Chrysler took a gamble on their sober "Imported From Detroit" ad. But the longest spot in big game history was a hit.
By Peter Hartlaub, msnbc.com contributor
They appear out of nowhere, as out-of-place as organic cheese on your nachos at the stadium concession stand. ?
Serious Super Bowl ads play on emotions instead of humor or sex appeal. They are generally few and far between, and if they bomb, they have the potential to bomb in a very big way.
?Obviously, it can be effective to pull everyone?s heartstrings. But you don?t want to miss,? said Tod Puckett, an executive producer at San Francisco-based advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners. ?In 30 seconds, it can be much easier to make a connection with humor.?
And yet when you look on any all-time best Super Bowl commercial list, the chances are good that at least few somber or emotional ads are included among the beer-loving frogs and office linebackers.
Puckett, who worked on the heralded E*Trade dancing monkey Super Bowl ad of 2000, credits the makers of Budweiser?s post-Sept. 11 ?Respect? with taking the type of heavy risk that many advertisers aren?t willing to consider.
Puckett hasn?t seen a flood of serious ads yet for next week?s Super Bowl XLVI, but he?s hopeful there will be some memorable ones.
?I?ve been very disappointed in the past few years with Super Bowl commercials,? he said. ?(Animals) and throwing bottles at people?s heads. I think we can do better.?
Below, in descending order, are our favorite serious advertisements of all time. We defined ?serious? as any advertisement that is not driven by humor, sex, action or visual effects.?
Volkswagen ?Big Day? (2001)
The commercial: Scenes of a woman preparing for her wedding are interspersed with a well-dressed man, becoming increasingly frustrated as he winds through traffic and other obstacles in a Jetta VR6. He arrives in a church where the woman is about to marry another man. The priest says ?Speak, or forever hold your peace,? they lock eyes and the screens fades to black.?
Tagline: ?Fasten your seatbelts?
Legacy: The commercial was a viewer favorite, and started a strong Super Bowl ad run for Volkswagen ? which had a winner last year featuring a little kid trying to use The Force in a Darth Vader costume.??
Master Lock ?Tough Under Fire? (1973)
The commercial: The commercial features a man on a rifle range, followed by slow motion video of a bullet piercing the center of a Master Lock. The couldn?t-be-more-serious narrator explains: ?The Master Lock model No. 15 sustained considerable damage, but did not open.??
Tagline: ?Whatever your protection needs, there?s a Master Lock ready for the job.?
Legacy: Arguably the first landmark Super Bowl advertisement, new generations are discovering it nearly 40 years later. Master Lock posted a grainy version of the commercial on YouTube, and it has received almost 400,000 views.?
Google ?Parisian Love? (2010)
The commercial: In a story told entirely within the Google search field (with a few well-placed audio effects), a student studies abroad, meets a woman, courts her, marries and has a baby ? using Google searches to book flights, translate French, locate a church and finally assemble a crib.
Tagline: ?Search on.?
Legacy: Google?s first Super Bowl ad was a huge hit ? both during the game and after, when millions watched the video. (Presumably after searching Google for it.) The inevitable parodies started appearing within hours, which was probably part of the tech giant?s plan.
Budweiser ?Applause? (2005)
The commercial: Travelers go about their business in a busy airport. People of all ages and all walks of life burst into a building applause, before the subjects of their tribute ? a group of military personnel returning from overseas ? walk wearily but purposefully into view.
Tagline: ?Thank you.?
Legacy: The commercial received a lot of buzz and positive attention for the beer-maker. Budweiser aired ?Applause? only twice in 2005 ? during the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500, before using it again in 2008 to support the United Service Organizations.
Chrysler ?Imported From Detroit? (2011)
The commercial: Images of Detroit flash by, as a narrator talks about the Chrysler?s comeback. The pep talk hits a crescendo as the instrumental to Eminem?s ?Lose Yourself" builds, a choir appears, the rapper points at the camera and says, ?This is the Motor City. And this is what we do.?
Tagline: ?Imported from Detroit?
Legacy: The two-minute version of the commercial received 14 million YouTube hits in less than a year. A few were critical of such a large ad buy so soon after a government bailout for the company. But the longest ad in Super Bowl history was hailed by fans and ad insiders.
Apple ?1984? (1984)
The commercial: Workers in drab grey uniforms march in lockstep, as an Orwellian leader dispenses propaganda on a giant video screen. Police with batons chase a woman in a white tank top and orange running shorts, who spins and hurls a sledgehammer at the screen.
Tagline: ?On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you?ll see why 1984 won?t be like ?1984.??
Legacy: The Ridley Scott-directed commercial was a huge hit for Apple, and is considered a watershed moment for Super Bowl advertising. Apple followed the next year with the shockingly depressing ?Lemmings? ad, arguably one of the worst in Super Bowl history.
Budweiser ?Respect? (2002)
The commercial: A team of the brewer's iconic Clydesdales takes a long, somber journey along a snowy landscape from Vermont to New York. When they reach New York City, the horses kneel solemnly with the space that used to be the World Trade Center in the distance.
Tagline: None.
Legacy: What had to be a huge risk for Budweiser was almost universally hailed. It routinely shows up at the top of all-time-best lists. Budweiser created a 10-year anniversary edition late last year, which was hard to distinguish from the original.
Coca-Cola ?Mean Joe Greene (1980)
The commercial: A limping Mean Joe Greene walks down a tunnel toward the locker room after a tough game. A boy stops Greene, asks if he needs help and offers him a Coke. The surly defensive end takes the drink, stops the boy (?Hey kid ? catch?) and throws him a jersey.
Tagline: ?Have a Coke and a smile.?
Legacy: While the commercial actually debuted during the football season in 1979, it became a sensation after it aired during Super Bowl XIV. A spin-off movie (?The Steeler and the Pittsburgh Kid?) aired, a duplicate version starring Diego Maradona was filmed, and the ad continues to resonate in popular culture.
Peter Hartlaub is the pop culture critic for the San Francisco Chronicle.
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