Now that the dust and the tweets have settled here’s my take on the best ads from Super Bowl XLV. First — car ads were back in a big way in 2011. As reported last week, there were many more car advertisers in number this year. And, despite odd entries from KIA (aliens and sea monstors?) and some trippy Hyundai ads the auto sector had a strong showing. From the VW Force ad to some great new Chevy work from Goodby Silverstein, I give the evening to the auto industry.
Drilling down from there, I feel the strongest in the pack are ones that achieved actual brand-driven business goals. I’ll start with my runner-up — the MINI Countryman spot. This ad used humor to convey the noteworthy product features of the all-new “big MINI.” In addition to some well-crafted humor, “Cram It in the Boot” gives us all a refresher in Advertising 101 by actually talking about the product and responding to a real business goal for MINI (launching a new product with big differences from the rest of their line).
Best of the evening in my book, though, goes to Chrysler. Talk about a team in need of a win … This spot manages to convey the brand’s storied history and classic American image without resorting to tired and syrupy stereotypes. Rather this spot takes us back to Detroit as the backbone of America that — like all of us — has been faced with challenges recently. We follow a new Chrysler 200 through the city to the beat of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” with stunning images of the city’s foundation in hard work even through tough times. The car pulls up to an old theater and out steps Mathers himself, Detroit’s favorite son with a statement on ‘his town.’ The two-minute spot (!) is wrapped up with a powerful call to try this new luxury ‘Imported from Detroit.’
All in all, I think it was a strong year with a few spots actually meeting brand-driven needs. You can watch all of the ads from Super Bowl XLV again at Hulu’s AdZone 2011. What did you think? Was it a good showing of ads or business as usual?
