As far as the commercials go, it wasn’t the best of years, but there were some memorable spots at least.
A quick recap: Beer, polar bears, a weight-losing dog, dogs racing, more beer, more polar bears, Danica Patrick, Seinfeld, Ferris Bueller and chimps.
Those were the memorable ones, the ones that may have been worth the $3.5 million that they cost.
If you missed out on the commercials, here’s Dan Duquette Jr.’s Top 10 Super Bowl XLVI commercials list.
The question is, which one was your favorite?
Which Super Bowl commercial was the best?
9:38 p.m. ET: We’ve had something of a drop-off in commercials again, which isn’t that bad considering, you know, there’s a football game going on and all.
However, Danica Patrick just returned for a GoDaddy.com (of course) commercial in which she was wearing very little and the spot ended with her asking that you visit the website. Again, of course.
9:21 p.m. ET: I was just thinking to myself, this Super Bowl has been fun and all, but we could really use some chimps.
On cue, CareerBuilder.com gives me what I wanted. Awesome.
9:09 p.m. ET: Matthew Broderick’s Honda commercial shows up here in the fourth quarter. As far as production value goes, that’s one of the better spots of the night, playing off the Ferris Bueller angle.
Speaking of production value, points must be awarded to MetLife for the cartoon-filled commercial that included the Jetsons. Always a good night when the Jetsons are involved.
That commercial break was brought to you by the ’80s.
9:01 p.m. ET: And we’re in that portion of the night where the focus slowly starts to shift to solely on the football game.
For example, we just saw a rerun of the Seinfeld Acura spot. At the very least, though, it’s a good chance for Soup Nazi to get some bonus airtime. Good for him.
8:50 p.m. ET: It’s been a pretty lackluster night for Anheuser-Busch, but that Budweiser decades commercial was pretty cool.
Also totally forgot that Tim Duncan existed as a human being, so thanks are in order to Bridgestone for reminding me that he is with one of their commercials.
8:47 p.m. ET: We may have a new leader in the clubhouse, as Jerry Seinfeld’s Acura commercial may be the best of the night thus far.
It was one of the commercials that was “leaked” or released or whatever prior to the game, so it’s not a big surprise. Even so, it’s a good one with aliens and Jay Leno making an appearance as well.
8:44 p.m. ET: Add John Stamos to the growing list of celebs to make an appearance in a Super Bowl commercial. He’s come a long way since Full House.
8:40 p.m. ET: It wouldn’t be a Super Bowl without Regis Philbin, right?
OK, maybe not, but Reg makes an appearance in a Pepsi Max commercial. Call me crazy, but I like my Pepsi Max commercials with the New York Jets in them.
Just sayin’.
7:55 p.m. ET: Halftime is here, and to be honest, it’s been something of a lackluster first half in terms of commercials.
There were a couple standouts so far, though. Which was your favorite?
Which commercial from the first half was the best?
7:44 p.m. ET: Doritos following the “Any time you can get a grandmother to launch her grandkid from a slingshot to steal a bag of chips” Super Bowl commercial guideline.
Oh, and fear not. The E-Trade baby has made his appearance.
7:35 p.m. ET: We saw a David Beckham commercial for the ladies earlier, and now, the dudes get 30 seconds of Adriana Lima. So we’re all square now.
Also, the Skechers dog race commercial was good for maybe a slight grin.
7:25 p.m. ET: For the ladies, we have a shirtless David Beckham.
For everyone, we have more polar bears. Quick question, though: Why are the polar bears wearing scarves?
7:15 p.m. ET: Welcome to the party, Volkswagen.
VW follows up its memorable Darth Vader commercial from last year with an overweight dog who works off the weight to be able to chase cars. Oh, and then Darth Vader returns at the end. It made a lot more sense on TV.
7:09 p.m. ET: Anheuser-Busch has a lot of money. Like, a ton. That’s thanks in large part to the fact that we as Americans like beer. So, of course, AB runs a Budweiser spot about the jubilation felt after prohibition was lifted. It’s safe to say that had it not been lifted, they wouldn’t be shelling out a bajillion dollars for Super Bowl ads.
Oh, and Doritos got in on the fun there, too. A dog bribes his owner with Doritos after the dog killed and buried the cat. Makes you want to eat Doritos, huh?
6:57 p.m. ET: Hey look, it’s Danica Patrick, Jillian Michaels and a whole bunch of skin. Go figure.
As always, GoDaddy wants you to check out the website for more. And also as always, it probably isn’t what you’re expecting. Not that I would know or anything…
6:57 p.m. ET: Polar bears!
6:54 p.m. ET: Whose performance has been more disappointing thus far — the Patriots or Anheuser-Busch.
The latter has been all about getting the word out on Bud Light Platinum. Big-time bummer.
That being said, the M&M’s “I’m Sexy and I Know It” commercial was pretty cool.
6:44 p.m. ET: Hey look, it’s Elton John — and Flavor Flav? I think the world is about to implode.
I also had to Google Flavor Flav’s name to make sure I spelled it right. The Super Bowl, kids.
6:40 p.m. ET: Anheuser-Busch strikes first yet again, this time with a commercial for their Bud Light Platinum beer. That was followed up by exploding vampires in an apparent attempt to sell cars.
And we’re off!
6:27 p.m. ET: Thanks to Hyundai, you will have Gonna Fly Now (thanks, Duke) aka the Rocky theme stuck in your head for the rest of the week. Not that there’s really anything wrong with that.
6:21 p.m. ET: We open the night going from Kelly Clarkson singing the hell out of the national anthem to a spot for a new Sacha Baron Cohen movie.
There ya go.
6 p.m. ET:Â If you think that shaking some magic dust on top of an ice cream cone can help you lose weight…
We’re a half hour from kick-off.
5:43 p.m. ET: The wings are ready to go and we’re a little less than an hour away from kickoff.
As we settle in here to get things going, we’ve got some early action from a commercial icon.
Mean Joe Greene just appeared in roughly the 234th spin-off of his famous Coke commerical. This time, however, he was pitching Downy. Because, you know, when you think Mean Joe Greene, you think Downy.
8 a.m. ET: So, what does $3.5 million get you? We’re about to find out on Sunday night.
The Giants and the Patriots will square off in Super Bowl XLVI, but for better or worse, there may be just as many eyes focused on what happens when the game isn’t going on as well.
That’s because with the annual return of the Super Bowl comes the return of the Super Bowl commericals. Thirty-second spots on the biggest advertising stage of the year are commanding as much money as ever which means that the bar is set high for memorable commercials.
Be sure to check back with us throughout the late afternoon and into the evening, as we’ll be guiding you through all of the Super Bowl commercials.
