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chicagotribune.comHow about that Superbowl…advertising?By REBECCA PALUMBO, Community Contributor

5:26 PM CST, February 5, 2013

The Ravens upset the 49ers, squares paid and hundreds ofthousands of chicken wings were consumed (along withquantities of my cousin Barb’s Mystery Salad – oh, yum).The Showgirls won the Chase for Coke, marvelouslyintegrating internet media and building web hits. Watching theBadlands get sabotaged by a chicken crossing the road wasnot quite worth the eternity it took to download the votingscreen to my iPhone – and I would have liked to have seenone more stage of the race on television instead of just thewinners, completely after the fact and almost missed as weheaded out the door.What other winners were out there this evening? Here’s mytake on it – please reply or post yours.The Century 21 series was effective, giving me a nice littlechuckle about how these real estate agents solved problems. The best part was that they solved it with their own“product”, finding houses, clearly showing the benefit of Century 21. I do like a continuing story in advertisingthroughout the game and while the mega-lottery winner and the mother-in-law at the wedding weren’t one story,there was a well-defined thread. Kudos to Century 21.McDonald’s, with the All American jersey pulled out of the bag by a young player, made my throat tighten just abit. But I am always and forever a sucker for a kid getting recognized for achievements. Not a real touchdown,but not a shanked punt either.Hyundai and Flaming Lips took a wild ride through museums and zoos and skate parks and more. While I likethe slogan “Make Every Day Epic,” the child’s question of “what now?” made me feel that this kind of “everyday epic” encourages the need for instant gratification. (Kids, really, it’s okay to be bored! Boredom is whatmakes you creative!) A little better was the small boy picking his team from all the local heroes (what kind ofaccursed town does he live in?). Hyundai’s best was “Better To Be In Front” showing the negatives of followingothers on the road, from motorcycling butt cracks to toxic waste to dog drool, and the positive of being in aHyundai that can pass.Audi scored a big winner with the dateless boy who, fueled by the power of his dad’s car, strides up to the promqueen and gives her a kiss to remember. The flash to him back in the car, shouting joyfully and sporting a beautof a shiner was not only a good laugh but a stellar way to communicate the feeling of overwhelming confidencean Audi will give you. Mercedes Benz’ fantasy of life after signing the deal with the devil was nicely avoided bythe affordable price, and nicely executed in story and in visuals. Not outstanding, but certainly not ineffective. The

blonde geni was fun and while they did try to integrate the car into the creative, the only reason I know it was aToyota is that I wrote it down. Except for the trip into space, the car seemed an afterthought. Could the princesshave been in the car instead of on a horse? Could the car have been filled with chocolate to combat thatdeficiency? Infinite witches? What? Fun is fun, but you’re spending millions on Superbowl air time so people willremember your product, not the witches.The Kia Sorento was the same. The car is a perfect place to have a true conversation with your kids, butBabylandia went too far away from the car and seemed dreadfully outdated. People still can’t give their kids astraight answer to a simple science question? Kia and the protective robots, you’ve put me in a quandary. Yes,we want devotion to our product, and it was cleverly conveyed, but do we want someone interested in taking atest drive thrown into a wall?Only one word for the Lincoln commercials – BOOO-RRRRING.Budweiser, where are the frogs? Oh, please, bring back the level of creativity that developed those frogs! TheBlack Crown commercials completely destroyed my affection for continuing stories. This bland, thisunimaginative, this … nothing! at Superbowl prices? The Clydesdale story of the unbreakable bond betweenpony and breeder just tried too hard to induce sentiment – and it did not work for me. I understand that NewOrleans has a history with voodoo, but I don’t imagine Louisiana’s Tourism Bureau is doing backflips over thosestrange commercials. And I really wasn’t either. The lucky chair made no sense to me at the first viewingbecause the two white guys looked too much alike. Redds Apple Ale was just too obvious and stilted.I have never understood the M&Ms being alive but still edible – and my confusion was not cleared up by thisevening’s romance and subsequent “cannibalism.” It’s weird, Mars. Way too weird. Blackberry confused metoo. If the phone does so many amazing things, why do you have to make stuff up?Doritos scored with the Princess Party men, lured by the promise of chips. Great detail with the chips all over thetough guy’s beard as he’s clad in her wedding gown. The Goat For Sale – eh, not so much. Who buys a goat onimpulse, for cripes sake?It’s okay to duct tape someone to the ceiling as long as it’s powered by Pepsi and not alcohol? I’m not clear onhow lower sugar made that all acceptable. A grin maybe, but not a laugh. Coke, on the other hand, did abeautiful and inspiring job with the montage of all the positive things security cameras catch. How lovely toemphasize all that helpfulness, all that trustworthiness, all that love. It made me want to teach the world to sing allover again.Sodastream was also very effective. The graphic visual of all those soda bottles popping open and spilling out oftrucks, onto floors, was exquisite shorthand for what the product is meant to do for the buyer.Amy Poehler was adorable for Best Buy, but with the slogan about “thousands of experts”, it would have beennice to see the Best Buy guy actually answering some of her questions (perhaps in that same rapid fire delivery).Oreo was a good giggle, with creme versus cookie supporters wreaking absolute havoc in a library whilecontinuing to whisper. This was charming, but will I remember this was about Oreos? Or will I just remembereveryone being quiet while breaking up the book stacks? Who is allowed to eat Oreos in the library anyway?Was it just me or was the spot for Fast and Furious extremely ill-placed (and out-and-out inappropriate)following the chorus from Sandy Hook?Cars.com and the baby wolf communicated their concept of “no drama” deals exceedingly well. And made mewant to go buy a Huskie puppy. Skechers foray into the animal kingdom was executed even better. The winkbetween the human and the gazelle after he had tackled and tied up the cheetah created a bond of trust - and thefist bump just sealed the deal. Clever, clever.Calvin Klein missed with their underwear commercial. As Mark noted, “so I put on that underwear and I’ll looklike that?” Agreed – were they selling underwear or the Slendertone Flex Pro Abdominal Muscle Toner?VW Bug was a happy surprise. The Jamaica/Minnesotan was charming, but I figured he was shilling for the