Commercials Not Worth YouTubing

Kristy Ammerman

The Super Bowl is an event people look forward to year round. In its own right, it should be dubbed a national holiday. Almost every American, young and old, tune in to one of the biggest games of the year. A combination of great football and breakthrough commercials, about 130 million people watch it every year. It’s no wonder that every ad agency in the world vies for a 30-second spot so their products can be shown off. In fact, the commercials are what some people look forward to the most in between the 60 minutes of game play.

From the Budweiser ‘Wassup’ commercial of 2002 to the Budweiser frogs, the alcohol companies try to outdo themselves each year. With their famous Clydesdales and loveable Dalmatian, Anheuser-Busch tries to make their commercials funnier and more entertaining each year.

Coming in first with best beer commercial this year would have to be the ‘Cheese and Wine’ Bud Light commercial. When all of the men are just huddled in the kitchen, you know something’s up. Then out come all of the Bud Lights from innovative hidden places. Kicking back and watching a game, these men deserve a pat on the back. They’ve successfully done what most guys try to achieve at least some point in their life. Funny thing is, though, I would have been right in there with them.

Coming in second is the Bud Light ‘Girlfriend’ ad. Two guys think they’re so lucky to be at the game with amazing seats, only to find out that their buddy who gave them the tickets is sitting at home with one thing they don’t have. At the very end of the commercial, it just makes one say, ‘oh’…. And think of how insulting and unfortunate it is for the main character in the ad. It just makes the viewer sit back and have a chuckle. 

Ladies, ever have that night at the club where you just want to dance with your friends, and there’s that one guy who won’t leave you alone? Bud Light expresses this feeling in their ‘Security’ commercial.  At the end, it has guys wondering, ‘Why didn’t we think of that?’

Another commercial on my ‘good’ list this year is the Victoria’s Secret ad. What better for guys? Beer, football and scantily clad girls. Victoria’s Secret helped combine almost every man’s dreams into one. Classy music, lingerie and a football, the commercial basically speaks for itself. 

Coca-Cola doesn’t disappoint viewers, either. With Stewie Griffin and Underdog battling thousands of feet above New York City, no one expects for Charlie Brown to come out on top. Good for Charlie Brown. It’s finally time he got something he wants.

Everyone remembers the good commercials, the ones that make people laugh, smile and watch over and over again on YouTube. What about the bad commercials, though? The ones that make people just question and think ‘What was that?’ All of the Cars.com and AskGenie.com aren’t even worth looking up. In my opinion, they shouldn’t have even been aired during the Super Bowl. It was a waste of air time that could have been used by another funny beer commercial.

All in all, Super Bowl XLII commercials this year weren’t that great. In previous years they’ve been worth remembering. This year, although there are some worth reviewing, most of them weren’t worth looking  up on YouTube. Hopefully next year the ad companies will pull it together and remember what Super Bowl ads are all about. As for the Patriots? Well, I guess there are a lot of ‘next years.’

Questions? Comments? Contact Kristy Ammerman at ammerma6@msu.edu