Super Bowl XLVI is in the books, and now so are the commercials. For casual fans, the commercials are every bit as much a vital aspect of the big game as is the on-field action. It could even be argued that there are some years where there is more action in the gaudy and big-budget ads than in the game itself.
This year certainly provided a bumper crop of ads, ranging from "good" to "bad" to "weird" to "stupid." So basically your normal night of television viewing. Let's take a look at some of the standouts from the 2012 Super Bowl.
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The three standout commercials in my mind were all car ads. Chevy's post-apocalyptic Silverado ad should get the nod, I think, just for how angry it made Ford. The rival company was reportedly none too happy about the jab Chevy took in the commercial and approached both Chevy and NBC about getting the ad pulled. They were not successful.
Hyundai's "Gonna Fly Now" ad. Everyone knows the Rocky theme song. It's as iconic as a piece of music can be. It's a borderline-indispensable piece of Americana in the last fifty years. If you're thinking about television as a setting for advertisements, you can probably not do much better than pairing this ad with the biggest North American sporting event of the year.
Audi's "Vampire Party" was a nice jab at the prevailing "VAMPIRES EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME" fad, but also kind of terrifying and macabre if you really think about it. Not sure if that is what Audi was going for, but I'll take it.
You can find tons more commercials and commentary at SB Nation's Super Bowl commercials StoryStream.
For more on the Patriots and their Super Bowl run, check out SB Nation's Patriots blog,Pats Pulpit as well as SB Nation Boston. For more on the Giants and their Super Bowl appearance, visit Giants blog Big Blue View and SB Nation New York. For all news and information regarding Super Bowl XLVI, please stay tuned to SB Nation's dedicated Super Bowl hub.
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