Super Bowl XLI Commerical Review - Second Quarter

A few notable second quarter spots. Coke aired its "First Taste" spot from 2006. Two spots gave a nod to Black History month. Two nicely done consumer/student created ads for GM and Dortios (was way better than the first, IMHO). Budweiser's "Stray Dog" and Bud Light's "Fist Bump/Face Slap" spots were both bonuses for Anheuser Busch. Chevy's "Robot" was very well put together. Nice.

(2nd Quarter)
Anheuser-Busch/Budweiser - (:60) "Spot/Stray Dog" - Stray dog makes good in Clydesdale parade. Very cute and well done. So far the best from AB. Less with the horses, more with the dalmation, a nice shift, but while staying with the branding of the clydesdales. This was a 4-year old idea revived for this year. (Agencies: DDB, Chicago)

Garmin - (:30) "Maposaurus", the spot was very campy, although that was its intent. So it succeeded. It's like metal meets 60s Japanese moster movies. Which is fitting because it was inspired by 1960s Japanese monster movies. Features a showdown between an evil “Maposaurus” and a hero who uses a Garmin-made electronic navigation device to save the day. The spot was directed by Ulf Johansson of Smith and Sons Films, London. (Agency: Fallon, Minneapolis)

CBS - Big Brother/Big Sister no comment.

Career Builder - (:30) "Darts" wasn't bad. A lot better than the monkey spots. Nice lemmings reference at the end. Spot is for their new "It's a jungle out there" campaign directed by Bryan Buckley of bicoastal/international Hungry Man. (info here) (Agency:Cramer-Krasselt, Chicago)

Frito Lay/Doritios - (:30) "Checkout Clerk" - Hey it looks like Doritos folks picked two consumer-created spots. This one was good, head and shoulders above the first spot. (info here) (credited agencies: Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco; Millsport, Dallas; and TPN, Dallas)

GM/Chevrolet - (:30) "Guys can't keep their hands off it" - Car full of girls pulls up and guys strip to touch the car. It's a cute and fun idea. Chevrolet College Big Idea contest spot (info here)

Anheuser-Busch/Bud Light - (:30) "Fist Bump" - The new hot trend? Face-slapping. Hilarious! Best Bud Light spot so far. (Agencies: DDB, Chicago, Downtown Partners, Toronto, Mortar Inc., Chicago and Cannonball, St. Louis)

King Pharmaceuticals - (:60) "Beat Your Risk" - Nicely shot. I dunno, if you're wearing a heart costume with red tights, standing on the corner in a big city, you might get beaten up too. ;) Unbranded spot titled "Heart Attack" in tandem with the American Heart Association to air shortly before halftime. The spot emphasizes the element of surprise to communicate the risks of uncontrolled high blood pressure, also called hypertension. Features a Heart Man going about his everyday business when he is ambushed by high blood pressure and his accomplices - high cholesterol, overweight, and diabetes. When the villainous risk factors are done with "Heart Man," he is left with a clear understanding of the threat they pose. Directs viewers to www.BeatYourRisk.com (Agency: Glow Works)

NFL/United Way - (:10) NFL player pushes kid on a swing. Blink and you might have missed this spot. (Agency: In-house)

GM/Chevrolet - (:60) "Robot" - Bravo to Phil Joanou of MJZ. Very well directed spot. Couldn't believe the poor robot was about to commit suicide. Turns out to be a bad daydream. Nice. Corporate ad in which a manufacturing line robot drops a screw, which causes the line to be shut down. In the end he is dismissed and reduced to holding sale signs advertising condos and a drive-through microphone box, while "All by Myself" plays. With a twist ending and the ad ends with the voiceover promoting GM's 100,000-mile warranty, where "everyone at GM is obsessed with quality." This spot was directed by Phil Joanou of MJZ for Deutsch. (Agency: Deutsch, Los Angeles)

Coca Cola - Bottles through Coca Cola's history along side notable points in Black History to celebrate Black History month. Simple. Nice.

Walt Disney Co - Ad for 'Wild Hogs,' a comedy with John Travolta, William H. Macy, Martin Lawrence and Tim Allen. (Agency: In-house)

Sprint - "Connective Dysfunction" - New spot in the 'Power Up' campaign asks if you have "Connectile Dysfuction". Funny although yet one more ad to jump on the phara ad spoof bandwagon. (Agency: Publicis & Hal Riney)

Pepsi Co - "Winning" - Sponsored by Tostitos, Lays and Doritos - a nod to Black History month.

Coca Cola (:60) "First Taste" spot from earlier last year. A nicely done spot though. (Agency: W+K)