Super Bowl XLII Commercials - Third Quarter

And now, we head into the fourth and final quarter...this game seems to be moving awfully fast this year. Notables from the third quarter include, Career Builder and Vitamin Water.

Cars.com - "Witch Doctor" - :30 - Tiny heads - reminds me of a scene from "Beatlejuice".
Agency: DDB, Chicago
Director/Production: Matt Aselton, Epoch Films
The spot takes place at a dealership and ends with the tagline "Confidence comes standard." The ad ends with a "funny" "Plan B" the buyer had in mind if things went sour.

Salesgenie.com - "Pandas" - :30 - At least the animation makes this much better than last year...and this year they actually have a concept!
Agency: creative:mint
Animation: Geoff Callan and Daniel Grace, Creative Mint, San Francisco
The concept and copy for the spot was created by Vin Gupta, founder and chairman of the company.
Superadgrunts, see the spot below.

Coca Cola/Vitamin Water - "Shaq" - :60 - He's such a large man that looks very odd on a horse. Announcer/Voice Over could have not screamed so much.
Agency: Berlin Cameron United, NY
The spot features NBA star Shaquille O'Neal as a jockey atop Glaceau President Mike Repole's horse. O'Neal, a Vitaminwater drinker, came up with the idea to be a jockey in a Super Bowl ad after hearing that Glacéau founder Mike Repole owned horses. He thinks he'll win the race for ad impact with the more than 90 million viewers expected.

Bud Light - "Wheel" - :30 - Not bad, but what's with the cavemen in recent years?
A trio of party-going cavemen are less than impressed with their friend's new invention - the wheel - which he invented to get their Bud Light to the party.

Ice Breakers Ice Cubes - "Carmen" - :30 - Meh. This can't be a high point for Carmen Electra's career.
Agency: Tracey Locke
Carmen Electra stars in the ad as the celebrity spokesperson. What else is there to say? ;) Her bodyguards give her a "safety" word to use and when it's said when she's fine, an innocent guy pays for it.

Bridgestone - "Unexpected Obstacles" - :30 - Alice Cooper isn't so bad - but why the hell is Simmons jazzercizing in the middle of the road at night? Something about that is just creeepy!
Agency: The Richards Group, Dallas
AD: Jeff Hopfer/ CW: Ron Henderson
Director/Production: Kinka Usher, House of Usher
Ad promotes the tire's performance and their "key messaging" that they are “for drivers who want to get the most out of their cars… it’s Bridgestone or nothing." "Unexpected Obstacles" features Richard Simmons working out in the middle of a road at night and Alice Cooper with an albino snake.

Career Builder - "Firefly" - :30 - Fun and, as I said before, the best Super Bowl ads for this brand. Nice job W+K.
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, OR
Director/Production: Suthon Petchsuwan ,TWC OR/and Mike Mills, The Directors Bureau, Hollywood.
Uses a new tagline: "Start Building". Spots feature an overbearing boss, spider attacks, and mantra like phrases such as "If you don't like your job, then get a better one", "Self-help yourself", and "Wishing won't get you a better job."

Hyundai Genesis - "Big Twist" - :30 - No twist. No interest.
Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners
"Big Twist" introduces the world to Genesis, as it maneuvers down a windy road, while the voiceover reveals the plot twist: the car is manufactured by Hyundai.

E-Trade - "Baby1" - :30 - Talking baby is very Bob from those Quiznos ads. Throwup at the end? Come on. I will say "bravo" that you got that approved by a financial client.
Agency: Grey, NY
The spot demonstrates how easy it is to buy stock online...it's so easy, a baby can do it.

Bud Light - "Fly" - :30 - Second spot of a theme. Better than the "Fire" spot.
The spot shows how the product is brewed to give you everything you want in a beer, and now...the ability to fly.

NFL Network - "Oboe" - :60 - Chester Pitts story. Nice. :)

Jet Blue - "Florida" - :30 - Local? Animated spot of person reading a letter.

U.S. Trust - "Wine Man" - :30 - Local pod I think.

FordToyota Tundra - "Truck of the Year" - :30 - Local spot prob.