Best Of The Bowl

The Super Bowl has come and gone once again and left in its wake happy New England Patriots fans, amazement at the predictive powers of videogames and ads… lots of ads. Unless you've been hiding under an industry-shield for the past few days you've probably seen most of them, but don't forget your pals here at SourceEcreative sat up all night on Sunday to give you full credits and footage for the whole shebang – just head over to our Super Bowl page to check them out.

If wading through the entire showcase isn't to your fancy, we've collected together a few of our, the humble SourceE staffers, personal faves along with reasons we liked them.


THE GREAT



Snickers - 'Brady Bunch'

Just when we thought that the 'You're not you when you're hungry' campaign had exhausted the cantankerous nature of hangry celebs, along comes this sitcom-riffing variation that stars not one, but TWO of the best 'odd faces' in cinema. Winner of The Creative Bowl's inaugural Super Clio award (i.e. the best of the night), the BBDO/NY spot was a winner with industry and sports-fans alike. In the words of Rob Reilly Global Creative Chairman of McCann Worldgroup, "It's really difficult to create a version of the same campaign every year and to keep it fresh. While you can say you've seen a similar version of the Snickers creative before, we should also applaud the fact that they found a way to keep it fresh and inventive." Plus it has the best 'angry-eating-of-a-chocolate-bar' we've ever seen – FACT!



Chevrolet - 'Blackout'

If the endless snacks and couch-bound nature of Super Bowl viewing wasn't able to increase the likelihood of heart-attacks amongst the audience this year, this wickedly … er … wicked spot from Chevy certainly managed a few palpitations. Performing the ruse of 'you cable has broken' is a scary enough prospect at the best of times, but doing it during the most-watched event in US TV history is borderline macabre genius. Kudos to Commonwealth and Danny Kleinman for putting the jitters into an entire country.



Supercell - 'Clash Of Clans'

If we've learnt one rule from cinema, it's this – never mess with Liam Neeson. The guy who trained Batman AND Obi Wan, punched a bunch of wolves in the face and killed pretty much everyone in Paris when his daughter was nicked is annoyed again… but this time his rage is aimed at a competitor on mobile game 'Clash Of Clans'. Coupling Neeson's wrath with the ever-brilliant animations that have formed the brand's advertising to date (seriously, we would watch a movie of these characters), this marks not only a hugely entertaining spot but also the dramatic rise in presence of handheld gaming.



Always - 'Like A Girl'

You wouldn't imagine that a purveyor of feminine care products would see the Super Bowl as a major audience-builder, but Always stepped up during Super Bowl XLIX and changed the conversation with a 60-second spot in their 'Like A Girl' campaign. Garnering admiration from the digital audience, the spot's challenge of what it means to run, throw and fight 'like a girl' was a refreshing pallet cleanser from the idealised version of womankind on offer in other commercials.


THE GOOD



Budweiser - 'Lost Dog'

Budweiser go full 'John Lewis' with this heart-warming follow-up to their previous puppy/ Clydesdale spots. Folky cover of seminal 80's tune – check. Gorgeously shot and with direct access to tuggable heartstrings – check. Animals being awesome – check check check. When your macho sales-guy says "I was crying by the time the spot was over...", you know it's done its job.



Mountain Dew - 'Come Alive'

When your boss tells you "you have to highlight Mountain Dew… for the dog" you know that it's a spot that needs attention. Showing us a drink that's so lively it makes AN ENTIRE ROOM DANCE, the commercial from Caviar's ever-awesome Keith Schofield found its way into the hearts of many viewers.



BMW -  'Newfangled Idea'

Drafting in Former Today Show hosts Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel, BMW's clever spot utilises potentially embarrassing archival footage from 1994 of the couple desperately trying to figure out what this crazy 'internet' is, only to liken the reaction to the brands' revolutionary Bimmer model. Reminding us that technology is always baffling to us mere mortals when we first experience it, the spot succeeds in both enlightening us whilst allowing a nostalgic chuckle.



Mophie - 'The Phone Upstairs'

Super Bowl spots are the blockbusters of the ad world, and nothing says blockbuster quite like total world annihilation! The complete obliteration of the human race isn't normally the subject for a humourous tale, but the punchline of this particular execution – God's phone has run out of juice – is so tantalising it even makes the previous seconds of eye-popping suffering chucklesome. With a visual flair that is certain to have caught the attention of viewers, this is a winner from Biscuit's Christopher Riggert.



Budweiser - 'Brewed The Hard Way'

It's a pretty audacious move to attack fans of beer if you're a brewery, but Budweiser did just that in their macho-montage 'Brewed The Hard Way'. A call to action against the micro-brewery, craft beer aficionados that are steadily increasing in number in the States, Bud instead argues that it's for people who like to drink a drink, not study it. Cheeky and borderline aggressive it may be (and we're beer fans in SEC HQ), but the spot's straight-talking style certainly finds its audience.


THE... ER... WHAT??



Loctite - 'Positive Feelings'

Tim and Eric do a Tim and Eric all over the Super Bowl and everyone watching does a simultaneous WTF. Gawky dancers bop whilst, we think, advertising strong glue. For those who love the kooky charms of internet superstars T&E, this is a treat. For those who don't… at least it wasn't as long as some of the ads.



Nationwide Insurance - 'The Boy Who Couldn't Grow Up'

OK, the Nationwide spot was easily the most divisive of the night, as its sucker-punch 'meaning' delivery was not entirely appreciated by audiences wanting to have a good time. Whilst not eliciting the guffaws or gasps (of joy) normally associated by the hyper-budgeted SB spots, the communication certainly found its target. As one of our SourceE team said, "I think the message was powerful, and maybe we shouldn't shy away from sad, yet important topics like this."