Super Bowl XLIV: also ultimate championship for many advertisers

Yesterday’s Super Bowl was a great example of how the preparation, execution and timing of a game plan are the true tests for the merit of an organization. Any grand plan must be feasible to execute, and even the best plan done with the best ability can be upset by poor timing.

The Super Bowl is the greatest stage in American television for these traits to be tested. Public opinion for various organizations will be shaped for months to come. Outrageous and eccentric plans will be executed. Platforms for future advertising will be established. And between it all, a football game will be played.

The Super Bowl is, of course, a football game first, but it has evolved into a much greater media spectacle. Through the first three quarters of the game, the score was 17-16 Colts. But for the commercials, some were far ahead of their peers.

The commercial expected to cause controversy was Focus on the Family’s ad centering on Pam Tebow. Mrs. Tebow, mother of Florida Gators’ quarterback Tim Tebow, decided to carry her pregnancy to term even though doctors in the Philippines, where she was doing missionary work with her family, recommended an abortion. But inside the commercial, none of this was evident. Instead, the commercial painted the image of a mother and son with a wonderful, positive relationship. No doubt the Web site given afterward contains more of an ideological message. The commercial, though, was rather nice.

Doritos displayed a series of commercials, each one focusing on a different theme and without continuity. Coca Cola’s first commercial was a delightful romp in The Simpsons universe, with a wonderful animation involving a despondent and broke Mr. Burns. The second involved sleepwalking in Africa and was less poignant. Monster.com created a cute storyline involving a beaver seeking employment as a violinist, while competitor Careerbuilder.com premiered an office without pants. Perhaps, coincidentally, the next commercial was for Dockers, which also had actors without pants. Budweiser premiered many different ideas, from a human bridge for a Budweiser truck to an airplane crash being less terrible with Bud Light. Many companies also found unique ways to demean women that deserve no repetition here.

The two best commercials used different emotional methods. A promo for the Late Show with David Letterman included Jay Leno; the animosity between the two men heightened with the recent late night war, and was played effectively with an appearance from Oprah.
Google used the stages of Googling in a relationship to truly create a heartwarming, beautiful representation of love; by far, the most meaningful moment of the night.
— Forrest Bowlick is a senior geography major and a columnist for The Mirror.