Man-Child
ETrade
Financial companies have been bombarding us for the last few years with ads where small children talk about complex financial terms.  This has always freaked me out, as I feel uncomfortable talking about triple-tax-free bonds with a three-year-old.  This ad brings this trend to a new level, with a talking baby.  The best part was when he spit up at the end.  I could relate to that.

Ted
Ideacast
A half-naked pitchman breaks the fourth wall and goes in search of Ted, his 20-34 year old, male ‘Target Demo.’  Amusing, and it made me interested in looking into what, exactly, the company does.  Not bad for a smaller player.

Shaq the Jockey
Vitamin Water
The title says it all.  Shaquile O’Neill rides a horse.  Simple.  Funny.  No one danced to outdated top-40 tunes.

Cavemen
Bud Light
You would think that, after the Geico caveman ads, and the subsequent sitcom, we would be pat prehistoric commercials.  Guess not.

Richard Simmons Roadkill

Bridgestone
The brave Bridgestone driver maneuvers to miss Alice Cooper, and nearly hits Richard Simmons.  I can’t get enough of ads that tweak Richards Simmons’ image.

Can’t Take My Eyes off of You
Planters
An, um, unattractive woman lures the opposite sex with the scent of nuts.  That about says it all.

Hey Chuck
T-Mobile
Wow - a funny ad with celebrity pitchmen.  Charles Barkley puts Dwayne Wade in his ‘fave five,’ and then can leave the Heat star alone.

Justin Timberlake
Pepsi
Lots of hype, but it turned out well.  Justin Timberlake shows off his physical comedy skills as he gets beaten to a pulp as a fan drinks Pepsi.  Funny.

Mouse Trap
Doritos
A man gently cuts Doritos and places them on a mousetrap, then waits for his prey.  While waiting, he dives into a the bag himself - just before being pummelled by a man in a mouse suit.  It started slow, but BAM - the funny came at the end.  Belly laughs all around in this Super Bowl party.

Napoleon
Garmin

Garmin tries to make a dent in the GPS market in this ad where Napoleon motors around Paris before meeting up with his troops. Cute, and they get credit for mixing French soldiers and rock. Now, if only Napoleon had that GPS to help him in Russia…

Heart
CareerBuilder.com

Um….. ew. A heart jumps out of a woman’s chest, walks up to her boss, and quits. Then, we are told to follow our hearts as her heart walks out the door. Pretty gross, but really compelling. Everyone around me at this Super Bowl party couldn’t take their eyes off it.

Thriller
Life Water
Lizzards dance to thriller. I thought Geico had cornered the market on talking lizards - and the Philippines prison system had the monopoly on Thriller.

The Corner Dealer
The Anti-Drug.com
The government makes a bold statement in ponying up the bucks to spread the anti-drug message to the widest possible audience.

GMC Hybrid
GMC

I know, I know - you are trying to be green by rolling out a hybrid truck. Yes, it’s hard work. But, seriously - a commercial based on the myth of Sisyphus? Nietzsche is a bit much during the Super Bowl.

Carlos Mencia
Bud Light
No, this ad doesn’t play on ethnic stereotypes at all. As an Italian, all I can say is fughetaboutit.

Thunder and Hank
Budweiser

Great, now we get to feel bad for Hank, the horse who didn’t get picked by the crew at Bud.  But wait - he is training!  And not just training, but training to ‘Gonna Fly Now.’  I am pumped.  I think i would rather run a mile than pound a beer, but heck - as long as that horse beats Dolf Lundgren, I’ll be happy

Screaming Animals
Bridgestone

 A squirrel, and his woodland brethen scream, as a car bears down on the little nut-lover.  Luckily, the car swerves out of the way.  Apparently, the selling point of Bridgestone tires is you can keep your grip on the road.  I want tires that would guarantee I don’t feel the squirrel if I don’t swerve.

Message From Your Heart
Doritos
This is part of the Doritos ad campaign that takes a riff off of American Idol.  Several hundred contestants are vying for a record contract.  These contestants may be Dorito lovers, but I don’t know if football fans like soft pop.  Frankly, now I have a hankering for pretzels

Danica Patrick Exposed
Go Daddy
GoDaddy.com is famous for their racy ads.  This year, they got meta on us.  Their ad is a commercial for a commercial on their web site.  I mean, 1) I don’t think GoDaddy.com has a monopoly of women on the internet, and 2) Are 100 million Americans gonna watch that ad and then sign up for site hosting?  Still, I know this a does wonders for their brand recognition - my uncle signed up for GoDaddy solely based on name recognition.
Carrier Pigeons
Fedex
A company uses giant, muntant carrier pigeons instead of FedEx.  All I know is I don’t want to clean up after those birds.

Sleepy Stars
Pepsi

Troy Aikman, Joe Buck, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot and an assortment of regular folk pass out while doing their daily chores.

Is this an ad for amphetamines? No its Diet Pepsi Max! And, once people drink it, they suddenly can bounce their heads like SNL’s Butabi Brothers. A valiant attempt to bring back the mid-1990s. Chris Kattan even makes a cameo at the end, making fun of the stunt. Not surprising, Will Ferrell was not with him.

Cheese Guy
Bud Light
Guy brings a giant cheese to a dull dinner party.. Once in the kitchen, all the guys reveal their fancy-pants items to actually be TV and Bud Light. Actually, this was pretty funny. Nice Job, Bud.

Under Armor

We have our first batch of games after the start of the game:

Fire Breather
Bud Light
Man drinks Bud Light.  Man develops ability to breath fire.  Man has allergies to cat.  Inferno ensues.  This ad was kind of bizarre, to be honest.  It doesn’t make me want to drink Bud, but it also isn’t increasing my awareness of the brand - I knew what Bud Light was before kickoff.

Godfather Homage
Audi
Apparently, this is an ad about a car that kills inferior cars.  I love the idea of a tribute to The Godfather, and kudos for getting Alex Rocco - Moe Green in the mobster classic - to do a cameo.  But, its just the connection is a bit too tenuous for an auto ad.

This is definitely an offer we can refuse.

Dell has made it clear they want to re-focus on the consumer market after spending lots of effort, and cash, on the business market.  In this ad, a pretty, shiny wrecking ball destroys a pharynx of old, tan laptops before the computer giant’s new product appears - a sleek, new slim PC.  For a second, with its white and silver vibe, I thought it was an Apple ad.  Not a funny, or great ad, but it definitely is a nice 30-second piece of technology porn for the geeky set (such as yours truly).

The chili is on the stove, the wings are on the coffeetable, and the action is about to begin. But, before the kickoff, the ads start rolling:

Voice-Activated Operation
Product: Sync from Microsoft and Ford

The series of ads is familiar to TV viewers who enjoy watching women walk into plate glass windows.  In this installment, doctors rely on voice activation instead of an anesthesiologist.  Though it could pass as an HMO ad, it fell flat as a high technology spot.

Sarah Connor Chronicles

Pretty standard action television spot, but it gets extra credit for using Danzig’s ‘Mother’ as the sountrack. It brought me back to junior high.