Year in and year out, the Super Bowl is consistently viewed as a premium place to market various products and services. Commercials set to air during the game are always expensive. This year the cost of a 30-second spot costs $3 million, up from $2.7 million last year. We could argue all day about the value of that 30-second spot, some may even say the cost is too high, despite the number of viewers the ad could reach. Yet we still hear about these Super Bowl commercials, and the commercials are almost as much of an event as the game itself. Movie studios love to use the big game as a way to preview their big summer releases. Each year, we see trailers and t.v. spots developed just for airing during the game. Look at last year: the first big release of the year was Iron Man, and many credits the t.v. spot created specifically to generate buzz for the then relatively unknown character. The movie went on to make boatloads of money, something very few could’ve predicted when plans for the film were originally announced. Whether or not you feel like an ad during the game can be credited for the success of Iron Man, you can expect studios to make that assumption. So this year, we can expect to see numerous new trailers and spots for the many “big time” films to be released this summer. I’m watching the game for you (and for me, I am a football fan too) and I will bring to you analysis of the movie-related spots. The spots that have hit the web will be posted along with the analysis. If you missed your chance to see all the new footage, this is for you. Enjoy!
G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra
18 to 35-year-olds all across the U.S. will be eagerly awaiting the release of this film. It will serve as the realization of so many people’s childhood dreams. Yes, many men spent their formative years setting up epic battles with their favorite “Joe’s.” So the movie would come with high expectations for the action sequences, and from the look of this spot, we won’t be disappointed in that regard. The spot shows off some pretty exciting shots, and a good deal of the heroes. Some may consider the action generic, but not me. This spot has only made me want to see this movie even more! Enjoy the spot below:
Angels and Demons
The next featured spot was for the follow up to Tom Hanks’ hit The DaVinci Code, Angels and Demons. If you have seen the original film, or better yet read the novel on which it is based, you would be familiar with the controversial story being told. Without saying too much, the major (and controversial) players here are the Pope and the Vatican, and the mysterious Illuminati. The novels written by Dan Brown are far better than what the first movie turned out to be, and what Angels and Demons appears to be from the look of the t.v. spot. Check it out below:
Year One
The first comedy to showcase its wares would be the new Jack Black/Michael Cera comedy, Year One. For a complete rundown of the plot, I invite you to check out our previously written analysis of the project here. From what I saw in the trailer, the film appears to be exactly what you would expect it to be: A quirky, silly comedy set in the stone ages and early medieval times. This spot was good to get a solid “belly laugh” out of me. Enjoy the spot below:
Now, I’d like to share with all of you a fantastic commercial that wasn’t exactly a movie trailer, but if you squint your eyes tight enough, you can see the connection, and that’s good enough for me! Viewers were treated to a very cool looking commercial featuring a MovieGuys favorite, Jason Statham, driving various vehicles in various locales in a very “Transporter-like” series of shots. It was very cool. Yet as cool as it was, I couldn’t remember what the commercial was trying to sell me just an hour after I saw it. So I guess that would be an argument against the effectiveness of the pricey spots airing during the game. Still, it was fun to see.
Fast and Furious
The next spot was a weak attempt to sell the audience another lame installment in an immensely disappointing franchise. Fast and Furious is a franchise that, when announced, generated a lot of positive buzz. There was a little bit of promise in the fledgling franchise, and each film managed to get progressively worse and worse. The spot flashed some familiar images to fans of the franchise, as we saw Paul Walker and Vin Diesel, along with the usual array of import racers. I had very little interest in the film before seeing the spot, and seeing it did nothing to change that.
The Land of the Lost
The Land of the Lost is another name that is near and dear to an entire generation of people. Get ready to be hearing a lot more of that name as we got to see some very exciting footage in the first trailer for Land of the Lost starring Will Ferrell. Wow. That was my initial reaction. The F/X featured in the spot were beautiful. The environments and creatures done in F/X were so well done, they had the look of something straight out of the real world. Will Ferrell was his usual self, whatever that means to you. But the most encouraging thing was that it looked and felt like the “Land of the Lost” that I remember fondly. That is very encouraging.
Star Trek
Perhaps the most anticipated film of the year would have to be Star Trek. The Internet has been all abuzz about this project since it was announced. Unlike the majority of the other movies that showed their wares, Trek had already released a full-length trailer. And if that wasn’t enough to get you psyched about this movie, the “super-spot” surely will be! The trailer featured new footage, most of which expanded on what was already shown. The spot was action packed. Very exciting stuff!
Up/Monsters vs Aliens
I’m going to lump the next two spots together. If you saw them during the game, you’d know why. First up would be the dreadfully boring looking Pixar film, Up. There is really nothing special here. A movie about a crotchety old man who propels his house into the sky with the power of balloons, only to later find he has an unexpected passenger in his journey… You know, the stuff you’ve come to expect. Now Monsters vs Aliens is an animated film that has the latest next-gen twist; the film is in 3D. For everyone who happened to have a spare pair lying within reach during the commercial breaks, you were treated to a trailer for the film in “glorious” 3D. Fortunately, for those of you who didn’t happen to have a pair, the trailer was not unwatchable. Well, I should rephrase that. The trailer could be seen by those who did not have a pair of 3D spectacles, but it was in fact, unwatchable. Shockingly enough, my opinion was not changed after viewing the trailer in “glorious” 3D.
Race to Witch Mountain
The biggest surprise of the bunch has got to be Disney’s Race to Witch Mountain. I had heard things about this movie. I knew that it starred Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. I knew it had special effects. That’s about it. But I was blown away by the trailer. Even for a Disney film, it looked pretty darn cool. This is one instance where a relative unknown comes from out of nowhere to smack you in the face and yell “Watch it, Dammit!”
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
If I were giving out awards for the movie-related spots, the award for coolest teaser would easily go to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. While the first Michael Bay made Transformers flick took a lot of heat, I was never one to think that all the criticism was justified. Sure, the movie had it’s flaws. But it was still a lot of fun. It was action packed, and a good way to spend a couple of hours. Well, I know I could be wrong, but based on the teaser that was aired, things could definitely be changing in this one. The most important thing I noticed was that the action shots that would’ve been fast and blurry were very clear and distinct. You could easily tell exactly what was going on in the action sequences. The teaser was chock full of awesome shots of robot/robot action! The scale of things felt huge. This movie could be epic, and I am prepared to stand by that statement. Watch the spot and see for yourself:
Other interesting tidbits from the big game: there was a slew of very funny commercials to enjoy this year. On a whole, the commercials from this year’s game were exponentially better than last year. There were a couple I’d like to bring your attention to, even though they aren’t exactly movie related. There was a hilarious Jack in the Box spot that featured Jack himself being hit by a bus. If you are concerned about the health of your favorite fast food mascot, visit HanginthereJack.com Fans of The Wizard of Oz would’ve enjoyed G.E’s commercial featuring the Scarecrow singing the famous “If I only had a brain…” song from the movie. It was kinda cool to see the updated look they gave him. And perhaps the funniest commercial from the game (at least, in my opinion) was the careerbuilder.com commercial The commercial featured a woman who hated her job suffering day after day in the same old routine while an announcer spoke about all the things she felt/thought as a result of her crappy job. The humor was there throughout the commercial, but the funniest part had to be when a small koala bear wearing glasses and holding a cup of coffee was punched in the face. It brought tears to my eyes people! You need to see this one!
All in all, it was a good experience to be had for everyone. Football fans will tell you that it was a very exciting game, one that kept you interested all the way to the end. People who set their Tivo’s for the game to catch the commercials surely enjoyed watching “the game.” And for all those who didn’t do either, well, this post is for you. Cheers people!