2008 Super Bowl TV Spots Grades and Reviews.

All the 2008 Super Bowl TV spots in the network IN-GAME broadcast are reviewed here during and right after the game. NO reliance on other opinions or surveys. I grade hard. So, take heart advertisers and agencies. Cs are average and As are hard to come by. And congrats to everyone on getting your work to the big game. I may expand some of the comments as the day/s proceed....but I will not change the grades.


Amp Energy: D
Silly and tasteless. A guy's nipples are jumper cabled to give him a "charge." Bad analogy. Weak production.

Audi A8: A-
Excellent take off on the Godfather scene. Great dramatic exposition. Love the grease on his hands rather than the blood from Coppola's horsehead. Beautiful shot of the car taking off like a bullet.

Bridgestone/Firestone: C-
Animals and Richard Simmons are almost hit...but avoided by the tires. Lots of talk. Not a worthwhile investment. Spots are dark and unappealing.

Budweiser Clydesdales: B+
Great tradition. More high quality. Rocky is a bit tired though.

Bud Light Spots: B+ to C+
Too many spots...and the format is getting a bit old. The flaming guy opens strong. Will Ferrell is memorable, well, because he's Ferrell.

Cadillac: C
Not much new aside from the new Green Escalade which Eli wins as MVP but can't collect till the fall.

CareerBuilder.com: C+
Heart spot as in "follow your heart" to find your career dissapponts as does "follow your star."

Cars.com: Grade C-
When you're cars.com you've got to come to run with the big dogs in concept and production. Small jokes, smally executed.

Coca Cola (2) Grade: Balloons A, Old Friends B
See entry below on Balloons...the best of the night. "Old Friends" the Carville and Frist spot is fun....if it runs on Meet the Press.
Who the heck will recognize these people. But, still, ambitious. And I admire them for aspiring to be intelligent and rejecting the world of GoDaddy.

Vitamin Water by Coke: C+
Shaq plays jockey...fun but a bit pointless.

Dell XPS One: B
Fun, energetic...liked the Project Red tie in to warm up a very cold Dell. Great production. Little content.

Doritos: Girl Singing: C-, Big Mouse: D
Singing Girl...what? User created mouse spot...well just silly and pointless.

E-Trade: B+
Very good and likable. And...they broke through. My only problem was it says any idiot can use E-Trade....and insults users.

FedEx: A-
Along with Audi the second or third best spot. Just great use of theater of the absurd. Beautifully cast and produced. BBDO can still hit them out.

Garmin: B+
Great fun as a Garmin steers a Napoleon figure to a reenactment battle. Best...the little horse. Great looking production. To me the biggest good surprise of the night. Congrats.

Gatorade: Athletes: C, Dog: D
One predictable athletic spot and one very strange dog slurping spot....neither hits the mark.

GM Hybrid: B
Sisyphus pushing the rock in illustration. Will this audience get it? But I love the thought.

GoDaddy (see above): F
Awful...just tasteless attempt to attract attention. I won't feed the pointlessness of it all.

Hershey for Icebreakers: C
OK...Kind of fun. Yes, Carmen Electra...she is cute. And so tiny.

Hyundai (2): C
I don't buy into the BMW, Mercedes and Lexus comparisons. Boring.

McDonald's C
Tired territority: baby's first steps.

NFL: C
Recruiting oboe players...OK?

Nissan: C
Nothing new here...a car ad.

Pepsi EnAble: B

Sixty seconds of silence in the midst of the noisy world of Super Bowl advertising. Two hearing impaired men looking for "Bob's House" to watch the game...and are lost. Inside joke...honk until someone doesn't turn on the lights. Problem...why is everyone asleep...this ain't America.

Pepsi Diet Max: B-
A joke on the old SNL skit...sleeping people become ginsenged and caffeinated and act strangely....well sorta amusing. A big production number...replete with celebs helps.

Pepsi Stuff: C
Justin Timberlake is magnetically attracted to a young girl's Pepsi while enduring an endless series of predictable comic
pratfalls in order to reach her (repeatedly slamming his crotch on a mailbox, the low point). Pepsi's response to Coke Rewards where Pepsi gives you songs, books, etc. Bland and predictable. Waste of Justin...who could be used much more successfully. Not the classic BBDO 80's use of celebrity (Crawford, Fox, Jackson, etc)

Planters: D-
The Unibrow Girl rubs nuts on her body and attracts all types of men. Yucch. Worse than the dog drinking Gatorade.

SalesGenie.com: F
OK...got what they wanted, supposedly. The worst ad rating to get them PR. In the meantime they mine new levels of tastelessness and lack of finish.

Sobe Life Water B-
Fun spot with great Thriller music. Would have been stronger as a :30...seemed a bit long. My biggest concern was dancing lizards and potential confusion with Geico.

Sunsilk: C
Uninspired graphics....to sell women's shampoo. Hope they didn't pay too much for Madonna and Marilyn. If they did, not worth it in this execution.

Taco Bell: C
Uninspired. Guys serenaded by Mexican band while eating Tacos in their open office. Bring back the damned dog. Now!

Tide To Go :B
An idea here...didn't totally work but talking spot was bizarre and attention getting in what could have been a dull category.
Overrated by the business school profs.

T-Mobile: B
Not bad. Basketball stars on favorite lists

Toshiba: C-
Watching the big game on a Toshiba with the girls. Just so you know...you can also watch Matt Damon leap from building to building in Bourne.

Toyota: C
The kid in the car borders on the incoherent as if someone said this is the SB...use canons and animals. Be strange.

Toyota Sequoia: C+
Predictable. Lots of space + kids

Under Armour: C
Why try to be 1984 when you can't be?

Victoria's Secret: B
How can you dislike Adriana Lima spinning a football. Fun to announce Valentine's Day.

White House Office of National Drug Control Policy: C-
Bored drug dealer lacks credibility. Dull.

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