2012 Super Bowl Ads.
The Year of the Big Fancy Nothing.

Production values were on full display but groundbreaking ideas—despite the millions spent—took the back seat at the big game.

Advertisers served up loads of clever dogs, fantasy, rehashed plotlines, supermodels, B-list celebrities, borrowed interest of classic movies and a classic ad, over-the-top tricks, and over-the-hill rock bands and stars. It all blurred together.

There were a couple of nice moments. Chrysler made good use of Clint Eastwood to continue the “Imported from Detroit” campaign. And as goofy as it was, Mr. Squiggles for Skechers made its point memorably—though at the price of upsetting animal rights activists.

At $100,000-plus a second for media, not including production, we hungered for more differentiated, relevant and engaging content.

Good thing we had the game to take our mind off it all.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PE5V4Uzobc[/youtube]