2011's Best Super Bowl Ads

 
 

Monday, 07 February 2011

It's Super Bowl Time.

It's that time of the year again when the National Football League determines the league champion for the past year.  Yup, the Super Bowl XLV is now on its 45th year.

The Super Bowl is the most-watched TV program year after year with more than 80 million to 90 million Americans tuning in annually.  Plus around 20 million more from other countries.  It commands a 60 share and 40 rating on the Nielsen TV ratings.  Not bad for a 45 year old huh?

What's more, 1982's Super Bowl was watched by almost half of the households in America during that time.  That's more than 40 million households!  It is the fourth top-rated program of all time.  What's more, three other Super Bowls made it to the top ten: XII, XX and XVII.  Last year's Super Bowl had around 106.5 million people watching it.  That makes it the second most watched annual sporting event after the UEFA Champions League.

And while we watch the action, there has been a tradition that formed over the years.  Nope, we're not even talking about the half-time shows!  With that many eyeballs glued to their sets, it is not the venue to actually forget the lyrics to your own country's National Anthem as Christina Aguilera did:

Ooops... what we meant to say was that, with the number of people watching it, it's not going to be a suprise that we have a flurry of advertisements. 

For this year, it is said that advertisements spent close to $3 million for a 30 second spot during Super Bowl breaks.  That's close to $100,000 per second, more than what most of us makes in a year.  The hefty price tag and the time limit has pushed the advertisers to their wittiest streaks as they vie for your attention.  So what we have are the most attention grabbing, witty, funny and downright memorable ads of the year. 

Every year, people have come to anticipate the Super Bowl ads, much like how they anticipate the games itself.  And the advertisers are hoping that their $3 million will be money well spent.  Meaning, they hope that you see it, it sticks to your mind, you go on Facebook.com and share it, or tweet about it to your friends.  They also hope that you discuss it with your family or around the watercooler at the office.

So what did top the advertising line up this year?  Here are our bets:

Bud Light's Dog Sitter:

More canine fun with Doritos:

Pepsi Max's Love Hurts:

And our runaway winner? Volkswagen's Darth Vader ad:

But while we love Danica Patrick on the race tracks, the GoDaddy.com spot just plain sucked.  Double :(

But that does not really qualify for the worst in our list.  At least, there is a world of possibilities for the GoDaddy.com ladies.  Hyundai's Elantra takes home the trophy for the Duh? Super Bowl Ad of the Year.