popular thinking

BEST SUPER BOWL ADS, 2005 EDITION: Like my newspaper story predicted, the halftime show didn't provide much in the way of controversy, or much in the way of you-had-to-see-that either. Not that Sir Paul McCartney -- not McCarthy -- put on a bad show. His four-song set started with two odd choices in "Drive My Car" and "Get Back" before starting the fireworks of "Live and Let Die" and the singalong finale of "Hey Jude." Much better, though, than the pregame show concert, which followed the tired format of the hit medley that you're bound to see open the Grammies next Sunday. Who exactly is it who enjoys seeing and hearing a band play a minute and a half of a hit song before sending it to the next band, to the next band, to the next band, without ever hearing a full song? Ugh. At any rate. I've digressed from my post headline, which is designed to list my favorite ads from this year's Super Bowl interludes.

So here goes, in alphabetical order, my faves...
-- Ameriquest: Halftime show sponsor makes up for that with two fun ads playing off the classic "Three's Company" misunderstanding plot device. In one, a guy on his hands-free cell phone is confused for a convenience store robber. In the other, a guy trying to cook dinner for his honey is caught holding a knife and a cat over a pool of red liquid when honey walks in.
-- Careerbuilder.com: Everybody loves monkeys, or chimps in this case. Unless you're the only human working with them. Wonder if we'll see a "damned dirty apes" version of this ad soon.
-- Emerald: Dad won't share cashews with his daughter, until Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny enter the picture.
-- FedEx/Kinko's: Ad says there are 10 sure ways to have a good Super Bowl ad, then proves it.
-- McDonald's: Plays off the eBay wackiness involving food that looks like people with a series of ads documenting the "Lincoln Fry" that shares a profile of Honest Abe. Bonus points for the subtle double entendre in one ad involving a Chicken Select.
-- NFL Network: Joe Montana leads a chorus of non-champs in singing little orphan Annie's ode to "Tomorrow," as in wait 'til next year Big Ben.
-- Pepsi: Two good commercials and one not-so good. The good? Promoting its iTunes caps and a diet Pepsi ad featuring Cindy Crawford, gaggles of gals and a Queer Eyed Carson swooning over a male diet Pepsi drinker. The not-so good? P. Diddy still sets trends, this time getting other celebs driving diet Pepsi trucks after one truck driver gives the Diddle a lift.
-- SileStone: Who knew a quartz company could be funny? Spoofing the "I am Tiger Woods" campaign of Nike with its own "I am Diana Pearl" using da Bears stars from 1985 and Dennis Rodman.
-- Verizon: Mini versions of Kid Rock, Christina Aguilera, Shaq and Neon Deion promote the cell phone company's new broadcast capabilities.

Ads I liked that might not be effective...
-- Degree: The anti-persipirant says you should take risks, otherwise you deserve a "Mama's Boy" action figure?
-- GoDaddy.com: Scantily clad woman teases a Senate hearing with a faux wardrobe malfunction. You knew someone was going there.
-- Heineken: Brad Pitt tricks the press hounds.
-- MasterCard: Latest in the priceless series brings classic animated ad spokestoons around the dinner table. (Also see Visa, which uses Marvel superheroes and Underdog in one ad for its check card.)
-- Olympus: Its new M.Robe can store photos and music. At least that's what they say. All I noticed were the freaky breakdancers.

Ads I definitely didn't like...
-- "Be Cool": This is a sequel to "Get Shorty," correct? So why is John Travolta dancing with Uma Thurman? Egads.
-- Lay's: Ad for "classic" chips features other classics such as an Impala and MC Hammer. Why was this ad hyped before the Super Bowl exactly? Probably because the company knew it wasn't getting its $2.4 million worth, that's why.
-- MBNA: Pairing Gladys Knight and rugby?
-- Napster: Misleading ad says its $15/month subscription service beats paying $10,000 to fill your iPod with 10,000 songs. Ad assumes you don't have any CDs in your collection when you got your iPod.