On the Nose this hour: pre-watching Super Bowl ads.
Super Bowl advertisers have forced us (conned us?) to live in their world, not just for Sunday, but for days spreading in either direction. This piece explains how, in 2011, a VW ad was released on the YouTube's days in advance of the game and went viral, setting the stage for what we have now: a protracted debate about various ads. You probably have to, on YouTube, sometimes watch an ad so you can watch an ad.
Today, that 2011 ad has 61 million views on YT. Those are people volunteering to watch it, as opposed to people waiting for the game to resume.
The people behind that VW ad made this one, this year for phone batteries (did you have ANY brand awareness of phone batteries?) It's kind of interesting, in a post-Hebdo world, that the punchline is God's phone battery dying. God is a black man.
One thing we will talk about is the divided consciousness of the modern ad watcher. The companies assume you've got a smart phone right there with you and can look up, oh, I don't know, what mophie is.
This year, there are "teasers" for the ads being held back until game time. Some of them are funny in their own right. Others -- and yes, this does take you to Lindsay Lohan's FB page -- mainly raise the question of whether or not Lohan herself understands what's funny about an esurance ad that involves her asking you to get in a car.
Oh! And somehow, you'll be invited to buy stuff you see in in Katy Perry's halftime show.
Just for the record, the 50 Shades ad was a hoax. The GoDaddy vs. Budweiser pup ad controversy was real. Sort of. I mean, GoDaddy specializes in getting banned, right? So did they see this particular tripwire coming?
One of the weirder ads essentially advertises two things: Squarespace and Jeff Bridges helping you fall asleep. Oh, and, yes, there will be Kardashian.
What do you think? Comment below, email Colin@wnpr.org, or tweet @wnprcolin.
GUESTS:
- Patty McQueen owns and operates Patty McQueen Communication Strategies
- Luis Figueroa is an associate professor of history at Trinity College
- Carolyn Paine is an actor, dancer, and choreographer
SONGS:
- "Commercials" by Blues Company
- "Politically Correct" by SR71
Betsy Kaplan and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.
