Great game! Ads…well not so much. There were definitely some good ones in there but overall I found the lot pretty uninspiring.

I guess it just goes to prove, once again, that there is no direct relationship between money spent and creativity.

Here are my top 5 picks.

#1 Snickers- I found the use of Betty White and Abe Vigoda to be totally inspired. And what I liked as well was that this gag was not gratuitous. It highlighted the product’s energy benefit.

#2 Google- A beautiful story with the Google service as hero. My only one question mark here is whether it appealed to more casual watchers of the ads. You kind of had to really pay attention to follow the romantic story line. But very simple, elegant and Applesque.

#3 Doritos- “Don’t Touch My Mama”. Long after this one had passed the 8-10 year old boys in the room were still quoting this. My son even said the line to me first thing this morning. While some people might question the violence (slap) and use of a fresh kid, from my perspective it totally connected with the target audience. And again the product was somewhat the hero (at least as worth protecting as the mom!). The Doritos Tim ad was also quite inspired.

#4 Dodge- This ad definitely broke through the sea of completely uninspired car spots last night. The copy-writing was very funny appealing to both men and women in my focus group audience (about 15 friends) and unexpected from Dodge.  Hyundai Sonata on the other hand with it’s “Paint” ad, should have just saved it’s money.

#5 CareerBuilder.com- the no pants theme was played out in several ads last night (ex. Docker’s), but this one made me laugh and I thought the insight of needing to move on from a bad work environment was spot on.

Other honorable mentions: KGB (Sumo wrestling) , Denny’s (grand slam), Audi (green police), Kia Sorento (toys), Coca-cola (Simpson’s), Bud Light (the Lost parody).

I did not get the Vizio or GoDaddy ads at all. And E-Trade, I think it’s time to throw the babies out with the bathwater. These felt tired.

I also found the Budweiser Clydesdale’s spot too derivative of what they’ve done in the past. And while I commend Toyota on trying to use this uber platform to make things right with the consumer, they’ve got to re-think their tag-line of “Moving Forward”.  Moving forward even when you want to brake and can’t…you mean.

That’s my point of view. What’s your twist?

Which Super Bowl ads did you love and hate?

Do these Tiger golf balls cross the line?

These Tiger Woods Mistress golf balls hit the news yesterday and according to the media have at least one of his alleged former mistresses up in arms.

What do you think? Is this a harmless “novelty” product taking advantage of an outrageous scandal or do you agree that there’s something darker at play here? Do these promote violence against women?

Personally I think they cross the line. I have a hard time with the notion of hittin women’s faces -even if it’s done in “sport”.

Wondering  if they will sell and who will buy them.

What’s your twist?

Here’s a great story about the power of one person to brighten the day of so many others. It’s about Johnny, a supermarket bag boy, who decided to make a difference in his customer’s lives and inadvertently started a movement within his store.

Warning, put this on mute while watching. The story is told in screen titles and the music is so cloying it undermines the message a bit.

Thanks to a BrandTwist reader for sending this in. I think it’s a great simple reminder that there are so many easy ways to surprise and delight consumers if we just do like Johnny and put a little thought and heart into it.

That’s my point of view. What’s your twist?
What magical customer service touches have you implemented or experienced?

Yesterday I wrote about using Video to Spice Up Things Up  in your brand communications.

In response, one BrandTwist follower sent me this video from Gillette. It   gives how-to instructions for men on keeping their private parts well-groomed.

I think their phrase “When there’s no under-brush the tree looks taller” sums up the video’s message pretty well.

Video is not just for big brands on the Superbowl.

Even so-called “mundane” communciation can be spiced up with a little clever (and inexpensive) video play.

Here’s a great case in point. It’s a video from Image Premiums  a company that sells corporate premiums -products such as USB disks, t-shirts, water bottles, etc.

It’s worth a quick watch.

According to Oliver at Image Premiums the video took about 6 hours to make. It was shot in his friend’s basement via stop motion software that you can buy online for $50. The shoot took about 3 hours and the editing another 3.

I think it was time pretty well spent. It certainly got me to take a second look and it shows innovation and imagination on the part of the company.

That’s my point of view. What’s your twist?

How are you using video to spice up your brand communications?

This article in Today’s New York Times about Toyota’s slow response to a deadly problem literally made me sick to my stomach.

The terror that Highway patrol man must have felt as his car careened at 120 miles an hour is unthinkable.

Many brands go through a crisis at one point or another in their history. And it’s not so much what happens but how they react that the public remembers.

The stakes seem pretty high here and the reaction to such a deadly problem too slow.

Will this blow over with a bit of clever PR back tracking or is this just too much for Toyota to recover from?

I am interested in your twist.

How good are you at saying “No”?

In a recent post on What Would Make Women Happier, learning to say no more was ranked as number #9. Interestingly it didn’t make the top 10 for the men’s list.

Personally I struggle with this a lot. It’s just not in my nature to say no. I love to help people and give advice etc. But lately I feel a bit overwhelmed. And when I over commit and end up participating in things I just don’t have the time and energy for I feel worse because I can feel that resentment bubbling up and probably showing through. I am wondering how other BrandTwist readers (men and women) deal with this. Any advice on how decide when to say “no” and how to stick with it?

Unless you are living under a rock, you have no doubt seen Apple’s iPad launched yesterday.

I am in awe of the design and the user interface.  But as I fight off falling head over heels under the powerful Apple spell…I do have a few questions.

First, I am wondering what this is meant to replace. While it would be nice to imagine this will just grow the market, on a more practical level  I think at least for some people it will need to displace at least one of their current devices.

As my husband said, if I were to take this on the plane- what would I then leave at home?

My i-touch which allows me to watch TV and movies but also has the advantage of fitting in my purse?

My laptop which does double duty as a business tool?

My portable DVD player?

My Kindle? This seems like a pretty obvious replacement choice. But I don’t think the Kindle penetration is broad enough to really make this a viable market to go after.

I’m also wondering how you keep this clean/protected with no top.

I guess an accessories industry will quickly fill this gap- like it did with the Kindle.

I’m also not crazy about the name. Pad seems too flat and somewhat reminiscent of feminine protection. (Sorry guys, but I wonder if the women agree with me.) I had heard they almost went with i-Slate. I actually prefer that name. I love the contrast of something so primitive with a product that’s so obviously space age.

No doubt it will be a huge success…but I am still interested in your thoughts on these questions.

That’s my point of view. What’s your twist?

Will you be waiting in line to buy the new iPad?

Recently I was talking to some colleagues about New Year’s resolutions and one said his resolution was to try and not use any plastic bags in 2010.

This surprised me in that he isn’t the sort of person that you would readily identify as the “tree hugger” type. But then on further reflection I realized it actually made sense because the “plastic issue” seems to have gone pretty mainstream. I myself blogged about it last May in a post The Scarlett P.

I’ve made a few resolutions myself this New Year and most, I am happy to say, I am doing pretty well at keeping.

Except one.

The one that’s turning out to be the doozy is to drink less bottled water.

The problem is that my bottled water reduction goal seems to be in direct conflict with my other resolutions which are to lose weight and get more exercise.

My cupboard is cluttered with Sigg bottles and other plastic reusable water bottles. Some I’ve purchased, some I’ve gotten as various promos and give aways.

But none of these environmentally better solutions work for me as well as my bottled water.

None fit in my purse as well, are as leak proof, fit in the cup holder in the car or on the treadmill.

I guess I am turning out to be a classic example of someone who says they want to make better environmental choices, but won’t if it means sacrificing on product quality or experience.

I feel very badly about this…every morning as I continue to reach for my convenient (yet evil) bottle of Poland Spring.

That’s my point of view. What’s your twist?

Have you had similar issues keeping “green resolutions”?

As part of my New Year’s clean-up I went through piles of business cards, chucked those I didn’t think I’d ever need and filed the rest (semi) alphabetically in a big black binder.

The problem was a lot of them didn’t fit in the neat plastic folders that I’d bought at Staples.

Some were too big, others weird shapes and sizes. Others did fit, but when I tried to figure out where to file them it was so difficult to find the actual name. The cards were so cleverly designed that the basic information was getting lost.

It got me to thinking about what makes a good business card. I mentioned this to a BrandTwist reader and they sent me this video.

I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be serious or obnoxiously funny. But it makes an interesting point, perhaps inadvertently, about the importance of business cards as key media for communication about your brand and the unfortunate tendency of so many people to prioritize style over substance.

That’s my point of view. What’s your twist?
What good and bad business card examples can you share?