Cheerios Features Last Summer’s Telegenic Interracial Family Again

Remember last year how Cheerios had a commercial starring an interracial family that caused racists to be up in arms? The ad made national headlines and racked up more than 4.6 million views on YouTube. Now, that same family is in a Super Bowl ad for Cheerios, created by Saatchi & Saatchi New York. It’s cute and sweet, with an oblique mention to the awful controversy. Nothing groundbreaking, but it’s nice.

Budweiser Has A Super Bowl Ad With A Puppy AND The Clydesdales

Budweiser is always a huge Super Bowl advertiser, and this spot is a big hit, garnering more than 1.5 million views since being released earlier today. People love puppies and people love the Clydesdales, so if you combine the two, you know it’ll be popular. The song is “Let Her Go” by Passenger.

Tuesday Throwback: The McDonald’s Swing Baby

I haven’t done one of these in more than a month, so now I’m back at it. Anyway, Super Bowl commercials can be tricky. Since it’s such a wide audience, advertisers have to create work with wide appeal. Inevitably, many Super Bowl commercials tend to cater to the lowest-common denominator, and I feel like there’s often only a handful of great spots. This is a popular one from 1996 that I remember fondly. The baby’s in her swing….she’s happy, and then sad. Why? Well, on the upswings, she sees the McDonald’s Golden Arches sign. And on the downswings, it’s gone. Also, that baby is like 19 now.

SodaStream And Scarlett Johansson Call Out Coke And Pepsi, Get Censored

Continuing a trend that’s been going on for a few years now, many Super Bowl commercials are available online before the big game. SodaStream will have a commercial, but it’ll be different from this one. Why? As reported on AdFreak, the “sorry, Coke and Pepsi” line was a sticking point. Pepsi is the official sponsor of the halftime show, and Coke is Coke. So yeah. Here’s the original.

What The L, Staples?

Kmart’s “Ship My Pants” was one of my favorites from last year. Booking.com’s various “Booking Yeah” versions are alright, too. But the problem with copying the same formula is that it can get stale. In this Staples ad, the company’s signature staple-shaped L (a brilliant design decision, by the way) is missing from the Staples Center, home of the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers, and as featured in the spot, the NHL’s Kings. This looks like a campaign, where we’ll discover where the L it went. However, due to lack of originality, it brings up another L word in my mind: lame.

Papa John Moonwalks And Peyton Manning Disapproves

It’s as awkward as the title suggests. Moonwalkward? Sorry.

This Inspiring Duracell Commercial Starring Deaf NFL Player Derrick Coleman

Seattle Seahawks fullback Derrick Coleman has endured many struggles. He was picked on, had trouble with his coaches, and went undrafted after playing at UCLA. People said he should quit. But as Derrick explains “I’ve been deaf since I was 3, so I didn’t listen.” Derrick Coleman, the first deaf offensive player in the NFL, tells his inspiring story in this Duracell ad created by Saatchi & Saatchi New York. And apparently, a lot of people are watching and listening…more than 5 million YouTube views in less than a week. Trust the power within. Great work.

Fox Sports 1: Gus Johnson And Bill Raftery Broadcast A Birth

I’ve always been a fan of Gus Johnson. He’s enthusiastic without being a windbag and the NCAA Tournament just doesn’t seem quite right without his dramatic calls. I have definitely daydreamed about Gus narrating my mundane daily routine. But having Gus Johnson broadcast a baby’s birth seems quite uncomfortable. And that’s exactly what happens in this new Fox Sports 1 ad for Big East basketball with Gus and his partner Bill Raftery. Combined with yesterday’s Old Spice commercial, I think I found the most consecutively creepy posts on this blog. But Old Spice’s was somewhat funny too…this is just unpleasant.

1/8 update: Annnd looks like it’s been pulled.

Old Spice’s Weird Mom Song Commercial

I’ve watched this Old Spice commercial featuring creepy moms singing about their sons now being appealing to women three times and I still don’t know what to say. Just straight up weird.

Who Is Toyota’s Jan?

For a while now, many Toyota commercials have featured the peppy and pretty receptionist Jan. But I’ve never written about her. Jan is played by Laurel Coppock. Here’s a few of her spots.