the buzz log

The Super Bowl isn't just about the game. It's about the commercials and either marveling at their cleverness or audibly sighing at their lameness ('They spent three million bucks to air that'). A slew of papers and blogs reviewed and ranked the ads, and, not surprisingly, no two opinions are the same. Here are five of the more 'buzzy' ads that drew strong reactions, one way or the other.

Pepsuber!
Based on a "Saturday Night Live" skit, this ad featured MacGruber (a parody of TV's MacGyver) demanding to be called "Pepsuber" before he'll defuse a bomb that's about to blow him and several others (including the real MacGyver) to smithereens. It made absolutely no sense, but, darn it, it sure was catchy. Lesson: Love of Pepsi can be a dangerous thing.

Budweiser's Horse Saga
Here's a series of ads that seemed to divide the critics. The New York Times wrote the ad about a relationship between a Clydesdale and a circus horse "tugged at the heartstrings." The Times also applauded another spot featuring the horse immigrating to America. Other opinions varied, including this one from the slightly cynical Consumerist. Lesson: Budweiser is American and proud of it (even if it is owned by a Belgian brewer, In Bev).

Meet the new "Mean Joe"
Troy Polamalu starred in one of the biggest ads of the day. A parody of the iconic "Mean Joe Green" ad from the 1970s, this one featured Polamalu accepting a Coke Zero from a young fan only to be interrupted by two annoying lawyer-types. Long story short: Polamalu tackles one of the guys, rips off his shirt, and gives it to a confused kid. Everybody's happy. Lesson: The original ad was a bit schmaltzy, but it worked. Coke knew better than to try that trick twice.

Did somebody say "free"?
It wasn't the cleverest ad of the night, but the commercial from Denny's did have something no other ad could offer: a free breakfast. The ad, which announced that Denny's will be serving customers a free "Grand Slam" breakfast this Tuesday from 6AM to 2PM, set off an avalanche of searches. Queries on "dennys locations" and "where is dennys" both skyrocketed. Lesson: Creative is important, but most people would just want free bacon.

Snow globe sees the future.
USA Today's Ad Meter ranks the Super Bowl commercials based on "second-by-second feedback" from a group of panelists. One of their favorites? The Doritos ad that featured a snow globe, office angst, and some good ol' fashioned crotch-humor. Lesson: Sex sells, but so does watching men get hit in the groin with hard objects.