It’s SuperBowl. And it may not have been the creamiest crop ever, but it’s always interesting to see what people roll out when they’re playing (or paying) in the big league. What would you be willing to show to 200 million people? Given that you’re side-by-side with Madonna and one of the biggest sports events in the world (one of – I’m not forgetting the World Cup!), what’s worthy of that multi-million dollar media spend?

Well, there were some real shockers this year – some as a result of resorting to cleavage without applying an idea… and some just being too average for an ad event this big. But these stood out for me…

1. VW’s Dog Ad (Bolt) – I wasn’t sure when I first saw it that I liked the whole “was the dog better than little Darth?” ending – it just felt so detached from the rest of the ad… but it grows on you – try watching it a couple of times and see how you feel about it. It’s a nice parody of the situation they were in.

2. Budweiser’s Dog Ad (Weego) – It’s simple, sweet and does the whole ‘beers at a party’ with a twist, which beats a lot of the other spots that focus more on the soundtrack and visuals of people partying.

3. Chevrolet Sonic “Stunt Anthem” – The Brits will reference Qashqai Car Games, but this is bigger and more glorious, thanks to the budget. And it works – way to catch a lot of attention and then do something with that attention. Although I’m surprised they didn’t make it more obvious that the URL was worth visiting?

4. Chevy Silverado “2012″ – Epic apocalypse piece, but if you’re going to try and make an age-old claim (the longest-lasting, most dependable truck on the road), then put down your competition at the same time, you better wrap it up damn well. This does it – blatant product ad, very well disguised.

5. Chrysler “Halftime in America” – I know that it’s going to polarise people, but don’t dismiss it. It’s not humorous, clever or shocking. It’s that most difficult of things – two minutes of pure copy-writing genius. Something that stirs the soul. And that’s not easy to do. Normally, it just ends up sounding like a hard-sell that would only get the internal audience to sit up. But this brings a tear to the eye and makes you want Detroit to live up to the promise. Lovely.

So, basically, some great car work – and some great dog ads. Not bad, all in all.

The journey of a ‘spark of an idea’ – W+K’s new Honda spot for the launch of the new Civic.

Lovely piece of copy writing…

“The unknown. Where all ideas start. It’s not an easy place to go, but keep going. Because you’ll always end up somewhere new. Isn’t that why we call it ‘the great unknown’?”

Loving the new Nike spot from W+K – rarely has footage been used for a new idea, but this achieves that and it does so brilliantly.

All in the name of the new Nike Fuelband, which is such a great little product that it’s already totally sold out.

Loving the new prequel to VW’s Super Bowl spot…

Find out more…

It’s been out a week at least, but if you’ve not seen this yet, here you go. Lovely little piece of film that lifts a health training message into something worth watching…

There’s a few more films on the YouTube channel that are interesting, although none with quite as much impact.

Vote now – right here. Personally, I’m glad to see VW winning it.

Rightly so, I say!

I’m curious to see how much response this gets, since it specifically calls out the hashtag “walkofshame”.
It’s got around 88k views at the moment – not all that bad for 4 days. The Sun has featured the ad. And there’s plenty of media world commentary. So, let’s see how much real sharing happens… I’ve tried (probably over-ambitiously) to embed a real-time twitter feed on it below. Let’s see whether that works and what responses are…

I know, I know. You’ve all seen it. The new John Lewis ad, that is. But that doesn’t make it any the less great.

Back on form, I’d say. Beautiful work. Beautiful idea. Nailed.

There’s been plenty of press around Coke’s upcoming shift to white cans and their action to support polar bears. Time ran a great piece on it, written on their blog…

“Perhaps it’s a measure of the company’s dedication to the environment that Coca-Cola has decided to change the color of its iconic cans for the holiday season—white, to draw attention to the plight of the polar bear. Coke and the environmental group World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have joined together to promote the Arctic Home project, which will involve turning 1.4 billion Coke cans white, emblazoned with the image of a mother polar bear and her cubs pawing through the Arctic. There will also be white bottle caps on other Coke branded drinks, all running from the beginning of November to February. “In 125 years we’ve never changed the color of the Coke can,” says Katie Bayne, president and GM of Coca-Cola Sparking Beverages. “We really see this as a bold gesture.” (Read More: Time Blog)

I love that they’ve gone from featuring polar bears in their ads (to huge success) – did you know,Coca-Cola’s first polar bear print advertisement appeared in France in 1922? I only do from reading it on their corporate site, but it was what prompted the original Northern Lights ad…

The site itself has just launched – over at arctichome.com – and it’s worth going for the intro video alone, which features some heart-warming polar bear footage and stunning shots of the arctic. Coke’s pledged a $1 million to match donations and you can donate independently.