Sierra Mist Karate Commercials Super Bowl XLI Commercial

Here are three spots that I wouldn’t call the best of the Super Bowl, but were at least somewhat entertaining commercials.

First up is the other Sierra Mist commercial, taking place in a karate class. I like the beard-combover one much better, but this is still a funny addition to the family, like an adopted Puerto Rican cousin in a white bread Connecticut suburb. Sorry I’m running out of analogies here.

eTrade’s Finger Commercial Super Bowl XLI Commercial

I note this spot for eTrade chiefly for the “save Holland” line. The commercial illustrates (or in the final scene, implies) what you can do with a single finger.

I like how in these kind of commercials your boss / high priced financial broker is always the oldest, richest looking white man imaginable. I’ll tell you what that is. That’s racist. Racist like making fun of Puerto Ricans, that kind of racist.

Fed Ex Turkey Neck Super Bowl XLI Commercial

Uh. Anyway I will now review this final commercial from the leftover bin without mentioning Puerto Ricans at all.

Um. Talk about writer’s block. I was really relying on a Puerto Rican reference to get me through this one.

Anyway I like the concept of this last ad, it just didn’t have a real drop-dead funny moment that would have made it more memorable. I think part of the problem is the pacing of the commercial, when I watched it live it went by so fast it was hard to catch all of the references, especially with the three-shot.   I couldn’t tell “Ilene” was even leaning the first go-round.  Maybe cutting one out and sticking to medium close-ups might have made the comedic timing better.

¡Viva Puerto Rico!

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eTrade Bank Robbery Super Bowl XLI Commercial

This is a follow-up post to my best-of post, and I’d like to continue showcasing still more of the better and best spots of this year’s Super Bowl.

This first one, for eTrade, was pretty good. When it first came on I thought it was a movie trailer. It may not go down in history as one of the best ads ever, but it’s a pretty good departure from the Internet-bubble “that ad was hilarious but I have no idea what it was for” days. The subject matter has a lot to do with the service (banking fees / trading fees) and was a great attention-getter. Also the manager’s Adam Sandler scream of rage was a highlight of this spot.

Sierra Mist Beard Comb-Over Super Bowl XLI Commercial

After seeing this new commercial for Sierra Mist I feel the need to apologize for my previous comments, when I felt the humor content of the ads was not up to par with the awesome humor talent surplus they had acquired to appear in the spots. (Jim Gaffigan is one of the heaviest-hitting contemporary stand-up comedians).

This ad redeemed the campaign a little for me, though the surprise twist ending leaves more questions unanswered than answered. (Can’t wait for the two-part conclusion).

Netflix Land Invasion Super Bowl XLI Commercial

Netflix turned out a pretty amazing Super Bowl commercial, featuring a large land invasion of movie characters. It’s a great special effects showcase, and again, while not an “instant classic”, it’s still great work.

I especially like the small dog barking at the gnomes climbing the fence into his yard.

Chevy Man Dance Super Bowl XLI Commercial

This ad for Chevrolet is a great departure from the typical “show the car driving” or “show the dirty truck hauling a lot of weight” cookie-cutter commercial. It’s pretty funny, and has what women want: old nasty men taking it off.

Alas there was only so much room in my “best of the best” post, and the sensation Snickers man kiss edged out the hot man action in this spot. Still, it’s a very creative and unexpected spot.

Garmin Morphin’ Power Thingy Super Bowl XLI Commercial

And finally, I’d like to make a dark horse nomination, and put out this commercial by Garmin as one of the better spots of the Super Bowl.

It, more than anything else I’ve reviewed so far, qualifies as an “awful” commercial. It’s weird and corny, and for some reason uses the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers motif to get its message across.

What boosts its standing for me is the over-the-top metal score behind it. It reminded me very much of this music video by The Darkness (four minute YouTube video) featuring the lead singer fighting a giant squid and shooting lasers from his guitar on the set of an obviously cardboard spaceship.

Going way over board on the cheap and cheesy is sometimes a good gambit, and at the very least this was a refreshing change of pace from the other Super Bowl commercials.

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Click for the :30 Sierra Mist spot @1 MB, Quicktime

I don’t know how the latest Sierra Mist commercials are so unfunny with so many good comedians in them. But they are.

I’m only showcasing one right now. In it two comedians square off in a deathmatch of rock-paper-scissors to see who gets the last refreshing Sierra Mist. And the tall dude (Jim Gaffigan) totally cheats.

This is actually the funnier of the commercials I’ve seen out in this campaign. But I kind of wished they had cut out Jim Gaffigan when he is trying to explain why he won. I think it would just be funnier if he took the Sierra Mist with no good explanation. Deep down I know he is a bully.

Click for the :30 Sierra Mist re-edited spot @1 MB, Quicktime

I’ve done a quick reedit for how I’d like to see the commercial. I think this is a lot funnier. The original isn’t all that horrible, but it seems way below par. There’s something about a joke not being funny when it is completely set up to be a joke. And this has that something. (I should get the Pulitzer for those last two sentences). What I mean is that there is too much anticipation about the words about to come out of Jim’s mouth to be funny that almost anything he says will be disappointing. I wish he would just push Michael out of the way and abscond with the delicious refreshing Sierra Mist then try to joke his way out of it.

The only other spot I’ve seen has Debra Wilson and Michael Ian Black trying to steal back a liter of Sierra Mist they brought to a party. It’s kind of tedious and boring. They argue about re-gifting and un-gifting and it feels like a channeling of Jerry and Elaine from beyond the Seinfeld TV series’ grave instead of the humor of the living.

Having practiced comedians in the spots is a good idea, but I think they need to beef up the writing and timing to make the campaign a little less forgettable. And now to refresh myself with a little Sierra Whiskey.

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