We were invited over to Eric Mower and Associates today for a review of yesterday’s Super Bowl ads with Partner and Creative Director Richard Skiermont, Associate Creative Director Gretchen Galley, Senior Art Director Michael Tsanis and Assistant Account Executive Latrese Burruss.
It was fun reviewing all of the commercials that aired during the Bowl game, with commentary from experts who do work for local notables such as the Western New York Ford Dealers, Fisher-Price, Welch’s and National Fuel.
The overall feeling among the group, voiced by Skiermont, was that there was nothing really exciting this year. “It was pretty disappointing. Usually there’s about a half a dozen stand-outs, but nothing came to the surface as brilliant work this year.” Skiermont said he’d like to see more smarter advertising, not simply a brand chase.
Tsanis said he felt there was a lack of inspiration, and Galley wondered where the great car spots of years past were.
It’s hard to be critical of work like this,” Skiermont explained. “There’s some jealousy because we don’t do million-dollar spots. We create on a shorter budget.” Still, Skiermont, Galley and Tsanis had a pretty astute bead on these very expensive spots.
The following is a list of advertisers, along with comments from the Mower crew. Go to the Adweek link above and scroll down alphabetically to watch.
Monster.com
Michael: This is a great, quiet ad. Swanky office to moose butt. Pretty funny.
Gretchen: The music is great, and you gotta’ love a moose butt.
Richard: It almost didn’t need a tag. Very effective.
Denny’s
Michael: Taking a serious setting and adding the comic effect is great.
Gretchen: The casting is incredible.
Richard: It’s a brilliant one-off. Not great, but fun.
Teleflora
Michael: It’s simple and precise, and the edgy language of it is a big trend.
Gretchen: This was good copy. You saw the product right away. This should get their phone ringing.
Richard: I remembered this brand.
Etrade
Michael: The babies are great brand ambassadors.
Richard: People are faced with losing investments, so this is timely…
Gretchen: And the babies helped add humor. I cant get Broken Wing out of my mind now.
Doritos (bus)
Richard: This was sophomoric from the get go.
Michael: I’ve seen the crunch bit before…
Doritos (snow globe)
Gretchen: Free Doritos at the office. People would love that.
Richard: I voted for this one.
Cheetos
Michael: Fun, but it doesn’t feel like a brand.
Gretchen: I loved the loud talker, but the spot sucked.
GoDaddy (hearing)
Michael: I thought GoDaddy was a porn site when I saw this.
Gretchen: I’m surprised Danica Patrick did this. This is dated.
Richard: I’m speechless.
“Some of the spots looked like they were meant to be shock value for the next day or so, and they don’t serve the company,” Skiermont stated. “Advertisers
are a long way from recreating the Macintosh 1984 ad. They’ve tried to chase the success of that advertisement for the better part of the
last 25 years. And Denny’s wasted their money; they should have had a whole
series.”
are a long way from recreating the Macintosh 1984 ad. They’ve tried to chase the success of that advertisement for the better part of the
last 25 years. And Denny’s wasted their money; they should have had a whole
series.”
Image: Michael Tsunis, Richard Skiermont and Account Executive Kara Zale. Gretchen Galley not pictured.