last-ditch attempt to save the fish and the plant, the roommate sprinkles Doritos crumbs over them. Miraculously, they both return to life. Then the roommate knocks over his friend's grandfather's ashes. The commercial ends with the young man walking back into the apartment, where his grandfather is alive and well.

Both commercials provided entertainment value, but neither were up to the high standards of past years.

Obviously, advertisers need to rethink what concepts are good enough to warrant a $3 million investment in a one-time showing. Otherwise, football fans will start using those 30-second spots for something more useful, like grabbing another beer from the fridge and checking on the hot wings.