I’m listening to Jerry Bowyer right now. He just read an email that described an amusing antedote to much ado about bird shot. Let’s send as many brown paper bags as possible to the major news outlets so they can stop hyperventilating. 😉
Is it just me or are Superbowl commercials getting worse with each passing year? Every second costs a fortune, so you’d think advertizers would make good use of their time by producing the best, the coolest, the funniest, the freshest commercials. You’d be wrong. Here are my very brief thoughts on this year’s commercials. If you’d like another Pittsburgher’s take, check out Gclectic.
Bud Light (office) – funny but the message is apparently “beer makes people stupid”
Burger King – pathetic and awful
Sierra Mist – chuckle, but weak
Bud Light (magic fridge) – freakin’ hilarious
16 Blocks – eh
Toyota – yawn
FedEx – not hilarious, but original
Bud Light (bear) – so-so
V for Vendetta – deja vu 1984
Diet Pepsi (P. Diddy) – catchy but forgettable
Aleve – pathetic use of the ST license
Ameriquest (fly) – kinda funny
Bud Light (roof) – 🙂
Diet Pepsi (Jacky Chan) – chuckle
Cars – looks dumb
Nationwide (rope swing) – eh
Budweiser (lamb streaker) – chuckle
Mobile ESPN – yawn
CareerBuilder (monkeys chart) – yawn (wasn’t funny last year)
Cadillac Escalade – dumb
MI:3 – could be interesting
Dove (self esteem) – touching but doesn’t belong in a football game
Shappy Dog – dumb, poor Tim Allen
Ford Escape (Kermit) – cute (I’m a big Muppets fan.)
Michelob (tackle) – great 🙂
GoDaddy (wardrobe malfunction) – I have no idea what they were advertizing.
Poseidon – could be OK
Gillete Fusion – not new, still lame, how many blades do we really need?!?
Overstock.com – boring
Sprint (deterrent) – funny because it’s odd
Ft. Lauderdale – Dan Marino sucks as a spokesman. Ad is boring.
Ameriquest (airplane) – kinda funny
MotoPEBL – dumb
Sharpie (pirate) – chuckle
Budweiser (pulling cart) – cute
Nationwide (Fabio) – funny 🙂
NFL mobile – eh
H3 (monster love) – amusing but odd
Practical Solutions (clean suits) – eh
CareerBuilder (jackasses) – the joke has jumped the shark (or monkeys or asses or whatever)
Taco bell (crunchy wrap love) – weak
Slim Fast – boring
Gillette Fusion – dumb once, dumb twice
Toyota (webcam beach) – different, but eh
Sprint (Benny Hill) – chuckle
Degree (3x risks) – dumb
Emerald Nuts – amusing
Fidelity (McCartney) – not new, still boring
Budweiser (stadium signs) – creative and mildly amusing
Pirates of the Carribean 2 – hope it’s good
MasterCard (MacGyver) – cool! 🙂
Mobile ESPN – yawn
Beer Institute – educational, Irish only ones with real beer
World Baseball Classic – intriguing
GoDaddy – huh? (again)
Running Scared – definitely not Hines and Crystal
Outback – eh
Westin (nonsmoking) – simple but effective, smoking sucks
Well, that’s it. I’m sorry if my descriptions aren’t memorable, but I was writing quickly when I took notes.
Did anybody else notice the switcheroo from last year? We went from erectile dysfunction every other commercial to Lifetime. I half expected “Mom, do you ever get that not so fresh feeling?” The attempt to reach women was too obvious and overplayed. Subtlety would do wonders for these advertizers.
Anyhow, the final verdict is that this year, except for Bud Light and a couple others, was a dismal failure for Madison avenue. I suspect there were some firings this morning. Let’s hope next year’s better.
Wow. That halftime show really sucked. The sound was terrible for at least half of the first song due to a guitar was left out of the mix, amonst other things. Even if the sound was perfect, though, the Stones would have sucked. First of all, I think they’re one of the most overrated rock bands. Sure, they have a number of good songs, but so do a lot of bands who don’t get nearly the attention these guys do. Secondly, they’ve been a band longer than the Superbowl’s been played. I’m impressed by their longevity and I wish them all the best, but they’re way too old to be an appropriate act for the biggest ratings event of the year.
Mick Jagger was an ugly dude when he was in his prime. Now he’s like the crypt keeper. Worse yet, the crypt keeper was wearing a shirt that showed off midriff and was gyrating like he’s still (or ever really was) a sexual icon. Watching him hump the air in the audience’s direction was like watching old people having sex. Thank goodness there weren’t any wardrobe malfunctions. *shudder*
Another Star Trek technology becoming a reality?
"The hypothetical device, which has been outlined in principle but is based on a controversial theory about the fabric of the universe, could potentially allow a spacecraft to travel to Mars in three hours and journey to a star 11 light years away in just 80 days, according to a report in today’s New Scientist magazine."
"The theoretical engine works by creating an intense magnetic field that, according to ideas first developed by the late scientist Burkhard Heim in the 1950s, would produce a gravitational field and result in thrust for a spacecraft." [impulse engine?]
"Also, if a large enough magnetic field was created, the craft would slip into a different dimension [subspace?], where the speed of light is faster, allowing incredible speeds to be reached. Switching off the magnetic field would result in the engine reappearing in our current dimension." [warp drive?]
So much for accountability. Frey won’t admit he lied. Oprah won’t admit she was duped, nor that Frey is ultimately responsible, not the publishers (though they are somehwat culpable as well). Larry King won’t admit he’s a has-been and a suck-up.