Whoa Whoa Whoa. Stop right there.

In defense of my future place of employment :), which happens to have a number of amazing spots running this year :D, I'd like to voice my own opinions on the superbowl spots leaked so far (for now, only the ones pertaining to Chiat). And, for those who are going to leave comments about this being my first post...well, I know you're gonna do it.

#1- Pepsi vs. Coke

Coke Heist
"Oooh, I'm a Coke! Look how sweet I am!" (obviously literally so, because all the bugs in the world want me. Oh, and they happen to be cute and sweet, too. All they want is a sweet waterfall to play in, afterall...aww, can't you relate to them?) NO! WHO'S IDEA WAS IT TO USE THE BUGS?!

Here's what I have against them:

1. I don't care if you are a cute bug. I don't want to associate what I eat or drink with you.
2. How do these cutesy bugs relate to the horrible tagline, "Open happiness"?! I've made a new tagline for you, here it goes--"My Coke brings all the bugs to the yard."
3. Stemming off of that- what about this is supposed to make you happy? The man is being robbed. They make it seem like he didn't mind the butterflies' distraction, but they had to edit out the part where he cursed like a sailor and went to go buy some bug spray.

verdict: over-production and theme-park music.

Coke Avatar
It's all in the name.

They used Avatars. In an attempt to sell soda. Wait, avatars can sell something? Last time I checked, they represented the likes of WoW users. From what I can gather, Coke is trying to position themselves as the "hip" drink for guys like this one who have befriended a scary, ogre-looking girl on the internet who is in reality just a girl with self-esteem issues, and now they can be nerdy and drink coke together because they finally got over their issues and out of the house. Cheers!

Good for them. But I bet they still do the macarena like Dr. Evil.

verdict: Warning: crappy tagline like "Open happiness" may result in spots resembling nightmares in which armies of thieving bugs are everywhere, your friends turn into hunchbacked zombies, and the only thing left in the world to drink is Coke.


Pepsi Refresh Anthem
Seamless in its' reinvention and back with a bang.

Pepsi has emerged in the last month as the people's cola- and this couldn't come at a better time. Following the brand's modern packaging redesign, "Refresh everything" debuted on New Year's Eve, and continued with a heavy showing at the Inauguration, which included this this spirited spot. I don't think anything needs to be said about the campaign's latest installation, except it will be a favorite for the big game.

Pepsi's not bluffing. The campaign consists of a strong interactive component, where they are creating a dialogue (and ultimately, Pepsi drinkers) by encouraging the citizens of the interweb to post videos including their questions and expectations for Obama's presidency. Pepsi will soon act as the voice of the people (Score!) and publish an open letter to our country's new administration. Also, Will Arnett will be hosting a live Super Bowl Party during the game at Refresheverything.com. I'll admit I was not too impressed with the attemps to be funny in the teaser videos, but nevertheless, I plan to tune in to see what it will offer.

verdict: This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Pepsi Max I'm Good and Ingredients
Everyone should be applauding the Planners here.

"The first diet cola for men." Hellooo?! It's brilliant. And where better to debut the campaign than the Super Bowl? This soda was meant to be marketed to men. It's got 0 calories, ginseng (by nature a guy's supplement) and more caffeine (guys are heavy on energy drink consumption). DING DING DING! It's Disruption at its best.

The campaign does not use sex appeal. Instead, it speaks directly to a target market which is virtually untapped in its category. And it does that well. Case and point.

verdict: Too strong for women, because it's meant for a man.

#2- Pedigree

Crazy Pets
So, obviously, this is personal.

The idea for this spot was among many others, most of which pulled at the heartstrings and would surely bring the happiness and excitement of viewers watching the big game down a notch. What brand wants to be the downer? Keeping with the brand image, they created a lighthearted, funny spot where the benefits (of having a dog) were kept in the forefront.

This spot, urging viewers to take action ("you should get a dog"), serves as an introduction to the 2009 Adoption drive, which will be the brand's biggest yet. Look out for those spots coming out soon. My unbiased and objective opinion is that they are GREAT.

verdict: I'm for dogs, they're for dogs, we're for dogs.

So there they are, my first reviews of SuperBowlXLIII. Gatorade coming soon.
GO CHIAT!