10 FAVORITES (67): Super Bowl Ad Awards 2013

It's Awards Month!  Each post this month is going to be Awards-related.  Whether it has to do with the upcoming Grammys, BAFTAs or Oscars, or it's a made-up Award relating to something in the popular culture; that's what this month is all about.  Today, I am giving out the Awards for the Best (and Worst!) commercials that were aired during this year's Super Bowl on Sunday.  Every year it seems like the competition for Best Super Bowl Ad gets fiercer and fiercer. It doesn't help that the networks keep raising the price of the ad time (this year CBS charged over $8 million for one ad spot!).  So let's get on with:

THE 2013 SUPER BOWL AD AWARDS

Let's get the Negatives out of the way:

WORST SUPER BOWL AD 2013

Bar Rafaelli and Generic Nerd Kiss - GoDaddy.com

I never expect anything good out of a GoDaddy.com ad, but this was just awful.  What makes this universally panned commercial so terrible is not the fact that a shlubby nerd is getting a make-out session with the gorgeous model Bar Rafaelli, but the disgusting sound effect of said make-out.  Whether it was an effect added afterwards or live recording, it was just unpleasant.

ODDEST SUPER BOWL AD 2013

Come On, Get Hoppy, 'Mon - Volkswagen

The elements of this commercial ultimately seemed like something that came out of the fake writers' room on 30 Rock.  A completely white-bread guy speaks with a Rastafarian accent telling all in his office to "Get Hoppy, 'Mon" all while the strains of an island version of The Partridge Family theme song play in the background.  And yet it's not an ad for Red Stripe Beer or a Caribbean Cruise!  It's an ad for the German-made Volkswagen!  Everyone at my Super Bowl party was just befuddled.  Even the people in the ad are befuddled!

MOST POLARIZING SUPER BOWL AD 2013

And God Made the Farmer - Dodge RAM

Every year there is always one ad that gets completely opposite reactions from the public.  This year, the Dodge RAM ad has that distinction.  Some people really loved it and others really hated it.  I tend to fall more in the latter category (though "hated" may be a bit strong!).  What people loved was the message the first minute and half of this commercial had (that whole "God saw that the land needed tending and so the Farmer was created" thing!).  While that message is fine on its own, inspirational and even patriotic, the pay-off of the ad was just disappointing.  Even if I knew going into the ad that it was nothing more than a car commercial, I still would have wanted more from the people at Dodge than just a prompt to "Join the Movement at Dodge.com" (Whatever the hell that means!).  It would have been much better if the ad had ended with their new Dodge RAM and a promise from the company to donate a percentage of the proceeds to a Farmers' Aid Organization (like Farm Aid!).  But no, they had to be ambiguous and just show off their new truck and use the equivalent of emotional blackmail to make consumers love the ad (seriously, go into a chat room and say something negative about this ad and it will not go over well!).

Now on with the good ones:

BEST SUPER BOWL MOVIE TRAILER 2013

Star Trek Into Darkness (May 17, Paramount Pictures)

Of all the movie trailers that were aired on Sunday, this one teasing the awaited sequel to J.J. Abrams' first Star Trek reboot made geeks everywhere squee with delight!  And I am especially looking forward to what seems like a tour-de-force performance from Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch.

BEST SUPER BOWL TIE-IN 2013

Joe Montana Miracle Stain - Tide

The ad is fairly self-explanatory and I don't want to spoil the ending for those who missed it!  Suffice it to say it was a great way to honor one of the most famous San Francisco 49ers and yet throw in a zinger.

BEST USE OF MUSIC IN A SUPER BOWL AD 2013

I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) - M&Ms

Hilarious for the annoying Red M&M to sing MeatLoaf's impassioned '90s power-ballad to Glee star Naya Rivera...and then subject us to all the things the little guy won't do for love.

BEST CELEBRITY PERFORMANCE IN A SUPER BOWL AD 2013

Amy Poehler - Best Buy

There were celebrities abound in this year's Super Bowl ads (Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Stevie Wonder, Zoe Saldana, Kaley Cuoco, Willem Dafoe and many more!).  But the celebrity that shined the most was Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler in this hilarious Best Buy ad with all her questions for this young (and oft-confused!) clerk.  She proves why she is one of the most hilarious women on Television.

FUNNIEST SUPER BOWL AD 2013

Goat 4 Sale - Doritos

Doritos always tend to bring the funny when it comes to their Super Bowl ads (and this year they had two, see the Honorable Mentions below!).  This one that aired during the first quarter was just hilarious and made everyone at my Super Bowl party ROTFL! (Yeah I know, I hate Text-speak too...but here it's appropriate!)

CLEVEREST SUPER BOWL AD 2013

Library Whisper Fight - Oreos

While Doritos get my praise for being hilarious, its Oreos that get my kudos for being clever.  Here, Oreos called upon a joke from a classic Super Bowl ad and gave it a great twist.  By setting it in a Library, the whispering caught the audience's attention especially when juxtaposed against the chaos created by the Cookies vs. Cream fight.

AND..

BEST OVERALL SUPER BOWL AD 2013

Clydesdale and Trainer - Budweiser

It seems like anytime the people over at Anheuser-Busch do one of their popular Clydesdale ads, the quality goes up by like 11!  This one (which seems like a cute parody of the central relationship in Steven Spielberg's War Horse) was poignant, clever, touching and even a little humorous.  It was smart to use Stevie Nicks' classic "Landslide" as the background music (that's the touching part!).  It makes me want to run out and pet a Clydesdale.  This ad was a surefire winner!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Viva Young -Taco Bell; Fashionista Daddy - Doritos; Where Babies Come From - KIA

DISHONORABLE MENTIONS (so dishonorable, they don't get links!)

Coca-Cola - The Chase (insipid and full of doofy stereotypes...but in the bad way!)

Subway - Mispronouncing FebruANY (who the hell cares if certain athletes can't pronounce a MADE-UP WORD!!!)

Union Bank - Maya Angelou (similar problem to the Dodge RAM ad, yet a little more offensive to use someone so profound - and talking about profound things! - to promote a bank!)

IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS: Sports Vs. Ethics?

Is it just me or do athletes (and other sports legends) seem to get away with more when it comes to our society's "Moral Code" (that's assuming our culture has a "Moral Code")?  If you don't believe me, let's comb through a few examples in recent memory.  Most recently, Penn State Football coaching legend Joe Paterno was let go from his august position because he allegedly covered up the actions of his assistant Jerry Sandusky, who has been accused of sexually molesting several young boys.  After the decision was made public, several people felt that Paterno should not have been fired and that the Penn State Board of Directors made a huge mistake.  Now, I am not here to decide whether he should or should not have been fired (that is a school's decision) and I am not here to discuss whether he did anything illegal (that is for the law and the courts to hash out).  But, what I am wondering is why (for those people crying foul) Mr. Paterno is ethically "in the clear" when there are several pieces of evidence that point to his deceit and his partaking in a cover-up (something that over 35 years ago forced a U.S. President to resign from office).  It seems that Mr. Paterno's years of service to the world of College Football have bought him a kind of immunity when it comes to some people's version of morality.

If this were the only example in recent years, then I would consider this an anomaly and this article would be extremely short (or even non-existent!).  But the Penn State case is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to athletes seemingly getting special treatment from our culture.  Just look at Kobe Bryant or Ben Roethlisberger.  Both of them well-respected athletes who were accused of sexual assault.  But since both of their respective cases could not be proved, each athlete has since continued to gain fans and have seemingly flourished in their sports.  It seems that some sports fans are willing to overlook dangerous (and even violent) allegations because of their top sports skills.

And then there is the use of steroids in the sport of Baseball.  Several players (including Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa) have had their careers called into question because of their alleged use of enhancement drugs.  But, interestingly enough, most of the speculation and investigations came towards the end of their respective careers and after they had broken or sustained several high-profile Baseball records.  And let's not even get into the Tiger Woods story!

Now, I am sure I am overreaching.  You can point out to me that O. J. Simpson is in jail.  And yes, he is...but not for murder (technically).  He is in prison for armed robbery, assault and a kidnapping charge.  He has the possibility of parole in 6 years.  Now, that seems like a lot for armed robbery and assault (even for Nevada!), but I am sure Simpson's past "brushes" with the law were at least in the back of the minds of the jurors on his trial.  But that first Simpson trial always comes to mind when it comes to a sports celebrity "getting away with it."  It has been said by many that the jury in that notorious trial were not willing to put a celebrity like Simpson in prison for murders that he most likely (but could not be proven) did.

And, of course, you could point out that Pete Rose went to jail for his crimes.  But there are still debates to this day about his banishment from being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, even after he admitted his wrongdoings in his memoirs (though he didn't refer to them as "wrongdoings").  Once again, I am not complaining, I am just pointing out some interesting observations.

And maybe I am just pointlessly pontificating.  When it comes to Celebrities (and that includes Entertainers too!), the degree to which the culture will "forgive" their indiscretions can go either way.  They certainly walk that fine line between being atop the pedestal and being the social pariah.  And oftentimes (as my father has smartly pointed out!), some of these Celebrities get targeted because of their fame.  It can be a very polarizing issue and I am very interested to hear people's thoughts.  Is there a different kind of ethics when the culture is dealing with a sports star (or any kind of star!)?  Is there a line that no Celebrity should cross?  Or are ethics and morality too subjective for a culture to have a collective "code?"  Don't be shy, say what you feel (just no gratuitous language or inflammatory rhetoric!).