Yes, Super Bowl 2013 was two weeks ago and that’s decades in today’s insta-culture. Nicole and I only watched about half the game. What we did see we showed up slightly late to a friend’s house for and then left before the epic blackout of the stadium. Later that week I left to go to sunny Orlando whilst the blizzard moved into Brooklyn. I was down there for IPG Media Lab. We’ve been working on a few new technologies to be rolled into Chrysler dealerships. (I’ll post a casestudy for my part soon.) Our tech was in a kick-ass display built by CSG (Creative Solutions Group) on my initial sketch.
It’s not until today that I can actually take a moment to watch through all the spots. AdAge compiled everything neatly into one place using a Brightcove powered player. You can view them all there. There is also an official Super Bowl YouTube channel where you can find them minus the AdAge reader commentary. Below are the ones I thought were good and I don’t think any of it has to do with the brands that paid for them.
Budweiser’s Black Crown
I’m not quite sure what exactly this beer is but I think there are some great folks working at Anomaly New York. (I produced the tech for their new Renaissance hotel campaign last year.) Also, I would like all of the outfits in these spots and Nicole and I would like to throw a party that looked like that.
Axe Sends You To Space
This whole campaign by BBH is great if only because it champions people like me in high school and the anti-jock in all of us.
Awesome Farmer Photos
We loved the art direction of this spot. The voice over was great. I don’t know anything about The Richards Group yet but I do know that they have an outdated website that’s still in Flash and that they are located in Dallas TX.
Ridiculousness (and Good Directing/Editing)
GoDaddy does not have the best image when it comes to women or animal rights. This spot by Deutsch New York is very cleverly cut. I like the classic execution. The idea is great. It’s good in the way that the 2009 Super Bowl Career Builder spot was epically good (the guy drinking gold at the end). That was by Weiden+Kennedy and won a D&AD Gold Pencil. It also has an absurd tone akin to the DirecTV spots from Grey New York. You’ve seen that one with the mini giraffe.
Because I Wanted Friends Like This
Every nerd wanted to have friends in grade school that rescued people from burning buildings and welded. This spot from Innocean USA is just kick-ass.
Babies, Spaceflight and Great CG
You can’t beat a good sci-fi tale if it also has babies both human and animal. Was it for a car? This blows the stork story out of the galaxy. Pups get into awesome Flash-Gordon-style rockets and then parachute down to their parents? Awesome. David & Goliath consistently crank out some good CG but this is my favorite story so far.
Old-timers Kick-ass
This one from Deutsch Los Angeles was all over the news the next day for a good reason, casting actors in their twilight. I saw a couple of them on CNN and they were so awesome. I hope Nicole and I end up like that. All I remember is that there are some actors still working in their golden years and having an awesome time. There are more golden boys and girls out their besides the likes of Betty White.