SuperAds?

I’ve been checking out the Super Bowl ads online. These are the best that the advertising industry could come up with?

The Good

• Ameriquest’s “Don’t Judge Too Quickly” ads were really funny, both the “cat killer” and “taser” ones. Heh. Best laughs of the cllection.
• I thought the Emerald Nuts “Unicorn” was cute. But, then, I have a little girl that age.
• The MasterCard mascots ad was fun, too.
• I got a kick out of the P. Diddy Pepsi Truck as, too.
• The FedEx “Dancing Burt” commercial was fun.
• I liked the Mustang in “Fargo” ad. Not spectacular, but fun.
• The Michelob “Rich and Smooth” ad was probably the best of the beer ads — though that’s not saying much.
• I liked the Honda Prius ad — artsy, but effective.

The Bad

• The Visa Super-Heroes ad, like most live-action Marvel setups, shows how silly most real people look in Marvel costumes. Cute concept, but poor execution.
• GoDaddy.com’s ad — well, it certainly sold sex, but I’m not sure that’s the image I won’t my domain reseller to have. I’m not sure I’m looking for an image for my domain reseller (except “cheap” and “reliable”). Easy on the eyes (and, well, memorable), sure, but …
• The Degree “Mama’s Boy” doll ad was just rude (of the sort usually reserved for beer commercials).
• Brad Pitt is popular among paparazzi. And this makes me want to buy Heineken … why?
• Sorry — I see “Cialis,” I see spam.
• The McDonald’s “Lincoln Fry” pair was … just goofy. And not in a “wow, what zany fun I now associate McDonald’s with” kind of way.
• Wow. Microsoft has a search engine. There’s a surprise. And now that I know it, I should go and use it, right?
• Is this what the Muppets have come to, shilling (badly) for Pizza Hut?

The Ugly

• Did we really need a remake of The Longest Yard? Did we really need Adam Sandler playing the Burt Reynolds role?

The Banned

• Why did the “Bud Light” Wardrobe Malfunction ad get banned, aside from the NFL being wildly oversensitive to the whole kerfluffle? It wasn’t a great ad, but it wasn’t at all offensive.
• Mickey Rooney’s butt was ugly, certainly, but not exactly FCC fine material. I hope.
• It’s not clear to me why the “banned” parts of the GoDaddy ad were any more “offensive” than the unbanned parts. (See above for more comments.)

There were others — many others — but nothing else really worth noting. I don’t know if the ad execs were scared off by sabre-rattling from the FCC, or if companies just felt like playing it safe, but for the most part, the Super Bowl Ad games were something of a dud.