What a game — not even a decant of “Our Father’s” could help the Patriots snatch Super Bowl XLVI (that’s 46 for the Roman-numeral challenged) from the Giants. Eli Manning gave Tom Brady a gift touchdown before the second half, and then toyed with the Pats for the whole third quarter. After a little nail-biting and with just minutes left, the Giants Ahmad Bradshaw, number 44, grabbed the pigskin and sat his way into history. In the end, Tom Brady’s Hail Mary tumbled through outstretched arms and to the ground, garnering only penance instead of the win.
Madonna gave the crowd what they wanted — a medley of her hits without a wardrobe malfunction, but halftime wouldn’t be complete without one glitch: NBC not bleeping M.I.A.’s middle finger at the end of “Give Me All Your Luvin.” Oh well — better an expletive than Cee-Lo Green’s nipple.
Now on to more important stuff my annual roundup of the Super Bowl commercials. As you know, I only mention commercials that premiered during the big game, so I’m not counting them Matthew Broderick paying homage to himself in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” Volkswagen’s dieting dog and Darth Vader; and Vampires up in smoke thanks to Audi’s head-lights.
So here’s my top-10 picks of commercials that got the most chuckles per $3.5–$4 million spot:
• E-trade: An baby speed dates in a hospital’s nursery. An interesting twist at the end.
• Doritos: Man’s Best Friend and Sling Baby. I couldn’t decide which one was funnier but I’m sure PETA and Child Services will be out in force for both.
• Chevy Silverado and the apocalypse to the tune of Barry Manilow’s “Looks like We Made it.” Pick-up trucks and Twinkies — what a commentary on survival of the fittest.
• Pepsi: Elton John keeps Flavor Flav in the basement. So weird on so many levels.
• M&Ms: “Just my shell.” Mmmmm. What can one say about stripping M&Ms?
• KIA: Can the Sandman dump his bucket of dreams for me too?
• Careerbuilder.com: Making a monkey out of humans. Dr. Zaius would be proud.
• Bud Light: Weego the rescue dog. Animal activists will be up in arms.
• Chevy : Best gift ever. What boy doesn’t want a brand new flashy yellow sporty kind of car?
• Acura NSX: I felt as bad for Jerry Seinfeld losing out to Jay Leno as I did for the Patriots losing out to the Giants — NOT!
Like last year, the auto industry dominated with big over the top ads, but I guess they still needed to show how well the bail out worked.
Not for nuthin, there’s nothing like watching America’s favorite pastime and viewing commercials for gas-guzzling, rubber-burning chariots that go from 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds, all while enjoying buffalo wings, chips, a cold Sam Adams, and family to make a SuperBowl super.
And the winner is … Joanna's favorite Super Bowl commercial.rhttp://youtu.be/WUFSHzT2xuYrReach reporter Joanna DelBuono at jdelbuono@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-2523.
