If you're a regular DFW.com reader, you know we love telling stories in NCAA-style brackets. (That's actually how we picked the name of our first kid!)
So naturally, when the annual discussion of Super Bowl ads came up this year, we couldn't resist seeding our favorites into a Sweet 16 of Super Bowl ads.
Despite all the hype surrounding them and the millions spent on them, very few Super Bowl ads are classics. But some instantly come to mind, like MacIntosh's groundbreaking 1984, and Coke's Mean Joe Greene. Still, it took some head-scratching -- and a little bit of digging -- before we narrowed our field to 16.
Among them you'll find classics but also some recent ads, such as that hilarious Snickers commercial featuring Betty White and Volkswagen's The Force. And, of course, no bracket would be complete without at least a few Budweiser commercials.
Wassup!!!
As with any bracket, some deserving teams got left out. Call them the Bubble ads. But much like in the NFL, not every 8-8 team can make the playoffs (sorry, Cowboys fans).
In Round 1, we had a couple of minor upsets: EDS' Cat Herder beat McDonald's Showdown, which features Larry Bird and Michael Jordan playing an epic game of "horse" with a Big Mac at stake. (The horse game takes much longer than it would for these guys to scrape up some dresser change and buy a Big Mac -- or for that matter, a few McDonald's franchises.) And the upset we expected -- 10th-seeded Budweiser Frogs beating seventh-seeded Wendy's Where's the Beef -- didn't happen. But heavyweights like Apple's 1984 and Coca-Cola's Mean Joe Greene moved on without much debate among our crack team of judges. (If you say bracket in the DFW.com offices, people come running.)
In Round 2, we got into a bit of a catfight. Some of us really love EDS' Cat Herders. The site of a rugged cowboy showing off his latest cat scratch makes us laugh out loud every time. But the Ridley Scott-directed 1984 prevailed just for the sheer gravity of that commercial, which was only show twice on TV, once during the Super Bowl.
Clara Peller and her crochety catchphrase: "Where's the Beef!" were no match for Mean Joe and his adoring, Coke-carrying fan (Tommy Okon). In a mild upset, the No. 3-seeded Betty White Snickers commercial was upended by Budweiser's Wassup. We love Betty, but we love the guys who are just "watching the game, having a Bud." True. And while we were moved by the Clydesdale's 9/11 Respect ad, last year's Volkswagen The Force just was undeniable, especially for Star Wars/Darth Vader fans.
The Final Four was brutal: 1984 vs. Wassup and Mean Joe vs. The Force. But in the end, our judges veered toward the football-themed ads, catapulting Bud's Wassup into a championship showdown with Mean Joe.
And if you don't like our winner, well ... Whazzuppp!!!
You can vote for your favorites online at DFW.com, where you can view all the ads. Have a great Super Bowl Sunday.
Robert Philpot, 817-390-7872
Twitter: @rphilpot
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