It's That Time of Year Again: Superbowl Sunday

     In 2010, the average 30 second spot for a Superbowl advertisement was approximately 2.7 million dollars. Ads ranged from food and beverage companies like Doritos and Coke, to car companies like Chrysler-dodge, Audi, and Volkswagen.  Just to give you a little background as to what I am referring to, I attached the embedded version of one of the 2010 Doritos snack commercials. 

     At least for my family, this commercial definitely did what it was supposed to do in regards to attracting the consumers attention. Not only did a tear come out of my eye as a result of excessive laughter, but I'm pretty sure my 14 year old brother wanted my Dad to go out and buy a bag of Doritos after he saw this. Although not appealing to all, there is definitely a target audience that this commercial hones in on. In my opinion, I would say that its targeted to males of all ages, males that are attracted to females, and males that like to snack, with a tone that is definitely witty, sarcastic, and outright hysterical.

    In 2011, the average 30 second commercial slot actually increased. This year, there was an average cost of 3 million dollars (with a slight increase of .3 million). Looking at a commercial with a different tone, I really enjoyed the 2011 Chrysler advertisement about importing automobiles from Detroit. Marshall Mathers, known to modern day society as 'Eminem,' said "This is the motor city and this is what we do"in reference to the production of cars in Detroit. The tone of this commercial is one that is almost dark, gloomy, reflective, yet also inspiring. I loved the way they incorporated Detroit into the automobile commercial because I don't think Detroit has been getting the credit that it deserves recently. Especially with all that has occurred during the economic crisis, this commercial shows that "detroit is not dead" and how it can still be promising. 

     I loved the way they played Eminem's song at the end of the commercial, "8-mile," which takes place in Detroit, and the way they pan the camera onto the car as it's emerging onto the highway with the quote "The Chrysler 200 has arrived" dissolving on the screen. Seeing this helped bolster the message Chrysler was trying to convey to the consumers. I thought this commercial did a good job in amalgamating local elements with broader elements that would normally attract a local interest; this commercial also appeals to a larger audience outside of Detroit as well. When I watched the Superbowl XLV ads, I did my best to focus on how the creators of these advertisements were trying to lure me in to their product (specifically how they depicted the products, the tones at which they were set, and the overall setting in which they were filmed). 

     What were your favorite Superbowl Ads for 2011? Do you think the ads did a good job isolating their target audiences? I think for this Superbowl more than any other, I was especially critical of the ads because of our discussions in class on advertisements and their effects on consumers.