Super Bowl Auto Ads: Where's The Buzz?

It wasn't just Dolphins Stadium that left people feeling all wet Sunday: the auto ads were largely forgettable. From Ford's F-series Super Duty to Honda's fuel efficiency message, the auto ads were, in my opinion, largely forgettable.

Granted, advertising on Super Sunday is usually a losing proposition. Media hype, the incredible cost of buying time, and the fact that so many people are watching sets unrealistic expectations for companies running commercials. Still, as Cadillac showed us a few years back with the "breakthrough" spots featuring Led Zeppelin music, the auto companies can make a splash on Super Sunday. But what we saw during the pre-game and the Super Bowl this time were fairly unremarkable.

Ford's F-Series Super Duty with parts of the pickup flying in together neither inspired nor captivated me.

Honda's fuel-efficient spot late in the game didn't do much for me either.

Perhaps the best was Chevy's student-made spot, showing men stripped to the underwear giving the HHR a "spot cleaning" on a city street. It was creative, humorous, and frankly, a breath of fresh air for Chevy.

In the end, the automakers gave us a Super Bowl Sunday of ads that simply did not move me. No shame there. Hey, there was little in the game that I and other Chicagoans were crazy about watching.

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