Super Bowl Hidden Gems

While many have complained about the lackluster range of advertising in this year's Super Bowl, we can't deny the fact that we are all still talking about it days later. And still watching news segments and reading tweets. Not many are still talking about the game itself, that's for sure.

There certainly were some standouts, like VW "The Force" and Chrysler's "Imported from Detroit". Plus we are still debating Groupon's campaign ... was it designed to spark conversation and raise charitable money or was it a tasteless joke gone awry? I am still not sure.

Reflecting back, there were some other memorable moments that I think went under the radar when compared to these other spots. I'd like to admire that work for a moment now too.

Perhaps none of us realized it, but the television show Glee was a big winner on Super Bowl Sunday too. The clever placement on Fox right after the game plus the constant promos throughout didn't hurt it a bit. This cult hit had its biggest night ever (it was a thriller), with a follow-up episode two nights later. Glee is hot, and so is the marketing. A tie-in with American Express and a cool new commercial created with Chevrolet woven right into the storyline on the show. I'm a gleek, I'll admit it ... "See the USA in a Chevrolet".

Speaking of Fox ... I have not heard much said about the promotions for the show House. Probably because it was a network promo, but the show had a very clever ad which channeled the infamous Coke commercial from 1979 featuring Mean Joe Green. If you know the House character, you know it was dead on.

Carmax. I definitely had car advertising overload, so while this spot from Carmax made me LOL on the spot, I soon forgot about it in all the whirlwind. I don't know if it'll do anything for the brand, but it's really creative and it makes me smile every time I see it. "I feel like a Carmax customer".

Did anyone catch The Daily? It's the world's first interactive tablet newspaper delivered to your tablet every day. Notice they said "tablet" and not "iPad". Made NYTimes look obsolete and got me to sign up, I can tell you that. Should give this struggling brand a big boost (plus I guess they fixed the iPad compatibility issue!).

Last but not least, Bud. I didn't really "get" much from this brand this year. It tends to all look the same. But one of the spots did make me chuckle, just because I'm a marketer (not a consumer). It was the one about product placement. An inside joke that I'm sure only a few of us even got, but I have to say I liked it.

I'm sure at some point we will all move on, but I for one am still enjoying watching the Super Bowl advertising and reading all the commentary. Any other hidden gems that you remember?

What's your experience? Jim.