Having a Ball at the Bowl

– By Luis Miguel Messianu | President & Chief Creative Officer –

I have to confess that after all these years in the US I still prefer the other football (“fútbol”), but I do get a huge kick out of the yearly mega show of the Super Bowl. While I still view the game as the lapse of time between two commercial breaks, I recognize that this year the actual game was as engaging as the advertising showcase itself.

We had our share of “eye candy”…

Adriana Lima for the boys and David Beckham for the girls.

You can call it “Asses for the Masses” but some believe the sexy formula still works.

It “rain cats and dogs” and that was also pretty effective. So much so that the top three spots in the USA Today Ad Meter starred our four legged friends. Of the pack my favorite was the Doritos one in which the dog bribes the owner through a clever treat role reversal story. It was your typical case of “death by laughter.”

Madonna’s marketing acrobatics as the Queen of Pop keeps reinventing herself were pretty amazing too. I especially liked the set design of the Half Time show. But the real Half Time show was the Chrysler Clint Eastwood spot! It made me fall in love with advertising copywriting all over again. To me it was the only spot that was truly bigger than life. What an incredible metaphor it is to talk about “America being at Half Time.” Talk about a War Cry! A much needed boost for our nation, and another great celebrity choice very much in line with Chrysler’s DNA. Just like with Eminem, Clint represents the best of the Middle America hard working values. This brilliantly crafted piece is as close as it gets to the all time favorite “1984” Apple spot. It’s an instant classic and who knows if it will ever run again, at least leveraging the context of the game. It’s flexible structure would allow for Eastwood’s forceful voice over to be re-tracked while cut down to either a 60″ or even a 30″, but the metaphor prevails. In my humble opinion, Chrysler and Wieden & Kennedy stole the big show.

This was a whole different ball game!

Luis Miguel –