First off, another reminder: NIXONLAND discussion group tonight, 9pm EST, “The Stench”. Now aren’t you curious enough to come lurk and see what you’re missing?
Second, since I know many of us are geeks and some of us are gamers, how come no love for this particular Superbowl ad?
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
It would have been funny had it had polar bears at the castle and penguins leading the dragon.
David
New Reagan documentary on HBO tonight at 9.
Redshirt
I am in a state of awe that so many people get excited about commercials. You win this round, Madison Ave!
Ash Can
That was a cute ad.
Southern Beale
OMG this CRACKED me up! A Malcolm Gladwell bestseller generator!
trollhattan
I hated that ad. All that overproduction and no payoff–yuck. Boarder guards ad was better, but still second tier to the best ads of the day. Coke for the loss (Pepsi was no better).
Also, too, the annual handegg championship competition was quite zesty throughout, lessening our reliance on ads to keep interested.
Somerville
#trollhattan
Well, what did you expect? You’re a troll, your side lost. I on the other hand thought it was the best of the day. The furry people won.
and another thing – what did you think of the Black Eyed Peas performance at half time?
Mark S.
May I suggest our next book for our discussion group?
Loneoak
MST3k: Packers Win!
@David:
Thanks for the heads up. Gonna DVR that.
SiubhanDuinne
@Mark S.: Every comment over there at Wonkette is snarkalicious.
J.
This year’s Super Bowl left me flat. Thought these three ads were the best of the lot. (Sorry, does not include that Coke ad, which was OK — and far better than what Pepsi produced.) More Betty White, please.
Just Some Fuckhead
Help build public file storage hubs or vandalize old buildings, whichever sounds coolest to you.
GMF
@Ash Can:
Sorry, but I think that was the problem with it. Where’s JC on this one? Being a WoW player, I’ve got to imagine it was a big eye-roller for him.
Coke’s ad agency is stuck back in days of their polar bear ads – time for someone who operates in the 21st century.
Studly Pantload
@Redshirt:
When as was at my local salad bar (alas! not Applebee’s) for lunch, today, I heard a woman gushing to her companion about the Jetta Li’l Vader ad. I gotta admit, that’s probably one for the books, even though I’m not how many Jettas it will actually sell.
But when you think about it, commercials (or at least their tag lines) work their way into popular culture fairly regularly. Witnesseth:
“Where’s the beef?”
“I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.”
“See the USA in your Chevrolet” (reprised last night, even, for “Glee”)
“Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.”
“Inquiring minds want to know!”
“Take it off – take it all off.”
“Two all-beef patties, special sauce, etc., etc.”
“He likes it! Hey, Mikey!”
“Mama mia, that’s a spicy meatball!”
“It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.”
Google will even complete these sentences for you as you type them into Search.
Warren Terra
@J.:
You believe the Ozzie/Bieber ad was one of the three best? If that’s not an inditement of all the other ads …
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Pretty funny idea – though it has obvious problems (how many people have a male-to-female USB extension cord?). Also, it’s not like there’s a lack of conversation spaces on the web, of every sort, nor of places to distribute files of questionable legality or whatever. Actually, I can’t really think of any use for the idea, and yet it somehow appeals to me. Weird.
Sentient Puddle
@GMF: I think you’re right. If the context of that ad is supposed to be fantasy gaming, being cute works against it. Not to say that it’s impossible to pull off (hell, WoW itself is “cute” relative to the rest of the field), but I just don’t think this one managed it.
That said, I’m generally not a fan of Coke’s ads, so there’s that too.
Warren Terra
@Mark S.:
I find this report a little hard to believe. Sarah Palin is as dumb as a bag full of hammers, and half as well educated, but someone savvy has been doing a good job with her brand management and maximizing her revenue. This seems more likely to damage Palin’s money machine than to work – although, maybe it’s just that Bristol doesn’t trust Mommy to share the loot.
Hob
Not about the Super Bowl, and not entirely new but I haven’t seen it mentioned here: Alan Fucking Dershowitz debated Mona Eltahawy on CNN about Egyptian democracy. Dershowitz actually used the “Hitler was elected too” argument with a straight face; then he went on about how it would be bad for Egypt to elect a government that would make women wear burqas (while carefully avoiding any discussion of whether or not the Muslim Brotherhood would be likely to do so). Eltahawy: “You’re talking nonsense.” Dershowitz: “You’re just wrong.”
Redshift
I thought the Coke ones weren’t bad, but they didn’t really excite me. The border-guard one was better.
The little Vader one didn’t do much for me; I don’t see why it’s getting so much buzz. It’s cute, but there’s not much more there, and the stuff they’re going to cut out to make it 30 seconds is so obviously filler, it drags it down.
My favorites were actually the Doritos ads, especially the pug one.
(I actually watched them on YouTube, so I have no idea if the ones I saw actually aired.)
catclub
@Mark S.: NO.
I won last time by preferring to discuss something worthwhile. I hope to win again on that score.
I won so well I have already forgotten what piece of dreck I was opposed to wasting time on.
But maybe I need to read something to help my sense of humor, and being trolled radar.
piratedan
well it looks like KO is ready to toss his hat back into the fray:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/tvblog/2011/02/keith-olbermann-to-unveil-new.html
h/t to GOS diary by AnnetteK
piratedan
@Southern Beale: loved that link! thanks for sharing, some very excellent snark inside (although I have to admit, I like Gladwell)
Steeplejack
__
Consensus at my Super Bowl gathering was that it was a pointless CGI-fest with no content. You know, a Michael Bay film. Or, come to think of it, sort of like Coca-Cola, if you substitute sugar for CGI. Well, then, mission accomplished!
Suffern ACE
The border add was better as it reinforced Coke’s long-standing positioning of the universal drink that brings people together. I think there’s a song about that.
I’m confused as to what this dragon ad is saying as I can’t tell what the dragon’s reaction is. Is he now happily on the side of the snow creatures or is he just mad that he has lost his powers and is throwing a tantrum? Only good people drink Coke? Coke makes people mad? Coke makes you a hero? Coke isn’t a clever drink and I don’t think of it as a drink that causes a party to break out in my mouth. The ad is a lot of bluster.
Also, thanks to asiangirlMN, I’m bored with the color-balancing.
trollhattan
@Somerville:
Somebody’s got to live under bridges.
I tended the BBQ at the half. Did I miss anything?
Studly Pantload
@Suffern ACE: @piratedan:
Oh, so *that’s* the commercial that’s being referenced, here (my employer blocks the YouTube). I’d so forgotten it, I needed your recap to remind me of it. Agreed, a muddled mess.
Funny thing about the border guard ad – their outfits, to me, totally screamed “Western imperialits!” It was cute and all, but I did think it odd they’d want to harken back to 19th century colonialism.
=0 )
Mako
@Studly Pantload:
heh. You sound old. NTTAWWT. But you forgot “Who likes hot pants…”
Mark S.
@catclub:
I think that would have been Atlas Shrugged.
Studly Pantload
@Mako:
I am (although the older ones are what I remember from my childhood).
And don’t you mean, “Who wears short shorts”?
trollhattan
Also, too, to the prognosticators who’d insisted VW’s Li’l Darth is a girl back when Cole first posted the ad, he’s a li’l dude, man–Max Page (is that 11×17?).
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/02/07/meet-max-page-volkswagens-darth-vader-w-video/#continued
Mako
@Studly Pantload:
Hey, come on, old people gotta stick together. So I forgot the words. You got the mental images.
Mako
@Mako:
And, I would argue that your remembrance of fast food jingles more closely tracks the growth of childhood obesity than some study suggesting solid food before 6 months.
Anne Laurie
@Mako: That’d be “Who wears short shorts“:
… which was a ‘not so golden oldie’ even in my paleodileuvian childhood, but a “real” song, not an ad jingle.
Omnes Omnibus
@catclub: Rand.
Warren Terra
@Anne Laurie:
I get what you’re trying to do here, but it doesn’t really work. “paleolithic” would be fine, or “antediluvian”; indeed, either would be evocative and an enjoyable word choice. But the combination doesn’t actually make sense.
PS the whole embedding a Youtube clip in a comment thing – is that something anyone can do now, or just a front pager?
trollhattan
@Anne Laurie:
Dayumn, what would that Les Paul be worth today?
Me wear long shorts.
Malron
Sweet. Must have ran when I got up to take a leak.
John O
Wish you would have chosen a different book. I can’t deal with Nixon right now.
suzanne
I’m loving Nixonland. Very instructive for those of us born in the 80s.
PanurgeATL
So is “Mars, The Bringer of War” still under copyright? Why (else) would they use the real “1812 Overture” music (though transposed down a bit for some reason) and then use original music that sounds like it was modeled on “Mars” instead of the real thing?
wes
cuz it wasn’t really a game..?
Steve
It has furries, nuff said