Christina Aguilera botched the National Anthem at Super Bowl, the Black Eyed Peas halftime show was a disappointment and the match-up between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay packers proved to be an exciting one.
above: a still from the Superbowl's Chrysler 200 ad featuring Eminem
But two of yesterday's most talked about commercials that aired during the Championship Game both featured someone who'd been laying low in terms of screen time for the past few years, Marshall Bruce Mathers III, aka Slim Shady, aka Eminem. And that's not all. In addition to these commercials featuring the rapper, the 53rd Grammy Awards - in which Eminem has earned 10 nominations - is being promoted with a visual and aural 'life story' of the Midwest celebrity.
above: The 53rd Grammy Awards features the rapper's career in their latest campaign
As a Claymation pitchman in the Lipton Brisk ad, he effectively pokes fun at himself. As a Die-hard Detroiter, he adds an edge to the Chrysler 200 launch ad, which has proven to be a sentimental favorite. In the Grammy promo, his career is chronicled as part of the Recording Academy's 'Music Is Life Is Music' campaign.
above: Eminem is a claymation character in Lipton's latest Brisk ad
In case you missed them, here are the three tv commercials presently on the air, featuring Eminem.
This Super Bowl season, Network Solutions has created a purely social media campaign to go up against the big guns [e.g. Go Daddy]. They've just released a new mockumentary internet video campaign starring their very own Go Granny, played by Academy Award winner, Cloris Leachman.
Go Granny looks back on her wild past as the original “Domain Name Girl.” With the message— get serious about your small business, she's joined by the NetSol woman, BlogHer's Lisa Stone, female entrepreneur and internet superstar.
You can also check out @Go_Granny’s wild escapades on Twitter.
To join the Twitter Takeover, follow the hashtag #gogranny on: Friday, Feb. 4 at 6 pm Saturday, Feb. 5 at 3 pm Sunday, Feb.6 at 3 pm
As we get closer to the XLV Super Bowl, commercials that will air on the championship game are starting to leak onto the internet. Most of those advertising on the year's most expensive media buy [$3 million for a 30 second spot] are no surprise, given they are the same brands that have been dominating the air time between the game for the past few years. But there are a few companies advertising on the game for the first time ever and some new faces shilling for old brands.
This new ad, airing during the game, for the 2012 Volkswagon Passat features two things that are hard to ignore; children and The Force:
Volkswagon will also attempt to bring back the allure of the beetle by teasing you with this agile CGI generated bug:
Coca Cola introduces an ogre in one of their two spots that will air during the game:
Kia Optima is presently running this teaser to get you to tune in to their spot:
The still below gives you an idea of what's to come from Kia:
As always, there will be lots of automobile ads and the expected beverage ads; Coke, Pepsi, Pepsi Max and Budwiser to name a few. Doritos will continue with their user-generated spots [you can vote for your favorite at www.crashthesuperbowl.com].
This Chevy ad that will air starts as a simulation of a cheesy dealership spot and segues into a promo for the next in the Tranformer's movie franchise:
Audi uses the children's book Goodnight Moon as inspiration for this spot which spends almost 60 seconds telling you they are not Mercedes:
Audi will be featuring other spots on the game that take a swipe at "old school luxury." The still below is from their :60 second spot "Release The Hounds" in which 2 stuffy wealthy fogies attempt to break out of a luxury prison:
This Honda CR-V ad, "Forecast" will break on the Superbowl as well:
If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix it
The talking babies for ETrade are back for the fourth year in a row with 2 new spots:
Careerbuilder brings back the chimps:
Danica Patrick appears again [this time with Biggest Loser's Jillian Michaels] for Go Daddy and once again attempts to drive you to their site with a promise of a titillating 'web only' ad:
And Budwiser's classic Clydesdales are back as one of Bud's five spots to air, this time in a Western Themed spot:
The New Some of the newer companies [ and concepts] that will air include the following.
Mercedes Benz USA is advertising in the Super Bowl for the first time this year, to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Karl Benz's patent. Two of their five new models will be revealed in the :60 second spot:
Another car company to advertise in the big game for the first time is Suzuki. They will be taking on snowmen, in a spot called "Wicked Weather.":
Kim Kardashian will be shilling for Sketcher's Shape-Ups:
The new edition of the highly addictive game Angry Birds, Rio, will reveal a level code in their spot:
Stella Artois will feature a serenading Adrien Brody:
And Justin Beiber teams up with Ozzy Osbourne for Best Buy:
Bridgestone tires will appeal to your love of woodland creatures with their beaver spot:
And Faith Hill will appear in a spot for Teleflora: images and info courtesy of CNN and individual brands
No need to DVR or Tivo the game for the commercials anymore since so many sites dedicate themselves to posting and sharing the commercials.
Today is the longstanding, forty-three years to be exact, tradition of watching two US football teams battle it out in the Superbowl. A tradition that has become almost more about the tv commercials, marketing and now, micro sites and sneak peeks, than about the game itself.
The event:
This year, the event takes place in Tampa, Florida and features the Pittsburgh Steelers playing against the Arizona Cardinals. The Steelers could potentially take home their 6th Vince Lombardi trophy and the Cardinals, their first. Okay, enough about the sport. LOL.
The entertainment: Once upon a time people sat riveted to the halftime show, then competing tv channels started putting on their own halftime shows; the Bud bowl, the Victoria Secret Lingerie shows, even the Simpsons shows. This year, there are countless options on the internet featuring clever and co-op shows of their own.
The actual NFL halftime show will feature Bruce Springsteen and The E Street band. But, if you're not a big Bruce fan, you've got some fun alternative ways to spend that time (and for those who hate sports, and prefer sci-fi, chick flicks or reality tv, there's a list of counter programming for you at the end of this post).
Pepsi (a major sponsor of this year's game) has its own youtube channel with a series of hilarious videos that are incredibly entertaining-- featuring Will Arnett -- and you even have the option to upload your own.
Above: Will Arnett hosts his own hilarious Superbowl Party, courtesy of Pepsi and TBWA Chiat Day.
This year, due to the explosion of social media and online promotions, most of the eagerly anticipated tv commercials have been 'leaked'. So much so that Adweek even has a preview page.
Already enjoyed by tons of fans has been the newest Pedigree commercial from TWBA Chiat Day which will air on today's game, featuring a view of the world if you opted for wild animals as pets in lieu of the good ol' domestic dog.
There are more fun supplemental videos of the Pedigree spot that you can view here.
SB XLIII is bringing back some fan faves including commercials featuring E*Trade's "Talking Baby," Budweiser's Clydesdales (this time joined in the A-B stable by late-night host Conan O'Brien in an ad for Bud Light). And this year, Coke and Pepsi battle it out to prove which can create the happiest, most 'optimistic' ads.
Another spot which leaked and has fast become a favorite is this Career Builder spot:
and a fun spot for GoDaddy.com featuring Danica Patrick:
Why not have other people do the work for you?
Doritos "Crash the Superbowl" encouraged users to upload their own commercials, a rapidly growing trend. The contest is now over, and you'll see the winning spot air on the game today. The contest, which asked for user generated videos, awards the winning spot $100,000.00 and it will air during today's game.
We can even view ads that have been 'banned' from this years' Superbowl (rejected due to broadcast standards):
The much talked about PETA ad deemed too risqué for tv viewing:
and a behind the scenes.making of video of the Peta spot:
and the 2008 GoDaddy "Beaver" spot with Danica that didn't air:
Live Blogging and Twitter Feeds And, of course, there will be lots of 'live' blogging'. You can even follow live tweets during the game. As of 9am west coast time this morning , the live NFL twitter feed had almost 2,500 followers.
There have been especially designed micro sites, packaging, music videos, youtube channels, ring tones, computer wallpaper, widgets, avatars and more. A virtual (literally and figuratively) superbowl blitz. the NFL's live twitter feed
And for those of you who don't like sports at all, here's a list of alternative programming for you, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly:
ABC: Wipeout Bowl I: Cheerleaders vs. Couch Potatoes (airing at halftime, and again immediately after the game): The title says it all. As do the results of an EW.com poll showing that 67 percent of our readers plan on sticking with Springsteen and The Office, which will feature guest stars Jack Black and Jessica Alba. (Twenty-four percent said they'd watch Wipeout at halftime and The Office post-game. Six percent said they'd watch Wipeout whenever possible. Only three percent said they'd watch Springsteen at halftime and Wipeout after.)
Animal Planet: Puppy Bowl V (on repeat, from 3 p.m. to 5 a.m.): Pepper the Parrot performs the anthem; kittens handle halftime, and a Chinese Crested 'Naked' dog streaks.
A&E: The Sopranos (noon until 4 a.m.)
BBC America: Doctor Who (3 p.m. to 8 p.m.)
Bravo: Law & Order: Criminal Intent (6 p.m. to 2 a.m.)
CMT: Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Daddy and Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy (2 p.m to 10 p.m.)
Discovery: MythBusters (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Jesus: The Complete Story (a three-part special, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.): I just like that juxtaposition.
DIY: Bathroom Renovations and Bathtastic! (7 a.m. to 3 a.m.)
FX: Chick flicks (Little Black Book, 2 p.m.; Maid in Manhattan, 4:30 p.m.; 13 Going on 30, 6:30 p.m.; The Devil Wears Prada, 8:30 p.m.)
Hallmark: I Love Lucy (8:30 a.m. to 3 a.m.)
Oxygen: America's Next Top Model (11 a.m. to 11 p.m.)
Sci Fi: Ghost Hunters International and Ghost Hunters (9 a.m. to 1 a.m.)
Spike: CSI (noon to 4 a.m.)
SPEED: Pimp My Ride (1 p.m. to 3 a.m.)
Style: Clean House (noon to 3 a.m.)
TBS: Chick Flicks (Clueless, 11:30 a.m.; My Best Friend's Wedding, 1:30 p.m.; Failure to Launch, 3:30 p.m.; What Women Want, 5:30 p.m.; My Big Fat Greek Wedding, 8 p.m.)
TLC: Dateline: Real Life Mysteries (1 p.m. to 7 p.m.) and sex documentaries (Forbidden Love: Polygamy, 7 p.m.; My Husbands Three Wives, 8 p.m.; Anatomy of Sex, 9 p.m.; Mother Knows Sex, 10 p.m.)
TNT: The Closer (noon to 11 p.m.)
USA: House (11 a.m. to 4 a.m.).
And, finally, last year I blogged about all the past Superbowl rings (some serious bling):
