Super Bowl Ads in Review: Top 5 of 2011

Once again, we're shown that marketeers and the general public have, shall we say, slightly different takes on the Super Bowl commercials.  USAToday's AdMeter* put BudLight's lame dog-sitting party spot at #1.  Go watch it if you want to.  Dogs walk upright and serve beers... Whatevs. Tied at #1 was the cute but predictable spot for Doritos with the pug and a glass patio door.  Neither ranked well with the experts.

Conversely, the big winner last night has to be Volkswagen.  Not only did it score right behind the two dog spots in USAToday, it was the first SB ad I saw leaked on the Facebook, which tells you it was going viral even before it aired... a great sign.  And after it aired during the game, the twitterverse went wild with positive remarks.  And it scored very well with the experts.  

While the buzz the Super Bowl ads create is on a slightly bigger budget than my clients can typically reach, here's my top five. 

#5  E*Trade Baby.  Sorry, I'm not even close to sick of this concept.  They're just funny.   



#4  Verizon iPhone 



#3  NFL: "American Family" Grey Group

#2  Chrysler: "Born of Fire"  Wieden & Kennedy/Universal McCann

BTW, this work of art is rated at #44 on USAToday's AdMeter.  Unbelievable.   Obviously that's because there were no monkeys, dogs, or people getting hit in the face and/or crotch. 

#1  Volkswagen Passat Mini-Vader



I also note that this is far and away the most popular of the YouTube, with 16 million views and counting.  What's fanny is that this ad completely obscured another VW ad that was nearly as good, the Black Betty Beetle.  VW FTW! 

*USA TODAY assembled 282 adult volunteers in Bakersfield, Calif., and McLean, Va., and electronically charted their second-by-second reactions to ads during the Super Bowl. Shugoll Research and Trotta Associates chose the volunteers, who used handheld meters to register how much they liked each ad. A computer continuously averaged the scores. Scores are the highest average for each ad.

 So that's my Top 5.  What's yours?  

Facebook Hosts 1st Super Bowl Commercial Face-Off

Once again this year, I went looking for a Super Bowl commercial scorecard I could fill out as the game went on, and once again this year, I came up empty. Has anybody seen a good one? It can be a printable one or an online one. It looks like USA Today isn't doing their Ad Meter this year? Meanwhile, I'll try this one on Facebook... I mean, why not, that's where we'll all be commenting on the ads anyway, right?

Facebook Hosts 1st Super Bowl Commercial Face-Off

On Buying a Verizon iPhone in the Middle of the Night

Well, that could've gone more smoothly.

First, I had logged in as an existing customer and was going through the web site process attempting to upgrade my phone on my line to the iPhone.   The iPhone never showed up in the list of available phones.  After 3AM, Apple showed up in the drop-down menu as a manufacturer, but it was grayed out.

I noticed with interest the Droid Star Wars R2-D2 phone, which was available for only $99 after all discounts.  I wished I didn't have my heart set on the iPhone, because that would be way cool! Which brings me to this, which my friend Jenn sent me on Facebook:



"But I want the iPhone."

Then, I logged in through the link Verizon gave me in my e-mail.  That got me right in, and I went through the screens, but at the screen where it asked for billing and shipping address, I hit a glitch.  Nothing I put in would allow me to continue.  It just kept giving me an error: "Billing and credit card addresses must match."  WTF?  I was stuck.

By then, then poor Melanie was awake due to my grumbling.  She called customer service at my behest, only to get the recording saying their agents weren't available at this ungodly hour, and they wouldn't have any information about the iPhone anyway, and to log into verizonwireless.com for more information.  Thanks.

Then she whipped out her iPad, logged in, and walked right through the order process while I struggled with the same process on my Macbook Air.  My theory is there was a glitch with Firefox at the address screens that didn't affect Safari.

Meanwhile, I couldn't figure out why the price didn't change anywhere in the process, because I was eligible for a New Every Two phone.  I know they discontinued the plan, but it still applies to existing customers and applies to the iPhone, as noted here in their FAQ: http://support.vzw.com/faqs/iphone/iphone_faq.html

Will existing customers be able to redeem their New Every Two credit?
Yes, existing customers will be able to take advantage of their New Every Two credit if eligible, and use it towards the purchase of iPhone 4 (may not be available at all agent locations).
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I sent Verizon an e-mail about both of these issues.  More news as it develops.  The important thing though is I HAVE A CONFIRMATION NUMBER!  :-)  Now let's see if I can get some ZZZZZ's.

Alarm is set for 2:55AM. Yep, only for the #VZWiphone

The process has been pretty smooth and quiet.  I signed up for the e-mail notifications while I was live-blogging from the local Verizon Wireless store.  Since then, I've received just a couple missives from Verizon Wireless.  One told me how to prep for the move (including instructions to sign up for an iTunes account, as if I didn't already have one) and one that told me that I could pre-order the phone starting at 3AM on Feb 3. 

3AM???  I had to laugh.  But they were serious.  The release date, the street date, to all the plebs and unwashed masses is Feb 10.  But my time is now.  VZ also sent me a reminder e-mail today, in case it might've slipped my mind. 

I've logged into our VZ account and reviewed the upgrade options available on my line.  (We have a family plan.)  I'm due a "New Every Two" phone.  In fact, truth be told, I've been eligible to upgrade my old LG flip phone since 10/11/09.  Why didn't I upgrade to another smart phone in the meantime?  Simple answer: I didn't want a smart phone--I wanted the iPhone.  And after many fits, starts, head-fakes, and rumors, the long-awaited Verizon iPhone is here.

Verizon has laid out the facts in their FAQ to prepare us for the occasion. 

One question that is unanswered is what price I'll have to pay.  Verizon's said flat out on their site that I'm "eligible" for an upgrade on this line, and that VZ users can in fact apply "New Every Two credit" toward the iPhone.  I expect this to mean the $199 unit will cost me $99, but we shall see.  I know we'll add a $30 monthly charge for data.  I don't know if I'll spring for the $20 for the hotspot data feature. 

Meanwhile, the reviews are coming in from TechCrunch and Walter Mossberg and David Pogue and all the others who got advance copies.  Read 'em if you want, but they all say the same thing: It was worth the wait.

I would've liked to have the iPhone in my hands for the eBrew, but I should have it in hand for my birthday on Feb. 10.  (If, that is, I can wake up in time to be one of the first buyers.)