Years ago, someone asked my daughter what her daddy did for a living. Being a bit of a wisenheimer, she replied, “he tries to teach taste to people that don’t have any and don’t want any.”
That’s me all right…the industry’s purveyor of taste.
After sitting through four hours of the menagerie of caca that was on the Super Bowl, I came to the conclusion that I have failed miserably. If taste were a state, it would be Rhode Island. If lack of taste were a country, it would be China!
It is as obvious as a slap in the face by a six-year-old watching out for his “mama and Doritos” that taste took a major holiday when it came to advertising in the Big Game yesterday. I didn’t think it could get worse than last year’s mess…but it did! I believe advertising as we know it hit an all-time low….yesterday.
But just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, something happened. A miracle! And from all companies, Google! If you haven’t seen the spot, just Google it! No midgets. No animals. No meaness. Just a great idea, flawlessly executed. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. It told a wonderful story, though a search engine. Until I got home from the party and watched the spot again, I had no idea there were sound effects up and under. Nice touch without being heavy handed.
Taste! That’s what it tasted like!
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one that felt that way. Most of my friends in adversting, couldn’t stop raving about it.
There’s only one problem…consumers, according to the USA Today Ad meter, basically ignored it. They went for the typical over the top, mean-spirited type of advertising, created by agencies whose only strategy was to “win the Super Bowl!” Who really cares if the spots weren’t grounded in the essence of the brand. The Budweiser spot where frenzied townsfolks built a “human bridge” felt like a spot right out of the “what would you do for a Bud Light” campaign. Budweiser, to me, is still the King of Beers. But in the case of the human bridge spot, it became more like the Court Jester of Beers.
It is easy to sit back and criticize, so I will say one last thing…Go Away, Go Daddy. Your :15 seconds are over!
Can’t wait to see how Google rolls out its terrific…TASTEFUL…campaign.
NOTES: Whose idea was the Who and why? Did it have to something to do with “Who Dat”? I saw the Pete, Roger and the boys back in 1971 when I was a freshman at Texas Tech. That’s how ancient we both are…Best comment of the day at our Super Bowl party came from a four year old girl who said, “I know to to make a commercial funny. Put a dog in a bikini and have it dancing the hula on its toes!”. I hear she just got a job at Draft FCB!