12 • FEBRUARY 8, 2016 ADVERTISING AGE

MARKETERS MAKESUPER BOWL ADS FUN AGAIN ... WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS

BY NAT IVES

THE GOOD

1.5 STARSMtn Dew, PuppyMonkeyBabyBBDO NEW YORKWhat-the-hell-is-that spectacle anda dozen hypnotic repetitions of“PuppyMonkeyBaby” keep youstaring at the screen like Alex in“A Clockwork Orange” when hiseyes are wired open. Unlike Alex,you like it. The ad’s scenario doesn’t go terribly far, but consid-ering where it starts, that might bea relief. The premise, oncerevealed, finally snaps your atten-tion from the incomprehensiblecreature to the suddenly compre-hensible Mtn Dew Kickstart. It’sweird in the best Super Bowl-ianway.

Toyota, The Longest ChaseSAATCHI & SAATCHI LOS ANGELESThe Super Bowl 50 ads for Buick,Mini and Toyota all carry whiffs ofdefensiveness: A guy is surprisedthat a cool car is a Buick, tallRandy Johnson really can fit in aMini, and cops chasing a Priusdiscover that it’s “actually prettyfast.” But Toyota’s take disarminglycounters negative suspicions

instead of reinforcing them. “TheLongest Chase” proceeds to playup product attribute after productattribute without one hard sell.Great writing and acting make thisone of the most absorbing andentertaining ads of the game.

Avocados From Mexico,#AvosInSpaceGSD&MThe sophomore Super Bowlappearance for Avocados FromMexico shifts the action from pre-history to the far future, whenEarth rates a midsize hall in analien Museum of Natural History. Ityields one of the funniest commer-cials in Super Bowl 50, with better-than-average use of the SuperBowl-staple celebrity cameo. As ahappy bonus, the pitch—Mexico’savocados are always in season—successfully reminds viewers tomake guacamole more often.

Budweiser, Not Backing DownANOMALYBudweiser made a bold move inlast year’s Super Bowl by taking onthe microbrews nipping at itsClydesdales’ hooves. Plenty of beer

drinkers would argue that Bud didn’thave much to go on, product-wise,and punching down almost neverlooks good, but the 2015 ad some-how pulled it off. “Let them drinktheir pumpkin peach ale,” the voice-over said. (Small brewers subse-quently trolled Bud by rolling outactual pumpkin peach beers inresponse.) This year Bud broughtback the theme with another impres-sive execution, including glimpses ofClydesdales that convey the ani-

mals’ power better than any of therecent stuff with puppies. (It’s the firsttime they look like impressive beastsinstead of versions of Santa’s rein-deer.) “Not Backing Down” dismiss-es smaller brewers as hobbyists andeven proclaims that Bud is “not foreveryone,” as if it’s mostly forsophisticated palates. It’s playfullyrude, and macho without bullying.

Hyundai, Ryanville INNOCEAN WORLDWIDEHyundai wants you to know about acompelling product attribute: “auto-emergency braking with pedestriandetection.” But it wants you to care,too. So “Ryanville” sends twowomen to a town where everyone isRyan Reynolds. Good thing they’redriving a car “that doesn’t get dis-tracted.” Where Avocados FromMexico uses Scott Baio perfectlyjudiciously, Hyundai uses Reynoldsperfectly extravagantly.

No More, Text TalkGREY NEW YORKNoMore.org, the group formed in2013 to battle domestic violenceand sexual assault, gets a secondconsecutive go in the Super Bowl,

Avocados From Mexico‘#AvosInSpace’

Toyota ‘The Longest Chase’

SUPER BOWL 50AD REVIEW

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FEBRUARY 8, 2016 • 13ADVERTISING AGE

even though the league isn’t feelingthe same kind of pressure that theRay Rice scandal engendered dur-ing the 2014 season. The new spot,again by Grey New York, is alsochilling in a surprising way. Askedvia text whether she’s OK, a womanstruggles to answer, as seen by thedots that appear on an iPhonewhen you start typing a reply—anddisappear when you delete whatyou were about to say.

3.5 STARSNFL, SUPER BOWL BABIES CHOIRGREY NEW YORK“Data suggests nine months after aSuper Bowl victory, winning citiessee a rise in births,” the NFLinforms us at the beginning of itscoast-to-coast, Seal-tastic paean to“Super Bowl babies,” which spansthree 10-second spots and a 60-second main event. (Ad Agereporter E.J. Schultz asked to seethat data, by the way, withoutluck.) “It is a day,” Super Bowlbabies sing, “so super it’s why wewere born.” You’d think this wasoverreach. Instead it’s stirring. The“Football Is Family” messaging is astep too far but easy to overlook.

Quicken Loans, What We Were Thinking FALLON“Here’s what we were thinking,” thevoice-over starts as the score kicksin. It’s not Anthony Michael Hall’sintroduction to “The Breakfast Club”(“Dear Mr. Vernon: We accept thefact that we had to sacrifice awhole Saturday in detention forwhatever it was we did wrong....”),but it’s intriguing to a surprisinglysimilar degree. If Quicken andFallon’s line of thought turns out toresemble a self-interested,not-exactly-rock-solid NationalAssociation of Realtors pitch—home-ownership lifts the entire Americaneconomy!—their vision is painted sowinningly that viewers won’t mind.Let’s hear it for wooden leg-makers,and for “PUSH BUTTON GETMORTGAGE” fantasies.

Budweiser, #GiveADamnANOMALYHelen Mirren won an AcademyAward for her title role in “TheQueen,” but she deserves a prize,too, for the King of Beers’ first anti-drunk driving Super Bowl ad since2006. She turns a minute-long lec-ture into a pleasure, probably evenfor people who’d been planning to“drive carefully” on their way homefrom watching the game.

Jeep, PortraitsIRIS NEW YORKWhile Jeep Super Bowl marketing

has occasionally veered into pon-derous terrain, this spot is on-target,big-day marketing, an acceleratingmontage of more than 60 imagesfrom history. The 75-year-old brandpulls off a birthday party for itselfwithout seeming indulgent. Humorhelps: Amid serious moments, a“Jurassic Park” dinosaur turns up.

THE BAD

1.5 STARSSchick Hydro, RobotJ. WALTER THOMPSONA new razor and an old model turninto robots when their owner isn’tlooking and fight to the death. Thepitch—“a hydrating gel reservoirthat gives you 40% less friction”—isas hard to accept literally as anyother razor come-on, but it suggestssomething good. Unfortunately, acommercial that flies in other con-texts doesn’t always match up onSuper Bowl Sunday.

Pepsi, Joy of PepsiTHE MARKETING ARMCharismatic Pepsi endorser JanelleMonáe dances through eras ofAmerican music in Pepsi’s halftimelead-in. The bit is reminiscent of thebrand’s ad starring Britney Spearsin a variety of decade-specific setpieces, just with less energy andscope. By the end it seems likeMonáe is killing time until Coldplay.

LG, Man From the Future Liam Neeson, star of the entertain-ing “Clash of Clans” commercial inlast year’s game, returns to SuperBowl duty in an ad for LG OLEDTVs that sees him playing his olderself, dropping nonsensical knowl-edge on a younger self played byson Michael Neeson. The “Tron”-scape is all right, if tough to makeout without all the neon piping tolight the way, but the product itselfdoesn’t get much time.

TurboTax, Never a SelloutWIEDEN & KENNEDYTurboTax hammers its name intoevery opening under cover ofmocking overbearing productplacement. It’s a familiar tactic thatrisks becoming its own target. “TheColbert Report” made it work withbits like “Hail to the Cheese:Stephen Colbert’s Nacho CheeseDoritos 2008 PresidentialCampaign.” A 2011 Bud LightSuper Bowl ad pictured a moviecast and crew who realize they getfree stuff if they work it into theirscenes. Here Anthony Hopkins tellsan interviewer he would never sellout, then lifts his TurboTax.comteacup. That’s just the start, but thepayoff never arrives.

Persil ProClean, No. 1 RatedTBWA/CHIAT/DAYNot every Super Bowl ad needs aPuppyMonkeyBaby. What about 15seconds of comparative advertising,bragging about how a little-knownbrand topped every big player inthe category on a performance test?These 15 seconds will admittedlylikely move some upstart product.But actor Peter Hermann doesn’t getmuch to do in his role as the“debonair, tuxedo-wearing, stain-fighting superhero, TheProfessional,” as Persil ProCleandescribes his character, and #game-daystains is something shy of a sure-fire trending topic.

Skittles, The PortraitDDB CHICAGODespite the celebrity turn, it feelsmore like a commercial to runduring an after-school special thanin the Super Bowl, and not justbecause it’s a candy ad. The weirdmansion setting evokes a “Scooby-Doo” episode, and Steven Tylermay be better suited for an amusingcameo than top billing. Skittles andDDB’s “Settle It” from the 2015Super Bowl told an equally weirdstory more fully, and squeezed inmore enthusiasm for the product.

1 STARBuick, Wedding LEO BURNETT DETROITHaving decided that it needs tonearly apologize for its brand—ashocked wedding guest asks “Thatconvertible’s a Buick?” about a carhe likes—Buick does its best. Model

Emily Ratajkowski makes a spectac-ular catch of the bride’s bouquet,leading onlookers to take turns say-ing she “O’Delled it,” a reference toNew York Giants wide receiverOdell Beckham Jr. (also in atten-dance). There’s a halfhearted ges-ture toward humor when even theolder lady chimes in, “totallyO’Delled it.” Surprise, a senior citi-zen understands what’s going on!

Doritos, Doritos DogsCONSUMER-GENERATEDDoritos’ final “Crash the SuperBowl” user-generated ad contestdidn’t yield its best results. A cuteending salvages the slow start for“Doritos Dogs,” but the totem-poletrench coat routine is so worn(BuzzFeed last year ran a listicleheadlined, “53 Signs YourBoyfriend Is Really Three Children ina Trenchcoat”) that it’s going to geta groan at best from many viewers.

SunTrust, Hold Your BreathSTRAWBERRYFROG“Hold your breath,” SunTrust tellsviewers having fun on Super BowlSunday. “Hold it. Hold it. Whatyou’re feeling now is just like finan-cial stress.” Thanks, SunTrust!What’s worse is that an ad ostensi-bly aimed at encouraging con-sumers to stop sweating theirfinances never quits with the omi-nous ticking-clock sounds. “So now,let go, and breathe,” the voice-overfinally says, in precisely the sameintimidating tone as before. “Feelthat relief?” Do you? Why is thatclock still ticking like that? Could weget some pop music to help turn thecorner? Viewers who want to jointhis movement will have to visitOnUp.com to actually find out any-thing about it.

HALF STARDoritos, UltrasoundCONSUMER-GENERATEDA father-to-be snacking during hiswife’s ultrasound is grating enoughbefore he starts agitating the fetus.The conclusion, which goes waybeyond that, is like a horror movie.Many winners of Doritos “Crash theSuper Bowl” contests haveimpressed ad reviewers less thanthe public, which regularly votedthem to the top of USA Today’sannual Ad Meter popularity contest.This might be one that doesn’t makeeither cohort happy..

For reviews of every ad inSuper Bowl 50 and more of our

complete coverage, visitAdAge.com/SuperBowl.

Buick ‘Wedding’

SunTrust ‘Hold Your Breath’

Doritos ‘Ultrasound’

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