RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – Sunday night the nation saw Ray Lewis and the Baltimore Ravens take home the Lombardy Trophy, but all eyes were fixed on the action between the games…the ads.
The increased attention and all the pre-Super Bowl buzz for ads have driven up the cost substantially. In 2013 the average 30-second spot costs upward of $4 million. That's roughly a 90 percent increase from a decade ago.
Budweiser has been known to take top spot for airing their ads. This year was no exception, but while many of the spots for Black Crown felt like standard issue beer commercial fare, the Anheuser-Busch spot about a Clydesdale and a trainer, wore its heart on its sleeve, or its hoof. But the corn was sweet and tasty.
"I loved it, it was one of my top five...The guy in it has a classic American tale of a cowboy and his horse, these ads play on the patriotic and get you right away," Dave Saunders, President & Chief Idea Officer at Madison+Main advertising said.
A delightful commercial for Tide, told a fanciful tale of a “miracle stain” on a 49ers fan’s jersey that resembled the team’s former star quarterback, Joe Montana. The sendup of media hype was knowing, and the surprising punch line was perfect.
Taco Bell also delivered with a spot about elderly friends who escape a retirement home for the kind of night out their grandchildren would enjoy.
"The folks escaping the senior center...just going absolutely bonkers, we loved that it was such a surprise. You know Taco Bell hasn't done very well in the past but i would give them an +A for this one," Saunders said.
Moving to the less appealing side of the spectrum, Go Daddy seems to have shelved their patented over-the-top sexual innuendo this year for something a little more...disturbing.
In the ad "Perfect Match," the smoking hot swimsuit model Bar Rafaeli shares a cringeworthy kiss with a dude nobody wants to see kiss anything. The premise is that this unholy kiss represents the merging of "sexy" and "smart."
"We usually cringe at Go Daddy ads for a variety of reasons and this year was no exception," Saunders said. "It seems like they're always at the bottom of the list."
When sexy and smart get together, the result aren't always harmonious.
