One Year Ago: A Super Bowl Spots Rewind

Yes, it's that time of year again. Aside from the actual football game and a curiously chosen halftime performer, there's only one thing the Super Bowl can be counted on to deliver every year: Massively hyped TV spots aiming to make each brand the shining majestic sun that office water cooler chatter across America will revolve around for, like, at least a couple days. This year is no different.

Before we get all bloated on this year's batch of odes to consumerism (as well as an obscene amount of watery beer and wings), let take a cakewalk down commercial memory lane and check in on some of the highlights from Super Bowl XLI. Of course, for the completist, we have all the spots from XLI and 2006's XL.

We'll start things off with a few of the more controversial entries. First up is Snickers "Mechanics," which managed to offend both mouth-breathing rednecks and gay people. The client reacted to the subsequent "outrage" by pulling the ad.


Next is the "Robot" spot for General Motors by Deutsch, LA. The ad ended up being changed after the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention said it sent "dangerous and insensitive messages." CareerBuilder.com put their account in review after this series of ads failed to perform up to its standards in the USA Today Super Bowl poll. We actually liked them. "Please remove your shirt." There's nothing like that warm and fuzzy feeling you get deep inside after seeing how much this damn dog wants a beer. Beer is love. No one likes those afternoon doldrums. Everybody likes Robert Goulet (or at least anyone even remotely familiar with Gay Purr-ee). As with most rush hour traffic and family reunion communication, E*Trade used "One Finger" to get its message across. Garmin's "Maposaurus" splices Power Ranger visual inspiration with hair band musical taste. Here are the results. Chevy and Campbell-Ewald brought musical genres together in gas-guzzling harmony. And Saatchi & Saatchi, LA and Toyota went all out —sans special effects— to show just what these trucks can do.

To discuss this article, visit the Creativity Forums.