2011 Super Bowl ads - what worked, what bombed

As attested to by my 14-year-old and about 90 million other people, people today tune into the Super Bowl as much for the commercials as they do for the game. The subsequent broadcast real estate then experiences hyper-analyzation about whether the individual $1 million media buys (and the $2 million ad production cost) were worth it or not.

While you and I might have our personal favorites, what lives or dies at the boardroom table is: a) how well the ad performed in terms of recall and memorability; and b) which one was "liked" the most. The former supports sales and lead generation. The latter supports brand development, reputation and goodwill.

In terms of goodwill and ROI per second, the Groupon ads (viz the Chicago Tibet takeout) seriously bombed. Sarcasm sells, but evidently not during the Super Bowl. Quoting the official Nielsen ratings, Ad Age reports that Doritos nailed it again overall in both categories: No. 1 in recall (pug door buster) and Nos. 4 & 5 in "best liked" (finger-licking good and bringing grandpa back to life).

The "Darth Vader" Volkswagen ad ("The Force") was the best liked, but Ad Age doubts whether it will help sell cars.

Rapper Eminem scored high with quasi-political "rah-rah," particularly with the "Imported from Detroit" spot. Boomers registered approval (and high recall - No. 2) for the Bud beer "Tiny Dancers" sing-along, which suggests frightening things about Boomers and Elton John.

Of course, neither of my favorites again made the top 10 (the Coke and KIA "epic" ads). As usual, humor and warm-fuzzies sells to the Super Bowl "family" audience.

Also, as lame as it was, at least there was not any "wardrobe malfunction" during the Black-Eyed Peas half-time show. Given the overall lameness of half-time entertainment during America's "greatest game," perhaps the NFL should consider bringing back "Up With People."