Best part of Super Bowl Sunday? Besides the awesome guac, Madonna's lip-synced halftime show and the well-deserved victory for the Giants ... the commercials, of course!
Although this year's commercials were — in my opinion — subpar compared to previous years, a few stood out that made me want to do a few things, like turn off the game and pop in the "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" DVD.
This year, companies spared no expense on marketing to over 111 million viewers; just a 30-second spot on one of the country's most watched television programs cost advertisers an average of $3.5 million.
What's different this year is that a few companies jumped the gun and posted some of the commercials on YouTube a week before. Think it ruins the surprise? Maybe, but these prematurely posted videos have already racked up millions of views and rebloggings.
Honda got all nostalgic on us with "Matthew's Day Off." Matthew Broderick, THE Ferris Bueller, plays hooky from work and in good taste goes to an amusement park, attends a baseball game, ponders at a museum, eats at a fancy-shmancy restaurant and yes, even sings in a parade, all while cruising around in his CR-V with a "SOCHOIC" license plate. The video has racked up nearly 13.5 million views.
Volkswagen, the defending champion from 2011 whose ad starring the adorable Darth Vader kid got 50 million views, returns with The Dog Strikes Back, where an out-of-shape dog gets inspired to slim down after seeing the new, "masculine" VW Beetle pass by. In a cute twist, the Vader kid, now all grown up, makes an appearance at the end. The ad might have not topped its predecessor, but it has a deserving 9 million views.
Coming up with 17 million views is Acura's "Transactions." Comedian Jerry Seinfeld bribes his way to the first sporty Acura NSX with the Soup Nazi and a Manhattan zip line, only to be robbed at the end by late-night king Jay Leno.
A few other worthy honorable mentions: Kia's "A Dream Car. For Real Life." with Motley Crue, Chuck Liddell and Adriana Lima; Toyota's "It's Reinvented" and Chevy's hysterical "Happy Grad."
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