Last week, NPR aired a piece about how Super Bowl advertisers were making an effort to target women more than ever this year, particularly in light of the WGA strike. Companies are hurting for ways to get to us. Cool, I thought, thank you for seeing us over here, making up 40 percent of viewership. And would this mean a shortage of obnoxious fart and boob jokes? Ah, the possibilities.
Just for background, I’m a married, working mother of two dinky tots. I couldn’t care less about football. My only interest in Tom Brady is wondering why he’d leave Bridget Moynihan for the man-faced, though inexplicably considered hot Gisele. (Yes, gents, she does have a face.) I only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials. A few years ago, I bought an entire bathroom full of Dove products because I was so affected by the launch of Dove’s Real Beauty campaign during the Super Bowl. OK, advertisers. Come and get me!
Or not. The only word that really captures my mood about last night is…meh. Mind you, I didn’t think they spots were horrible, as in, Jordin-Sparks-SO-badly-lip-synching-the-National-Anthem-while-attempting-to-emote horrible. I suppose the companies thought they’d get us with babies and animals. Sure, the E*Trade spots with the super cute talking baby were attention grabbing.
But I was distracted by how close the dresser was to his crib. Once he’s standing, he’s just going to reach up there and dump all of those books on the floor. And he’s, what, a year old? Drop that mattress down the lowest level now. I also felt compelled to run to the t.v. to wipe up his puke. Both ads had me in a safety panic. And don’t get me started on the clown.
As for animals, I seem to be one of the few people who giggled at the Corolla spot with the highly protective mama badger.
But the Bridgestone “Scream” spot with all of the woodland critters and the creepy lady with her Shelley Duvall face?
Not so much. Maybe it’s because in a previous job, I learned way too much about the company during its 2000 tire recall. Yeah, I’d scream my ass off if I saw those tires coming my way, too.
As the laundry maven of the house, Tide-to-Go’s “Talking Stain” spot totally got me.
It was clever, funny and spoke to the product benefits. By far the best spot of the night. I’m going to pick one up at the store this week before my baby’s sweet potatoes start yammering from her onesie.
I find it odd that the NPR article specifically mentioned that Victoria’s Secret was targeting women this year. Really? With this spot?
Really, you’re relating to me, at home in sweatpants with Mexican seven-layer dip dropped on the left leg? Let’s not kid ourselves. Victoria’s Secret never targets women.
And speaking of women as objects, how ‘bout that GoDaddy? Yes, it was a very smart move to drag people over to the site to watch the “too hot for tv!” ad with Danica Patrick. But there she is, lowering herself to a bad beaver joke the likes of which belongs in a Leslie Nielsen movie. Given, I don’t know much about the race car driver, since I always confuse her with the other Danica who played Winnie on “The Wonder Years,” but come on. Her female fans have to be disappointed that she sold out like this. Right?
Let’s be honest here. There was little about the crop of ads this year that showed that marketers really wanted to reach women and make an impact.
(As a sidebar, I will add that my husband and I recorded the festivities and started watching at 9 p.m. after the kids were in bed. We were alone and sober. Are mediocre ads funnier or more interesting after a few beers when you’re in a room full of other people who are trying really hard to be entertained? Is it like seeing a foreign movie, where you don’t want to be the rube who doesn’t “get it?” in front of your friends? In short, perhaps a rewarding Super Bowl viewing experience hinges on the social element a much as the content of the ads themselves?)
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And now that you mention it, Gisele does look more than a little man'ish. Scary.