Blogging the Superbowl ads

The Superbowl might be two days old (an eternity in the blogosphere these days if my esteemed colleague Adam Abu-Nab or the Abu-nator to those on Twitter is to be believed), but despite being in danger of pushing ‘old’ news I wanted to share my favourite ads from the NFL’s showpiece final.

America’s annual TV ad binge threw up some brilliant ads – some of which work well online better than others. They all contain at least one core essential viral ingredient if the common consensus is followed (we think it’s more complex and less formulaic than a simple checklist of do’s and don’ts), although all of them are first and foremost traditional TV spots.

My favourite is car maker Dodge Charger’s Man’s Last Stand. It’s well-paced, setting the viewer up for an andrenilian fuelled twist at the end … humour … TICK!

Google took out its first ever TV ad. Huge value and talkability there then at least among media and advertising folk. And it delivers at pulling the heart strings … poignant … TICK!

Last of my top three Superbowl ads is one from Snickers. Like Dodge Charger, it goes for the jugular, with Betty Davis from 80s TV classic ‘The Golden Girls’ getting ‘sacked’ while playing American football … shock … TICK!

It will be interesting to see how much these ads are shared among friends, networks, and peer groups in the coming weeks. Dodge seems to have the most virality at the moment judging by a cursory look at YouTube views and bit.ly data.

Perhaps, a better indication of virality is imitation. The Google ad is being mashed-up and parodied online at the moment. Here’s one effort that swaps European capital Paris for the, ahem, “whore houses” of Thailand.