My Vote For Worst Super Bowl XLIII Ad

COMMENTS (17)

• I didn’t think it was THAT bad. When you watch all three together (available on the SNL site), it makes total sense. Perhaps Pepsi didn’t want to spring for all three during the game?

  Any ad that has people talking about it (good or bad) is an effective ad. Some of these other ads couldn’t even catch my attention.

  However, I would say the Alec Baldwin ad for Hulu was well executed.

  Comment by Brad — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 8:11pm PST  Reply to this post

• These clips only work within the US.

  Comment by michael dobrofsky — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 8:14pm PST  Reply to this post

• Hey actors, this is what your next role is going to look like if you give up product placement protections-

  Comment by Darren Burrows — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 8:43pm PST  Reply to this post

• Agreed – So not funny or good.

  And, was it just me or was The Office not funny or good either?

  Comment by MildApplause — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 8:44pm PST  Reply to this post

• And for me, this along with Conan’s budweiser ad were by far the funniest.

  Maybe it’s generational?

  Comment by Max P — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 9:07pm PST  Reply to this post

• Hey SNL!

  MADTV wants their bits back!!

  Comment by P. Lee — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 9:13pm PST  Reply to this post

• If you are familiar with the character and the recurring gag on SNL then it was pretty funny. There could have been a 10 way tie for worst commercial…most were awful.

  Comment by Disagree — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 9:43pm PST  Reply to this post

• I actually liked the MacGruber ad. Here is a guy that is breathing down the neck of trouble, and ends up killing everybody onboard. I saw the ads last night and thought that it was a part of the show. In any case, they are funny.

  Comment by Jessy S. — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 10:17pm PST  Reply to this post

• It wasn’t just you, MildApplause. I thought The Office was weak as well, especially the Jim, Pam, and Andy storylines. I think it was a little obvious what Jim told Pam’s father (some variation of “I love your daughter so much,” which only highlights the lack of love between Pam’s parents). Of course, Jim wouldn’t say anything negative about Pam (and especially not to her father). Although, it would have been interesting if Jim had shown some uncertainty about a life-long commitment.

  Moreover, it didn’t make a lot of sense for Andy to mistake conversation about Pam’s parents for conversation about the movie. Those parts didn’t line up for me. The film itself was only mildly funny, although I was relieved that Jessica Alba was only onscreen for a few minutes.

  I kept asking myself how a new viewer would react to the show. My conclusion was that this episode wasn’t good enough to build a larger fanbase. For one, Dwight was way too over the top in the beginning. If I wasn’t a fan, I would have changed the channel then and there. Stanley was great in this episode. And the roast storyline was pretty good, even if the cruelty aimed at Michael felt a little familiar. But I was hoping for a little more.

  On a tangent, I often find the hour-long episodes of The Office to be kind of weak. I think it’s the kind of comedy that requires a rigorous edit, and the longer episodes just feel too long. I still like the show, but I think it coasts on its single-camera, cutting-edge reputation a lot. It often feels uneven, and I don’t think it should get credit for simply not being Two And A Half Men. That’s why I’m always baffled by the people who say The Office is overlooked and deserves the awards going to 30 Rock. 30 Rock isn’t completely flawless, but I think it certainly has more energy than The Office. I realize 30 Rock is a lot newer, but still.

  Comment by Ashley — Sunday February 1, 2009 @ 10:48pm PST  Reply to this post

• that wasn’t the worst. the worst was the getcash4gold ad with ed “i have a gold digger for a wife” mcmahon and mc hammer.

  Comment by mooki — Monday February 2, 2009 @ 5:08am PST  Reply to this post

• I concur that this spot was among the worst during the Bowl. So was the Go Daddy spots. The best were from Careerbuilder.com, Pepsi Generations, Castrol Oil and E-Trade.

  The Coke ads were well produced. The Denny ads under produced. The Bud ads not up to their usual funny and the Doritos ads were funny but not top of their class funny… that would be CareerBuilder!

  Goes to prove yet again this year that talking babies and chimps = comedy gold and well written spots like Careerbuilder as well.

  Comment by guy steele — Monday February 2, 2009 @ 6:54am PST  Reply to this post

• The Pepsuber “spot” ran on SNL the previous evening, where it was positioned as PROGRAMMING, not advertising — part of the usual string of MacGruber skits throughout the show. This one had a selling-out-to-Pepsi comic submotif. But like all the MacGruber entries, it was formulaic and not very funny. Very strange to see Saturday night’s SNL sketch making fun of commercialism become Sunday night’s Pepsi ad celebrating commercialism.

  Comment by TomF — Monday February 2, 2009 @ 8:04am PST  Reply to this post

• I think a lot of new viewers will have laughed their ass off at that hilarious opening sequence. The Office sets itself up for criticism because the tone is so dead-on most of the time that when it strays a little everybody overly complains. To me it’s always at least good, often great, and sometimes transcendent. Last night no different.

  I love 30 Rock but like Arrested Development it sometimes lacks heart due to the more cartoonish nature of the show. Personally I’d take an hour of the Office over an hour of 30 Rock, and over some half hours too. All good though.

  Comment by Dave — Monday February 2, 2009 @ 8:45am PST  Reply to this post

• Aw, Nikki, it wasn’t that bad. Those of us who enjoyed McGyver enjoyed the stupidity of this ad. And seeing Richard Dean Anderson in anything makes me happy!

  Comment by helenofpeel — Monday February 2, 2009 @ 10:36am PST  Reply to this post

• Every single commercial was pathetic! It’s a shame that they would waste $2-$3 million per spot on such below average commercials. The only good commercials were the trailers and the majority of those were awful as well. After seeing these “creative geniuses” it’s clear to me that Hollywood needs new minds at work. We need to clean house of all creative in business right now. They have no creativity.

  Comment by Infamous — Monday February 2, 2009 @ 10:52am PST  Reply to this post

• I didn’t like these spots(what a waste of Kristin Wiig) but to me the worst ad in the superbowl was Teleflora. Seriously do they think its 1962???

  Comment by Bridget212323 — Monday February 2, 2009 @ 2:50pm PST  Reply to this post

• I thought the Budweiser ads with the Clydesdales were the best. especially the one where the horse fetched a stick, and the one with the horse that ran away to the circus.
  hee heeee!!!!!!!

  Comment by riley — Monday February 2, 2009 @ 2:52pm PST  Reply to this post