Since this is a Jets office, this year Digital Natives Group was truly just watching the Super Bowl for the commercials. And, just like the outcome of this New York Jets football season, our team was let down by a crop of underwhelming and uninspired commercials (with a few notable exceptions). We know this won’t be the first, last or only blog post you’ll read on the subject, so below find an abbreviated list of our thoughts, as well as our favorite (and least favorite) ads of the night.

Observations:

1. Did anyone pay attention to see how many “Shazamable” commercials there were last night? We counted three that had the logo clearly identified in the ad (as well as the halftime show and pre-roll), but that number is far below the rumored “half” of Super owl ads the service would be powering. Perhaps some advertisers just couldn’t figure out a creative way to let viewers know they could use Shazam in their commercial
2. In case we needed another reminder that social media had “arrived,” last night’s Super Bowl commercials worked hard to convert viewers into fans and followers. We counted six ads that identified dedicated hashtags (including Audi, Bud Light Platinum and Best Buy). As much as it was great to see social media receive its due in a coordinated campaign, we can’t help but feel let down by these forms of integration. Outside of these hashtags, multiple campaigns sought to drive folks to a Facebook page. Yes, let me step away from the party I’m having and the exciting game of football before me to go “like” your brand on Facebook (and please, we don’t like the argument “people will watch this on YouTube later” much either). Could it have driven some novelty likes? Yes. Is this going to become best practice anytime soon? We hope not.
3. What happened to Budweiser? Usually the king of Super Bowl ads, Budweiser left much to be desired this year, as their marketing efforts shifted to focus on launching Bud Light Platinum as the “high-class beer of urban 20-somethings,” (our words, not theirs). Attempting to capitalize on the growing popularity of liquor and spirits as drinks of choice (young professionals are always seeking to show off their wealth and sophistication), Budweiser forwent the usual comedic ads for something a bit more…we don’t entirely know. Yes they brought the Clydesdales and Dalmatians back for one ad, but on the whole Budweiser forgot one thing: it was they who set the bar for themselves all those years ago and they alone who forgot to live up to that this year.

A few commercials we didn’t care for:

1. TAXact – “Free to Pee” – No comment.
2. GoDaddy – Both Commercials – A perennial loser in our book. Sealed a spot this year by poorly incorporating a QR code in their commercial. Who wants to be the guy to run up to the TV and scan a QR code during a tasteless commercial?
3. Cars.Com – “Confident You” – Seriously, this just made us feel really uncomfortable.
4. Kia – “A Dream Car. For Real Life” – We didn’t think this was a bad commercial (wife dreams of a horse ride from a stud/prince, husband dreams of fast cars, Motley Crue, babes in bikinis and saving his wife from aforementioned stud/prince) until we saw who it was for. Instantly, this commercial lost all believability and became a punch line.
5. Audi – “Vampire Party” – Positioning and brand personality aside, when you’ve got a brand like Audi, you don’t try to sell cars, or an image, based on your headlights. Also, we’re over vampires.

And five commercials we really liked:

1. Hyundai – “Gonna Fly Now” – We’re a bit biased because Rocky is a favorite film of ours, but this pre-game ad was far better than most of the muck we saw later. This all-hands-on-deck rendition of “Gonna Fly Now” got us so excited we were ready to take the field ourselves!
2. Samsung Mobile USA– “Thing Called Love” – Just when we thought the game had nothing left to give us, this fourth quarter gem managed to blow our minds. From a song that brought us back to high school, to a cameo from Brian Urlacher, this commercial of Baz Luhrmann proportions left us on our feet begging for more.
3. Chevrolet Silverado – “2012” – Where to begin! From start to finish this commercial had us excited and engaged. In addition to creatively reinforcing a classic brand image, Chevy included a shout-out to one of food’s greatest urban legends (Hostess may have filed for bankruptcy but welcome to the Super Bowl Twinkies!), and a sampling from one of those musical artists we hate to love (Mr. Music himself…Barry Manilow!).
4. Volkswagen Beetle – “The Dog Strikes Back” – We were a bit afraid that Volkswagen wouldn’t be able to live up to the standard it set for itself last year with the great “Darth Vader” commercial, but they did. This enjoyable spot was only made better by the “bonus” Star Wars homage at the end.
5. Acura – “Transactions” – Frankly, we aren’t sure how this ad played outside of the tri-state area, but we are such great Seinfeld fans that we are going to overlook that analysis and just say “Leno!”

Our Super Bowl Winner: Doritos. Two great ads (“Man’s Best Friend,” and “Sling Baby”) brought the biggest laughs of the night.

Are we wrong? Did we forget something? Tell us in the comments what you think of our list!