Elayne Riggs' Journal (for Leah)

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Superbowl Ad Live-Blogging

My first time doing this, so bear with me. All times PM and EST:

6:00 - Pregame hype show starting and, wow, I can't tell the difference between that and a commercial.

6:03 - I can see it's going to be real hard to shut out the crap spewed by the announcer guys.

6:06 - First ad. Ford truck. Yawn. Then stuff I've seen before, for diamonds, credit cards, movies, TV shows. Although I like the exchange "Peru is nice." "I'm sure it's nice but we're in Ecuador."

6:10 - "...meet the new boss, same as the old boss..." I'm guessing Pete Townshend's raking it in from the Colts using Won't Get Fooled Again as their intro music.

6:12 - Wait, was that a time-delay bleep from the sound on the Bears sideline? Ah no, it's just sound problems...

6:14 - Aww, kids. Mickey D's loves kids. They want you to know that... Another stupid Ford truck teaser. How can I already be sick of that?... Heh, unexpected cameos from David Beckham and Martha Stewart in an NFL Access ad. My mind can't wrap around that one.

6:18 - You know you're in the big-time when not only is Billy Joel doing the Star-Spangled Banner but his interpreter-for-the-deaf is Marlee Matlin.

6:24 - Ford's putting together trucks by telekenesis. Considering how many folks they've let go I guess they'd have to.

6:27 - Wow, a 92-yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown. Even I have to admit that's damn exciting. First ever for a Superbowl. I feel badly for people tuning in late. It even happened too early for the program to go to commercial, and that's saying something.

6:34 - Bears interception. I guess the Colts would in fact be fooled again.

6:35 - Bud Light's up first: "I took paper." "I threw a rock." I laughed and felt kinda bad about laughing.

Okay, I'll give the tortilla chip ad credit; both the guy and the gal are clumsy idiots, and it's nice to see that kind of parity.

Blockbuster's "mouse click" ad was cute. "We forgot to plug it in." "Don't even think about it!" Snicker.

6:39 - The "beard-combover" guy appears in like every other commercial on TV, doesn't he? I call him the Philip Seymour Hoffman lookalike.

6:41 - There he is again in the second ad of the Sierra Mist bracket.

6:44 - Surfing the blogs I discover Peter David is doing this live-ad-blogging thing as well. With a pro on the case I may quit early. :)

6:47 - Ooh, you don't see a missed snap on an extra-point try very often.

6:48 - I don't want trucks going from 40 to 70, particularly during my commute.

What's the squirrel doing in the moon-base office?

6:49 - The auctioneer wedding took about as long as my marriage ceremony with Robin. (He just observed the same thing.)

6:50 - Colts recover a fumble. Geez, even Robin's watching the game now.

6:51 - And right back at 'em as the wet ball's fumbled again and recovered by the Bears. Someone get a towel or two for this Superbowl!

6:52 - A 52-yard run; Bears on the Colts' 5-yard line. Dang, I actually didn't plan on watching the game, just the ads!

6:53 - "Booger McFarland"? I don't want to know.

6:55 - Snickers man-love, excellent. I know it plays off homophobia, but I didn't consider it to be mean-spirited.

I'm sorry Schick, four blades is still a damn stupid and borderline dangerous idea.

6:58 - Am I supposed to recognize any of these "singers" in the Chevy ad?

6:59 - You know, I've studiously avoided Carlos Mencia up until now, and I can see by the creepily xenophobic punchline of this Bud Lite ad that this was the right move.

7:00 - Best ad so far, Letterman and Oprah at home on the couch. In-jokey, sure, but enough folks probably get the gag so that it works.

7:15 - Oh ick, GoDaddy's still being a bunch of sexist assholes. Grow the hell up.

7:16 - If Grand Theft Nonsense were as cool as this Coke ad, I'd actually play it.

7:17 - "Who Are You" playing as the background music for CBS' TV lineup ad. Yep, Townshend's pockets are going jingle-jingle, I'm sure.

7:23 - Bud doggie. All I could think of was what irresponsible owner left that poor, gentle-tempered dog alone.

7:24 - Garmin commercial gets lots of geek points, very Power Rangers. Part of me hopes Peter missed that ad...

7:25 - I love it when even the insipid announcers recognize how many folks watch this just for the ads.

7:28 - Careerbuilder's office-in-the-jungle. Fun. "You forgot to sign out." I'd still take that rainforest over my current position.

7:29 - Dorito's check-out cashier isn't thin but she's teh sexy anyway! I wonder if this was the fan-made ad. Ohh, did I grin.

And male strippers aplenty in the Chevy ad, to the delight (and embarrassment) of the passengers in the car. That's three in a row that made me smile. GoDaddy, take note!

7:35 - Slappy-face Bud Light. Squarely in the "Idiots Use Our Product" category.

7:36 - That heart-guy is really, erm, taking a beating. I'm very glad I remember to take my daily meds to keep the BP down and blood thinned. Which is exactly what the folks at King Pharmaceuticals are hoping for, I'm sure.

7:38 - GM fires a machine. 'Cause they ran out of people to fire? Oh ick, 'bots apparently don't dream of electric sheep, but about making Quality gas-guzzlers that people can no longer afford to buy. Maybe its next daydream will be to marry one of the cars it puts together; we can but hope.

7:39 - Coke celebrates black history with a red bottle.

7:46 - Liked the wordplay in Sprint's Connectile Dysfunction ad.

How I Met Your Mother 2007 plotline = Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? circa-1972 plotline.

7:50 - Robin: "Nobody in the park is capable of holding the ball at the moment." Seriously, a towel, please?

7:52 - The Doritos folks recall that it's Black History Month as well. Should paying homage to BHM be like a drinking game this evening? No, I'd probably never get through this post.

7:54 - Rob saw that "what else haven't I done?" Coke ad before, but it was a first for me. Hmm, what other ads haven't I seen?

7:56 - Can they just put David Spade and, say, Carlos Mencia in a show together, and give Warburton his own sitcom? That way it would be easy to avoid one altogether and to give the other a try.

7:58 - I don't get the basketball team with the bubbles.

7:59 - That Dunkin' Donuts sandwich sounds good. I can feel my arteries hardening as they speak.

Foot Locker ad with pro basketball player - eh. Honda truck ad - eh. I think I'll take a break for awhile.

Halftime - Prince singing in the purple rain. That marching band must be soaked to the skin. Nicely-done show, and goodness can he play guitar. Glad he finally took the handkerchief off his head.

8:19 - The TV show promos hurt my eyes. Too much camera movement. Are they trying to induce fits or something?

8:20 - Katie Couric tells us all about the Ameri-Can-Do Spirit. Because apparently "good people doing great things" is news now, rather than the sort of thing one should expect all the time.

8:21 - Oh yay, the Police leading off the Grammys. Me happy.

8:22 - Acura uses Supertramp. I loved Supertramp back in college.

PNC just wants to help you turn your dreams into their profit reality...

Toyota trucks have guts, says the deep-voiced guy who sounds a lot like John Goodman. Talk about "a ton of whatever."

8:23 - Oh god, help me, another Carlos Mencia ad. Who told Bud that this fellow was remotely funny?

8:30 - Ken's live-blogging the Superbowl and ads too. I can't figure out if this is all cool or just sad.

8:39 - Promo for Disney's animated movie Meet the Robinsons - Looks promising, I like that they seem to make fun of their own theme parks.

E-trade bank robbery "inside job" ad is slightly creepy and makes me uncomfortable.

8:40 - Coke Rube Goldberg-type fantasyland ad - man, you see where the money goes. Great animation.

8:42 - Gorillas in the midst of Bud Light. Apparently Idiot Gorillas Use Our Product as well.

8:43 - Oh my goodness, Revlon forced Sheryl Crow to use their product! Those monsters! This is so fakey from start to end.

8:47 - The second Careerbuilder "it's a jungle" ad. Not as surprising (and therefore fun) as the first one, but still okay.

8:48 - Taco Bell's talking lions are cuter than Bud Light's talking gorillas. Was that actually Ricardo Montalban doing the voiceover?

8:49 - Some guys just know how to walk backwards through their day before putting on their Van Heusens.

8:55 - Truck guys again. Yawn.

8:56 - "...some say Robert Goulet appears and messes with your stuff..." Another great bit of absurdity from Emerald Nuts.

8:57 - Old T-Mobile ad, and I still don't know either of these football players.

8:58 - FedEx - "Well said, Mr. Turkeyneck." Okay punchline, but I was hoping for something a bit more.

8:59 - The somewhat-eagerly-anticipated Kevin Federline-in-a-fast-food-joint ad for Nationwide. Robin laughed.

"He has Bud Light." "And an axe!" The chainsaw line at the end was the best. Reminded me of the building-upon structure of a Tex Avery cartoon.

9:11 - Mercedes "owners" insist, "You get what you pay for." I'll bet.

9:12 - Wow, PNC wants to uncomplicate my life, just because that's the kind of big faceless corporation they are! I'm so grateful.

9:13 - Pleasant Toshiba copter-flying stunt ad. Good parity between the male and female characters.

9:15 - Bud-worshipping crabs. "The Bud is our master, the Bud decides who will stay and who will go." I can hear Leah doing this in my head.

9:16 - The hunka hunka burning Honda SUV ad hurt my eyes. And ears.

9:25 - Nice HP ad, good use of the product they're trying to sell.

9:26 - Izod on ice? Mmm, tasty, but rather... I dunno, white. Good CG work. Also nice CG stuff on the football "board game" Bud Select ad.

9:34 - Old Flomax ad. I think all the good ones have already aired. A comparatively weak showing this year, yes?

9:35 - Hey E-Trade, wanna see what I can do with one finger? Oh no, wait, ever since I married Robin I've been using two fingers for that gesture.

9:39 - Next time, Hannibal the Zygote.

Third Careerbuilder ad in the series. I think I'm going to like these on repeated viewings.

9:49 - Okay the fan-made ad hasn't yet aired, apparently it's coming with the 2-minute warning.

9:52 - The Snapple "EGCG" ad - is that fan-made? Looks too expensive, but it seems to be the only one that fits the description and aired in the 2-minute warning break.

The NFL's promo for itself, with people saying goodbye to football for the year, was cute. I think the tune was "Saint James Infirmary," which means I'm going to have to watch that old Betty Boop cartoon again.

Aaaand that's it for the game, and my post. Fun time, but a little limiting physically. Gonna stretch my legs now.

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