I thought the Chrysler commercial featuring Clint Eastwood was a bit melodramatic and a little forced. Chrysler was looking to mimic the success of last year’s spot featuring Eminem coasting in Chrysler 200 through the streets of Detroit. This year’s ad tried to increase the grittiness and captivate the audience with a more intense glimpse into the collective spirit of a “dying” American city, but it felt like Chrysler was laying it on a little too heavy.

 Jay Schmidt, Account Executive

I’m a sucker for theatrics and the American spirit so naturally I loved the Clint Eastwood bit for Chrysler. There aren’t many people who could have pulled off the raw, rugged, truly American feel. Eastwood was the only person for the job.

I also liked Bud Lights “Here We Go” commercial. The dog-fetching-beers bit was funny, but the plug urging puppy rescues at the end sealed the deal for me. (And might be the only reason it beat out the overweight-dog dieting from VW.)

Breakout rookie for this years brand-bowl was certainly TaxAct with the kid peeing in the pool. Although their brand identity didn’t tie in to their creative (in basically any way), I think people will like and remember the spot enough to consider looking it up at a later time.

I’m not even going to go into how terrible the GoDaddy ads are. They need to disappear.

Ashley Shipley, Director of Social Media & Online Marketing

My favorite commercial was the Coca-Cola Polar Bears because…

1. I get the sense of the Winter Wonderland that we have not experienced here in Ohio this year, not that I’m complaining!

2. They remind me of Christmas time, which is only a little over 10 months away 🙂

3. I cannot resist a fat, cuddly animal, which is why the VW overweight dog was a close second, and wins for cutest ad in my book!

Worst Commercial in my book was, the Old Navy Ad right before Kick-Off, as much as I dislike the creepy mannequins (used in previous spots), I didn’t understand promoting a made-up brand in the beginning of the commercial.

Jennifer Hoffmannbeck, Media Buyer

My favorite was the Volkswagen commercial with the fat dog who lost weight so he could fit through the doggy door and chase the car. All of the girls I was watching with responded very well, however all of the guys at the party thought it was stupid. The other commercial that stands out in my mind was the Pepsi commercial with Elton John; it was weird and almost was a let down until Flava Flav had a cameo at the end, which resulted in an eruption of laughter in the room. I also liked the Bud Light  “Here we go” ad with the little dog named “wego” that was pretty clever and memorable.

Sara Gentry, Media Buyer

I noticed a lot of famous actors making an appearance, seemed like more than normal.  The car companies thought out side the box this year with having cars do stunts and well known stars in the mist of there commercial, the new Acura commercial with JLeno and Jerry Seinfeld comes to mind as one of the most memorable car commercials. Comedy like always played a major roll in this years commercials as well! Doritos never seems to slack in the creative apartment with the grandmother flinging a baby across the back yard to snatch the bag of Doritos from the child on the play set, I must say I always look forward to Doritos commercials!

Sara Laudeman, Media Buyer

There were a few commercials that stood out for me.  I like humorous ads and the Doritos spots I thought were funny, in particular the one with the dog that buried the cat in the yard and bribed the guy not to tell with Doritos.  I liked the spot with the woman head-butting her husband for the yogurt.  And I thought the ad with the vampires getting killed by the Audi lights was good.

Ads I didn’t care for:  the Coke ads were kind of boring, as were the Bud ads. They both used different themes than they normally do for the Super Bowl.  I also thought the GoDaddy ads less than spectacular.

Brad Swisher, Regional Sales

My favorite commercial was the Doritos commercial with the slingshot baby. I think Doritos in the past few years have had some of the most memorable commercial. I also really liked the Coke commercials. Coke also does a good job at making memorable commercials.

Nicole Hill, Media Buyer

I felt like this year’s ads were less about creativity and more about how to stay relevant in an increasingly saturated market where brand interaction and consumer engagement are key to creating memorable, meaningful brand experiences.  Hash tags, social networking logos, and calls to “Like us on Facebook” are really nothing new in today’s advertising.  But what I thought was ingenious was the pre-release of ads and ad trailers on YouTube prior to the Super Bowl.  Honda did this especially well with their Ferris Bueller campaign by posting an extended version of their ad on YouTube before the game and running an abbreviated version during the game.  Not only did this lower costs while increasing exposure, it generated hype and buzz marketing before the game even aired.  Their campaign delivery coupled with such a unique ad made it my favorite campaign of the night.

Morgan Standley, Media Buyer

1. Brands that are used to entertaining, and don’t, are lame. (Bud Light Platinum… may I never drink one in the next three weeks… which is how long this beer will survive.)

2. If you are going to solicit fan feedback (scripts) for your spots (e.g. Doritos… very cool idea) give these people a credit! Not only would it be the highlight  of their life, but, it would encourage others next year.

3. The kid peeing in the pool was great. The fact that I can’t remember who’s spot it was is bad.

4. The Budweiser prohibition spots are absolutely gorgeous. I, personally, hate, Bud, but, the quality of those commercials was movie trailer good. Watch ’em again. The lighting, the composition… that was feature film quality. I’m still not drinking their product, though.

5. I’m a guy. Danica is getting old (not biologically..but) Go Daddy should move on.

6. Oddly, I know I saw many car spots, none of them stuck… I can’t remember one.

Russ Nagy, IT Mastermind

My favorite Super Bowl commercial was Clint Eastwood ‘It’s Halftime in America.’  This was a motivational speech to Americans, which is desperately needed considering the state of our economy.   Clint Eastwood has the perfect voice for this spot which made the message that much more powerful.

Kelsey Zeto, Account Supervisor/Digital Supervisor

I thought the commercials were not as good as previous years. They all seem to what to follow the animal path, which is supposed to be a big draw for audiences.

With that being said, I did like the dog in training for the VW commercial and the new Lexus is pretty sweet.

The Chevy giveaway was a neat idea; it made us all watch to see what license number was on those cars. [My son] Nick was hoping his was one of them, of course.

 Marty Blanton, Production Sales Manager

My two favorite commercials were the M&M’s and the Bud Light “Here we go,” funny stuff.

Derek Meek, Account Supervisor