Ah, the Super Bowl. When sports fans everywhere gorge themselves on salty snack treats and frothy libations and non-sports fans like myself, um, play with Legos or something. Even if you don't watch football, you know that advertisers roll out some of their best stuff during the game. AOL Sports has a site where you can view some classic Super Bowl spots, including the Joe Greene jersey ad and Apple's "1984" spot. You can also vote for your favorite. On February 7, commercials from Super Bowl XXXIX will be added.

[via Advertising/Design Goodness]

Okay, my radar doesn't normally zero in on sports news.  However, whilst reading about the "Road to Forty" campaign that will run until Super Bowl XL and will feature current players like Daunte Culpepper and LaDainian Tomlinson receiving sound advice from past Super Bowl champions, I couldn't help but notice the spots (six in all) were all directed by Tarsem, the same man who directed REM's "Losing My Religion" video, not to mention that weirdo head trip movie The Cell. Seems like an odd choice to direct a bunch of football players, none of which can dance nearly as well as Michael Stipe, I'm sure.

GoDaddy boss Bob Parsons has been ready, willing, and able to discuss (and defend) his company's commercial during last weekend's Super Bowl on his blog.  Yesterday, Parsons posed, in the form of a title, the question of whether or not the ad was indecent - and gave his side of the story.  Aside from the fact that Parsons has all his ducks in a row, the use of his blog for this purpose is fantastic, and gets a quality discussion going.  The PR points that he could potentially be racking up is huge, but we'll see if it all makes a difference in a few months, as we'll hopefully get an idea on what kind of business growth they've experienced at GoDaddy.

On Thursday, advertising & marketing research firm Gallup & Robinson released its survey results of brand recall and what amount of impetus to buy or shop for a product or service came about during this year's Super Bowl.

Some highlights: 

• Budweiser, Pepsi/iTunes, and the Ford Mustang were the three highest recalled brands, all remembered by more than 60% of those surveyed
• When asked about the Silestone commercial (featuring the Chicago Bears and Dennis Rodman), only 5% remembered seeing the brand in the ads
• Those responding to G&R's survey also ranked the Ford Mustang ad as their favorite, with Budweiser's "Thank You" second.  Additionally, viewers ranked the Mustang with the highest increase of brand perception, or likability.

The full results are available here [pdf].

An alert AdJab reader is quick to point out that Careerbuilder didn't stop at their Super Bowl spots with the whole chimpanzee thing (yes, they're not monkeys), as they've gone forth to create yeknominc.com, the website for the fictional (we hope) company that the chimps are playing around working at in the original ads.  Fortunately for us, they've left open the backdoor to their Intranet, full of fun things like "training videos."

Also pointed out (hopefully he's not doing this research while at work) is that Yeknom, Inc. (yes, it's monkey backwards) is looking for some new staff, with jobs posted on Monster for "Competent Human Person" and "English-to-Monkey Translator."  On Hotjobs, you'll find the "Human" job as well as a "Banana Peel Recycler" and "Flung Poo Collector" - hopefully that last one has some good benefits.

[Thanks, Jim!]

Ameriquest, whose amusing spots were the talk of the Super Bowl ad plate, is excited about the buzz brewing since the game has ended and a few days have passed.  A company SVP stated that Ameriquest was "extremely pleased at the overall response to the family-oriented halftime show and to our commercials" in an announcement Thursday, and some of those who rated the ads (including AdJab!) thought their campaign was not only funny, but very well done. 

ESPN said "Bravo" in their rankings, and USA Today readers voted the "Romantic Dinner" ad #1.  So we all shouldn't be surprised when we take out mortgages from Ameriquest, right?

After the GoDaddy.com ad was pulled from running a second time on Super Bowl Sunday, it's no surprise that not only has the domain registrar's web traffic surged, but that they've actually got the actress (no, Nikki Capelli is not her real name) set to appear in two more commercials as early as this week.

Complaints to the FCC have been made public this week, and in one big 'ptooey' to the eye of the FCC, they've been told that the Super Bowl halftime show as "too boring" with Sir Paul McCartney all by his lonesome.  Not surprisingly, GoDaddy.com garnered eight complaints, and Carson Kressley's Diet Pepsi presence wasn't to be left alone - though only receiving one complaint. 

Gee, this would be a great award show, or ranking system.  Although Diet Pepsi would be in the bottom of this week's commercial rankings, "Also receiving votes."

The Mac Observer reports that according to comScore, Apple's website traffic jumped a whopping 172% after its spots with Pepsi ran during the Super Bowl.  Then again, we should have already known this, since it's been rumored for weeks that this campaign would reappear in '05.  But if Apple/Pepsi have proved anything here, it's that way too many people had their laptops with them while they were watching the game.

[Yeah, yeah.  I'm guilty as charged]

• Ford Mustang
• FedEx
• Bud Light (Fantasies)
• GoDaddy
• Diet Pepsi (Saturday Night Fever)
• Ameriquest (Robbery)
• Bud Light (Cellphone photos)
• Lay's
• MBNA
• Mastercard (Marvel Heroes)
• Quizno's (Baby Bob)
• Consentino (Yes, the countertop company)
• Budweiser (Clydesdale Farm)
• McDonald's (Lincoln Fry #1)
• Batman Begins
• Pepsi/iTunes #1
• Heineken (Brad Pitt)
• Pepsi/iTunes #2 (Gwen Stefani)
• CareerBuilder.com (Chimp on the copier)
• Tabasco
• Mastercard (Spokescartoons)
• Ameriquest (Cat/Knife/Sauce)
• Emerald Nuts
• Subway
• MSN Search
• Olympus
• War of the Worlds
• Cialis
• Verizon (cottonmouth)
• Anheuser-Busch (Thanks)
• Ford Trucks
• Volvo
• MGM (Be Cool)
• XXX: State of the Union
• 20th Century Fox (Robots)

• IFILM:  A full list of spots, sorted by ad creator
• AOL Sports:  Advertisements sorted by quarter of the game
• Ameriquest's four ads in a nifty 'microsite'
• McDonald's Lincoln Fry (click on the football on February 6)
• Tabasco's Tan Lines
• Degree's In-action Heroes
• Pepsi's spots (too many Carsons, not enough Eva Longoria)

Buried within the movie ads that made their way into the '05 Super Bowl was 20th Century Fox's "Robots" spot, which actually had a football theme to it.  It looks like another dive into a futuristic world, one that looks totally inhabited by robots who have human characteristics like:  annoying their siblings and dancing like Britney Spears.  Not sure this one's a winner, and am now realizing that there's probably a reason I didn't remember seeing it at all.

Sony gets sequel happy in one of their two Super Bowl spots, this time around for "XXX:  State of the Union."  Ice Cube "takes over" for Vin Diesel in the lead, since Diesel is off changing diapers or something in his latest, "The Pacifier."  Samuel L. Jackson is still the boss, and Ice Cube is supposed to have "more attitude" than the previous guy in the role - or so the ad says. 

Let's be honest, are we really surprised that this franchise is still alive?  And yes, I use "franchise" very loosely.

MGM put some fan favorites, Uma Thurman and John Travolta, together in a star-studded cast for "Be Cool," the followup to "Get Shorty."  After telling us that everyone "wants to be gangster," the spot shows off a bit of gunplay, followed by Thurman asking Travolta if he can dance - you might notice a trend there or something.

The cast also includes singer/actress Christina Milian, Vince Vaughn, Steven Tyler, Cedric the Entertainer, The Rock, Danny Devito, Andre Benjamin, and Harvey Keitel.  Talk about wanting to be a fly on the wall on this flick's set.

Oh, and the website's pretty hot, too - check it out at becoolmovie.com.

Volvo's "first step" into Super Bowl advertising was a big one, enlisting Sir Richard Branson to don a spacesuit and offer up a trip into space on Virgin Galactic.  You can find out more at Autoblog and BoldlyGo.com.  Sure, space travel isn't open to the public yet, but getting to be first in line isn't such a bad thing, is it?

Ford's "Tougher Than Bikers" spot brought together a comical arrangement of a family of four driving their sedan down the highway being overtaken by a gang of bikers.  As the bikers continue on down the long highway, they pull up to a restaurant, "Rosa's," with a parking lot full of Ford trucks which scare them off.

The voiceover states that Ford's trucks aren't just made tough, but that they make you tough.

Budweiser was, yet again, the perennial big-spender in this year's Super Bowl.  They ran eight new spots, plus one for their "Know When" program.  The most moving ad of the whole game was without question "Thanking the Troops," which featured American soldiers returning home from wherever they were serving and receiving a round of applause from people in the airport as they pass by.  No loud music, no flash, just simple imagery, background sound, applause and facial expressions.  Anheuser-Busch even made a point to keep their logo subdued at the close after a simple "Thank You" on-screen. 

A-B did a commendable job putting together a commercial that wasn't using the soldiers' images for their own benefit.  The company is so ingrained in America that it shouldn't be viewed as taking advantage of the situation for marketing, and should serve as a reminder of what some Americans are doing while we were at home, watching a game on television.

Autoblog picked up on the Cadillac postgame show, which, in David Thomas' words, "lucked out" on the choice for Super Bowl MVP, Deion Branch.  You'll remember that Pats' QB Tom Brady filed a lawsuit recently against General Motors for their misuse of his name after a contract expired a few years ago, and David points out that Caddy hadn't gotten his choice of vehicle to him "in as timely a manner as he wanted."

How many other "ads" within the game did people notice?

What a night and what a great beginning for AdJab. Our team made their picks for the winners in many categories and here they are:

Funniest Ad
Both Ameriquest ads, the tazer one and the one with the guy murdering the cat.
Runner up: The FedEx ad with Burt Reynolds and the commercial with Cindy Crawford and Carson Kressley both lusting after a guy who was drinking a Diet Pepsi.

Sexiest Ad
The Tabasco bikini ad.
Runner up: Watching the Tabasco ad a second time on TiVo. Sorry, GoDaddy.

Best Animal Ad
The Camry ad with the talking dog and the $199/month "leash". People liked it more than the other animal ads, but there wasn't a lot of competition for this one.
Runner up: The cockatoo defending the woman at the bar by Bud Light.

Best Use of Fictional Characters
Mastercard's "priceless" spokescharacters having dinner with Mr. Clean doing the dishes.

Worst Use of Fictional Characters
Marvel comics characters special effects are wasted in a Visa check card ad. Mastercard trumps Visa.

Biggest Waste of Money
McDonald's "Lincoln Fry," although the second spot was funnier. This wasn't the worst overall ad, but we expect more from McDonald's.
Runner up: CareerBuilder.com. The forgettable monkey ads weren't impressive. Anyone could have come up with them.

Most Forgettable
The one by those counter top people. We didn't know who they were before the Super Bowl and we still don't know who they are afterwards. I copied their name and it was gone before I could paste it in here. Thank you though for putting Dennis Rodman in a bathtub.

Worst Overall Ad
The Ford truck ad that shows their trucks in a parking lot are tougher than a gang of bikers that intimidated a family that was driving on a highway. What?
Runner up: This was the closest one: MBNA having Gladys Knight play rugby. It was like they signed a contract for the slot, then realized a few days ago that the Super Bowl was this weekend.

Best Celebrity in an Ad
Brad Pitt going out for a six pack of Heineken. It had an unearthly feel, like it was too cool to compete against funny Super Bowl ads. It was like watching Blade Runner. Very serious.
Runner up: Burt Reynolds in the FedEx ad. Although it seems like it could have been any celebrity, Burt did his part well.

Best First Half Ad
The FedEx/Kinkos ad where Burt Reynolds gets a groin kick from a bear. It made fun of Super Bowl ads and came off as really clever.
Runner up: The Bud Light airplane jump.

Best Second Half Ad
The Ameriquest ad where it looks like the guy is murdering his cat. Even people who hated Ameriquest's tazer ad loved this one.
Runner up: The hot Tabasco ad.

Best Overall Ad
Both Ameriquest ads, the robbery/tazer and the cat murder. Unlike the Oscars, comedies can win the top prize here.

This Verizon ad might not have been new for the Super Bowl (or maybe it was), but it was decent. I liked that the crazy mailroom guy from Just Shoot Me appearing on television again, this time with a beard. A guy with a bad cell phone can't hear the caller from the pet store telling him that there was an error and the snake he took home was a poisonous cotton mouth. It tries to bite him and he thinks it's just being playful. Nice!

I liked the earlier Verizon ad too, with the monkeys walking around saying (in monkey), "Can you hear me now?" into their banana phones. I thought that one might have been funnier coming from Verizon's competition though...