116,231,920. That was the number of people who saw what Delta’s Sky Magazine claims is the most watched TV advertisement of all- time. The contest winning “Snack Attack Samurai” was a Doritos commercial created for the Crash the Super Bowl competition. Amateur filmmakers came up with original ideas, produced their own commercials, and then audience members voted on their favorites. The winner was the “Snack Attack Samurai” for Super Bowl XLIV last year.
This year’s the Crash the Super Bowl competition fell short of the success and humor of last year. Doritos and Pepsi Max joined to create another competition for the best Super Bowl commercials. None lived up to the “Snack Attack Samurai” commercial from last year. In fact, almost all of the commercials were better last year.
Commercials of Super Bowl XLV did not meet the expectations of many viewers. There were some commercials that were notable and perhaps even got a few chuckles out of the busy editorial staff this Super Bowl Sunday. The Pepsi Max commercial where the female jogger gets hit with a Pepsi can was funny, if not a little violent. And the Volkswagen commercial with the mini-Darth Vader was precious. But for the most part, the advertisements failed to both entertain and promote.
The HomeAway.com commercial featured a fast talking man, and a baby getting thrown against the glass and slowly sliding down. It wasn’t funny. It was labeled a ‘Test Baby’ but the image was still grotesque. The image did not capture the message for what the company did or what they were selling. Fail.
Another one of the bad commercials was Joan Rivers GoDaddy.co commercial. Apparently adding the ‘m’ to the end of the address is a real pain these days and GoDaddy thought they’d make a statement by portraying a super sexy woman, who is later revealed as a somewhat drunk looking Joan Rivers. It might be clever to get a man’s attention with sex appeal, but you lost it when he spotted the wrinkles. Fail.
When it comes to entertaining, there a few things that work. Keeping the message simple is a motto all mass communication students learn early. Keep It Simple Stupid: KISS. This year’s commercials were complex and many didn’t make sense or didn’t get the message across.
The commercials that held true to KISS were successful. The new Volkswagen bug commercial was intriguing and entertaining. It even managed to get its point across: the new bug is going to be sleek and sexy. The commercial was a tease. They didn’t show the whole car, they showed just enough of the silhouette to make viewers salivate.
The Darth Vader was a favorite because they didn’t try too hard. The idea was simple and played on one of the most popular movies ever made. Plus, the little kid was adorable. Who doesn’t like little kids or dogs?
Basically, the advertisers are paying millions of dollars, so they should stick with what works. Being a tease works until you find out you were being teased by a woman who is old enough to be your mother. Animals and little kids work too, unless they are being slammed into glass.
Competitions work too, and the Crash the Super Bowl contest can allow people to interact and choose the best commercial before it is aired.  During the Super Bowl XLIV 116,231,920 watched the “Snack Attack Samurai” commercial. The greatest watched commercial of all time, and it was an interactive contest made by amateurs who stuck to what works.