Greatest Super Bowl Commercials ... or Not

Last night, CBS aired "Super Bowl's Greatest Commercials 2007" - an annual tribute to the best Super Bowl Commercials. However, this year they changed how they determined what commercials were included (previously it was an open vote). This year, CBS made a list of the 15 "contenders" that they thought should compete with Coke's 1973 ad with Mean Joe Green which has won the last 6 years.

The result, in my opinion, was a disaster. Although some of the ones selected truly are "classics" - like my personal favorite the 1984 Apple ad that launched the Macintosh computer - many were some of the dumber offerings from recent past. And what was more amazing was some that weren't included. For example, the 2001 Bud Light commercial where Cedric shakes up the beers in the kitchen and ends up drenching his date was included - however none of the classic Budweiser frog spots were. (I wasn't a big fan of the frogs, but they were very memorable, got a lot of recognition, and were well-produced.)

Although I didn't necessarily agree with the list, what truly irritated me was the one that was voted as the top contender -- the 2006 Lamb Streaker commercial for Budweiser! Who were the people voting on this? Certainly not marketers! This commercial, part of the long-running series of Super Bowl commercials with the Clydesdales playing football, was quite frankly dumb. And not that original. And unless their brand messaging was "our beer makes you do silly, inappropriate things", not a good reflection of the brand. I personally don't even think it was the best of the Bud commercials last year (my favorite was the Baby Budweiser Clydesdale).

Now I am not saying the commercial wasn't good for a laugh. But it begs the question: what makes a "great" commercial -- aired on the Super Bowl or not? Memorability of course is key. And being able to identify the brand or product. (There is usually one or two each year that don't -- I can't imagine spending $2.6 million and NOT clearly indicating my brand.) Of course, those are table stakes -- the ad should also clearly communicate a key message to the audience. And while I would concede the Lamb Streaker had some memorability, and even can be associated with the brand (arguably only because of the longevity of the Bud Bowl series), what message does it communicate?

Let me know what you think makes a great ad -- I would especially like to hear from my agency-side colleagues! In the meantime, check out what this Blog Critics post on the subject has to say.

Luckily, Mean Joe won again this year! And I am looking forward to seeing tomorrow's offerings -- hopefully there will be some truly amazing future classics.