Tag Archives: Super Bowl

‘Super Bowl 50’ commercial & movie trailer round-up inside

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I’ll just come out and say it: this year’s Super Bowl, commercials and all, was a snoozer. The Big Game, which pitted the Carolina Panthers against the Denver Broncos, was not a very exciting matchup to begin with and unfortunately the players on the field couldn’t manage to muster any memorable moments. Peyton Manning, backed by an impressive defensive unit, ended up beating Cam Newton and the Panthers, 24-10.

The hype, however, remained omnipresent throughout the game. Lady Gaga started things off on the right note with a strikingly beautiful rendition of our National Anthem (watch it here). At halftime, Coldplay stormed the field to play some tunes (new and old), with much needed assistance by Beyoncè and Bruno Mars. Don’t get me wrong–I’m a massive Coldplay fan; they simply didn’t own the night as Queen Bey and her “Formation” ladies and Mars and his “Uptown Funk” gang stole the spotlight. I was looking for Left Shark to make a reprise; turns out he did. Wah wahh.

Despite the relatively boring game and equally lackadaisical commercials (more on those in a moment), a whopping 111.9 million people tuned into the Super Bowl last night. As big as that number is, it’s not a record-breaker. Last year’s SB, in which the New England Patriots triumphed over the Seattle Seahawks, attracted 114.4 million and that game remains the most watched telecast in U.S. history.

Super Bowl 50 also couldn’t live up to last year’s Super Bowl ads. Instead of being funny and relevant, they were trying too hard to “go viral.” A prime example is the bizarre “puppymonkeybaby” as featured in Mountain Dew’s commercial that aired early in the game. It went instantly viral (it remained a top trending topic on Twitter all night), but ultimately failed to capture my imagination–it was just plain stupid. Across the board, this year’s ads simply did not live up to last year’s actually funny, emotional, and sometimes poignant clips. Nevertheless, let’s take a look at my favorite spots all the while keeping in mind that these companies paid $5 million for 30 seconds of fame! Continue reading ‘Super Bowl 50’ commercial & movie trailer round-up inside →

Super Bowl XLIX: the emotionally-charged commercials and buzzy trailers inside!

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Despite a last-second reception that will go down in history as one of the best, the Seattle Seahawks lost to the New England Patriots in an exciting, nail-biting Super Bowl that ended with a final score of 28-24. Now that the game’s over, instead of analyzing Russell Wilson’s downright barbaric decision to throw the ball instead of run it into the end zone for an easy touchdown, let’s take a look at some of the most memorable commercials that aired between the gameplay. A whole bunch of them, including the buzziest movie and TV trailers, are posted after the break.

Update (2/2): NBC and the advertisers who shelled out $4.5 million for a 30-second spot have reason to celebrate today just as much as the Pats did last night. The final tally is in and a record 114.4 million people tuned into the big game. So many eyeballs; somebody do the math. This makes Super Bowl XLIX the most watched telecast in U.S. history. Bam. Continue reading Super Bowl XLIX: the emotionally-charged commercials and buzzy trailers inside! →

Conan invites Marshawn Lynch & Rob Gronkowski to compete in ‘Mortal Kombat X’ ahead of Super Bowl XLIX

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The Super Bowl is just a day away, and to stoke the proverbial fire, late night host Conan O’Brien pitted competitors Marshawn “Beast Mode” Lynch of the Seattle Seahawks and Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski of the New England Patriots against each other in an epically hilarious Mortal Kombat X showdown. The next-gen MK title doesn’t drop until April, but luckily Conan was able to get his hands on it for his “Clueless Gamer” segment; if you haven’t watched these, ahem, video game reviews you’re sorely missing out. This latest installment featuring NFL heavyweights duking it out before Sunday’s big game is an instant classic. Plus, MKX pushes the violence to a whole ‘nother level (fair warning!) and it looks incredible. Enjoy!

Super Bowl XLVIII: the commercials and the trailers

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It was a blowout today as the Seattle Seahawks crushed the Denver Broncos 43-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII. And now that it’s over let’s check out my favorite commercials that aired during the telecast–it’s tradition after all and it’s all after the break. Alternatively, you can view all the spots on YouTube.

Update: The data is in and whaddya know–this year’s Super Bowl is another record breaker becoming the most-watched U.S. telecast of all time. A grand total of 111.5 million people tuned into the football matchup just beating the previous record-holding telecast that was the 2012 Super Bowl; that one attracted 111.34 million viewers. Continue reading Super Bowl XLVIII: the commercials and the trailers →

Super Bowl XLVII: the not quite record ratings and the commercials

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Power outage and all, Super Bowl XLVII proved to be an exciting game after all. Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens dominated the game early on and the San Fransisco 49ers used the approximately 35 minutes of dark downtime to reenergize and make an unexpected comeback that nearly ended the game in their favor. When the fourth quarter came to a close, however, it was the domineering Ravens and MVP Flacco on top besting the 49ers 34 to 31.

Unlike previous years, last night’s Super Bowl did not break ratings records to become the most watched telecast in history. 108.41 million people tuned into the big game making it the third most watched TV program behind Super Bowl XLVI (111.3 million) and Super Bowl XLV (111 million). (And if you’re curious, the hyped post-Super Bowl episode of Elementary attracted 20.8 million viewers with a 7.8 rating in the 18-49 demo. These numbers are huge for the CBS freshman procedural, but they do not match the 37.6 million viewers that tuned into The Voice‘s post-game telecast last year.) Maybe we’ll see another record-breaking explosion in eyeballs next year?

Moving onto the ‘mericals. This year companies had to fork over a whopping four million dollars for a 30-second spot. I’ve posted a bunch of my personal favorites after the break, including those from Volkswagon, Oreos, Doritos, and Taco Bell and trailers for anticipated movies like Iron Man 3 (see the extended cut!), Star Trek, and Fast and Furious 6. You can rewatch nearly all of them at YouTube’s Ad Blitz center. Which are your favorites? Continue reading Super Bowl XLVII: the not quite record ratings and the commercials →

Super Bowl XLVI: The Commercials! [Update: record ratings]

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It’s a fact: there is a giant segment of people out there who watch the Super Bowl every year for one reason and one reason only: for the commercials. Companies like Anheuser Busch and E*Trade think up of ways to capture the wild imaginations of the public and deep way down their pockets to score spots between all the football action. This year a 30-second spot costs companies on average $3.5 million! In the end it’s all about attracting eyeballs and that’s what the Super Bowl spectacle does best. Last year a record-breaking 111 million viewers tuned into the game. And with a matchup like the Patriots versus the Giants this year’s viewership is bound to jump even higher.

With the world watching and so much money spent, this year’s commercials are expected to go above and beyond what we’ve ever seen before. Prior to the big game, companies have released teasers and even full-length ads that will be aired on Sunday. The two most popular ones so far have been Honda’s Ferris Bueller-inspired spot and Volkswagen’s Star Wars-themed “The Bark Side” starring a collection of dogs barking the Imperial March. Watch these now after the break.

Following the game on Sunday, check back here to revisit your favorite Super Bowl 46 commercials. They will all be embedded after the break!

Update: The game is over (the Giants beat the Patriots, YEAH!) and the most buzzed about commercials are posted after the break, along with the theatrical trailers that aired (Avengers, anyone?).

Update 2: What did I tell yah? A whopping 111.3 million people tuned into the Super Bowl yesterday, topping last year’s viewership (111 million) to become the most watched program in TV history. Continue reading Super Bowl XLVI: The Commercials! [Update: record ratings] →

This year’s Super Bowl is now the most-watched show, ever

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Does that post title sound familiar? Well that’s because you saw it last year right around this time.  Super Bowl XLV attracted 111 million viewers last night, besting last year’s viewership of 106.5 million people to become the most-watched program in TV history. In case you were wondering, the M*A*S*H series finale had already been dethroned by Super Bowl XLIV since it attracted a slightly smaller audience in 1983 (106 million). Super Bowl viewership has climbed every year since 2005 and this year’s marks the fourth consecutive “big game” to set a viewership record. And as Deadline points out, last night FOX became the first network to exceed 100 million viewers (100.9 million) for a night of primetime. Impressive stuff.

And how did the post-Super Bowl Glee episode fare in ratings? Compared to previous years, not that great. Glee garnered 26.8 million viewers, significantly less than what the series premiere of Undercover Boss received last year on CBS (38.7 million). However it did manage to best NBC’s The Office from two years ago (22.9 million). Comparisons aside, this was unmistakably the highest rated Glee episode to date and the most watched scripted series since 2005’s post-Bowl House episode (29 million viewers). Taking a look at the big picture, Glee attracted the third largest audience for a post-Super Bowl scripted series in the past twelve years after a 2006 Grey’s Anatomy (37.9 million) and the aforementioned House ep.

Too bad the commercials and half-time show were nothing to call home about. Needless to say, history was made last night…again.

[Via Deadline]

Super Bowl XLV commercials

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This shouldn’t be much of a surprise, but #BrandBowl was trending right next to #SuperBowl in the Twittersphere during the big game today.  While the sports-loving percentage of the country kept their minds focused on the Packers and Steelers, the rest of us admittedly didn’t care so much for the game and instead invested our time in watching the commercials placed neatly between timeouts and end of quarters.  As you know, companies spend millions of dollars for a 30-second spot during the most watched (sporting) event on TV.  So how did they fare this year?  All in all they were alright; nothing wildly spectacular caught my attention but they were definitely some stand outs worth mentioning and watching again.  From beer to cars to Doritos, tech, and movie trailers–it’s all after the break for you to peruse. Continue reading Super Bowl XLV commercials →

A brand new Angry Birds game based on ‘Rio’ animated flick coming soon [Update: Super Bowl embedded code]

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App developer Rovio has teamed up with 20th Century Fox to put together a new Angry Birds game for iOS and Android.  Following the original Angry Birds and Seasons games, this new installment is inspired by the upcoming Fox animated feature Rio (watch a trailer for it here).  Angry Birds Rio will pack 45 new levels, increased graphics performance, and “a few new twists.”  Future updates will add more levels.  Look out for the app to hit iOS, Android, and Symbian app stores this March, ahead of Rio‘s April 15 theatrical release.

And if you you didn’t know, Team Rovio is currently developing an animated TV series based on the Angry Birds universe.  After watching this trailer for the Rio-inspired game I cannot wait to see what they come up with for the show.  Who needs dialogue when you’ve got furious birds yelling and slimy green pigs snorting?

Update: It’s been revealed that during the Super Bowl 20th Century Fox will air a 30-second commercial promoting Rio that features an embedded code, the first of its kind.  The secret code will be inserted into a single frame of the ad.  When it’s entered into the Angry Birds app a new level will be unlocked and it will enter players into a Rio sweepstakes.  Winners will attend the animated flick’s world premiere in Rio de Janeiro on March 22. That also happens to be the day Angry Birds Rio hits the App Store, in case you were wondering.

[Via Nerdist; UnwiredView; Reuters]

Black Eyed Peas will rock the Super Bowl halftime show into the future

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BEP’s frontman will.i.am confirmed to Rolling Stone that rock-and-roll/future-flow group will perform live at Super Bowl XLV during the halftime show.  “They could have picked anybody…but it says something that they picked us,” will told the magazine.  Not only is this good promotion for the group (The Beginning releases November 30 and a worldwide tour is planned), but it also means I’ll have a reason to tune into the halftime show this year!  Super Bowl XLV will be played in Dallas, Texas on February 6, 2011.

[Via RollingStone]

This year’s Super Bowl is now the most-watched show in U.S. history

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On Sunday Super Bowl XLIV was crowned the most-watched show in U.S. history.  Averaging 106.5 million viewers, this year’s Super Bowl dethrones M*A*S*H, the previous record holder that garnered 106 million viewers during its two-hour series finale in 1983.  M*A*S*H star Alan Alda has this to say about the loss of such a coveted record: “I’m happy for New Orleans. I want to see that city come out first in every way that it can, even if it means giving up a record that M*A*S*H held for a long time.”  With M*A*S*H out of the way, TV viewers and analysts now have Super Bowl XLVI as a new comparison to look at when discussing most-watched television programs.

In related Super Bowl news…want to know which ad people liked most?  According to the USA TODAY ad meter, Snickers’ ad with Betty White and Abe Vigoda getting pushed around in the mud playing football earned the top spot.  The ad meter panel gave the Snickers commercial a rating of 8.68 out of 10.  Lesson learned?  People like watching old people playing rough sports.  Missed out on the commercials?  Check out a bunch of ’em here.

[Via NYT; AC]