The Real Super Bowl Winners And Losers, According To An Agency Exec

I know I know, you’re sick of the Super Bowl, but let’s ditch the data and take one last look at the spots through the eyes of a creative. TVREV recently sat down with Big Block, a creative agency that produces ads for brands like Under Armour, Ford and Geico, to discuss the recent Super Bowl spots. The company also has partnerships with the NFL, MLB, NBA and ESPN, so when it comes to appealing to sports fans, it’s safe to say they have their finger on the pulse. Here are 10 of the most memorable brands/ spots (good or bad) from Seven Volpone, CEO at Big Block.

1. Avocados From Mexico: this is exactly what a Super Bowl spot should be. It's over the top, funny as hell, and based on a simple truth - you need chips for guacamole. And come on, using Chris Elliot the way they did, that's just brilliant. 10/10

2. Alexa Loses Voice: an excellent use of humor and extremely well written. Does a good job of bringing some personality to Amazon and reminds us that Alexa may not be perfect but she is the best alternative at the moment! (the appearance by Bezos is smart and he is solid on camera). Great idea. 9.5/10

3. Wendy's: taking on McDonald's straight on in a factual manner is both bold and smart as hell. No nonsense straight ahead comparison. Nothing fancy here but it is effective and isn't that the point? 9/10

4. Kia Stinger: this is a perfect example of how brands and their creative agencies overthink super bowl spots and drop the ball. The Stinger is a sick car - really amazing, but instead of focusing on the product they focus on 69-year-old Steven Tyler driving backwards to go back in time to "feel something again?" Huh? Are they really suggesting he lost something? Confusing. BTW, how old is the target for this ultra-fast car? It can’t be Steven’s because they're too old to “run on down” for a test drive.  I bet after they see the sales numbers from this ad the brand is going to wish they could drive backwards and start this spot over again. 5/10

5. Toyota Good Odds: it’s shooting fish in a barrel to make a Super Bowl spot that tugs at the heartstrings, so seeing this kind of work is expected. Of course it’s very well done and makes us all feel selfish for caring so much about a silly football game. Can’t avoid the fact that it all still works - powerful stuff. 8/10

6. Bud Light - Pep Talk: “I'm gonna level with you guys, we're out of Bud Light..." - very funny line expertly delivered by an actor who was perfectly cast as the King. The "Dilly Dilly" series of spots has returned Bud Light to pop culture. That's all that matters. 8/10.

7. Stella: this is an effective way to reposition the brand in the mind of consumers, much better than Budweiser's spot that is also about water. Bud's seems forced and self-serving where Stella's seems sincere. I don't feel like they even need Matt Damon anymore for this stuff. 8/10

8. Sprint: very clever use of topical, culturally relevant themes like AI to make a point. Humorous ending provides the perfect closing moment. Humans are so dumb! 8/10

9. Squarespace: This is an epic fail. If I have to go to your website to find out what the hell you're trying selling me then I don’t want it! Plus who are you trying to fool here? Are you really trying to make us believe that Keanu Reeves is sitting around making his own website? I don’t think so! That is probably his intern, who by the way would have done a better job making this commercial! 5/10

10. New York Giants: The timing and delivery were perfect, the moves were choreographed with precision- Manning connected with Beckham to win another Super Bowl, this time as an ad for the NFL. The league should learn from the success of this ad-- while I applaud the Play 60 ads and the NFLPA efforts to promote community, it would be smart branding to illustrate another key product differentiator for the league: fun.