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In Times of War

So I receive, among other things, a weekly email with all the Advertising headlines from the New York Times. This week's email headline made me giggle: Any Fresher, and it Might be Banned in Boston.

Anyway. I thought one of this week's stories was interesting...

Super Bowl Ads of Cartoonish Violence, Perhaps Reflecting Toll of War
by Stewart Elliott

No commercial that appeared last night during Super Bowl XLI directly addressed Iraq, unlike a patriotic spot for Budweiser beer that ran during the game two years ago. But the ongoing war seemed to linger just below the surface of many of this year’s commercials.

More than a dozen spots celebrated violence in an exaggerated, cartoonlike vein that was intended to be humorous, but often came across as cruel or callous.

For instance, in a commercial for Bud Light beer, sold by Anheuser-Busch, one man beat the other at a game of rock, paper, scissors by throwing a rock at his opponent’s head.

In another Bud Light spot, face-slapping replaced fist-bumping as the cool way for people to show affection for one another. In a FedEx commercial, set on the moon, an astronaut was wiped out by a meteor. In a spot for Snickers candy, sold by Mars, two co-workers sought to prove their masculinity by tearing off patches of chest hair.

There was also a bank robbery (E*Trade Financial), fierce battles among office workers trapped in a jungle (CareerBuilder), menacing hitchhikers (Bud Light again) and a clash between a monster and a superhero reminiscent of a horror movie (Garmin).

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Here's something fun - a look at Super Bowl ads through the ages.

Labels: Advertising, Stuff I Found Online

posted by Lindsay @ 8:39 AM