Super Bowl Ads, Part of the Culture

Super Bowl XLV ads didn't blow anybody out Sunday night, but Faith Hill fans can confirm they pulled off a couple of slick reverses. Hill's Teleflora spot interrupted an America's Sweetheart moment to toss a crude sexual one-liner into America's lap. Almost as surprisingly for long-time Super Bowl ad fans, Budweiser's Clydesdales became almost an afterthought in their annual spot, a curiously silly ad whose punchline had a gunslinger breaking into "Tiny Dancer." We saw an animated Eminem in a Pepsi spot that talked about how before this he never did ads. Then a few minutes later we saw him do another one, for Chrysler. Once he started, apparently he couldn't stop. Coke had a nice spot involving two border guards who figure out a way to share a Coke while still officially remaining mortal enemies. Bridgestone tires figured out how to achieve similar détente between man and beaver, but the real dark horse surprise Sunday night came from the car companies. Most Super Bowl car ads over the years have been like Super Bowl movie ads. Perfectly fine and perfectly dull. This year, however, car companies decided they also might want to entertain us. Hey, with gas heading for four dollars a gallon, we'll take what we can get. Read more here:

Super Bowl Ads, Part of the Culture