Mountain Dew Voltage: Bug Zapper

Gross. Good thing they put that disclaimer in, or I would have sued them after finding my stomach completely and positively normally charged after downing a Mountain Dew Voltage (raspberry citrus flavored, with ginseng.)

This flavor was voted the winner from last year's DEWmocracy. The losing flavors were Supernova (strawberry melon flavored, with ginseng) and Revolution (wild berry fruit flavored, with ginseng.)

The ad directs you to www.dewmocracyvoltage.com, where you can get points and win prizes.

Guru Grade: 6 / 10

Banned: PETA Super Bowl Ad

NBC deemed this spot too racy for the family audiences expected to watch the big game. Their complaints include:

:12- :13- licking pumpkin

:13- :14- touching her breast with her hand while eating broccoli

:19- pumpkin from behind between legs

:21- rubbing pelvic region with pumpkin

:22- screwing herself with broccoli (fuzzy)

:23- asparagus on her lap appearing as if it is ready to be inserted into vagina

:26- licking eggplant

:26- rubbing asparagus on breast

Seems to me like they knew this would get the stamp of disapproval. They probably just did it for the web attention. Either way, I didn't mind the voyeur vegetablism.

Guru Grade: 5 / 10

CareerBuilder Official Super Bowl 2009 Spot

Oh joyous plenty! Brilliance! I hope this is a sign of great things to come.

Career Builder has encapsulated all of these horrid feelings we experience concerning the office and jobs in general. I thought the commercial flowed beautifully and the repetition was a very good way to enhance all those nasty feelings. I couldn't help but laugh out loud when the koala bear got socked and his coffee went all over the place. (Animal rights activists: please don't complain about this. It's a stuffed bear. Don't ruin a good thing.) The production was flawless, and it yielded one of the funniest ads I've seen in a while.

So if you hate going to work every day, your coworkers don't respect you, you always wish you were somewhere else, you cry constantly, you daydream of punching small animals, and you sit next to that guy, enjoy this wonderful ad. It's for you.

Guru Grade: 8.5 / 10

Click to see the full credits
Credits:
Client: CareerBuilder.com
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland
Executive Creative Director: Mark Fitzloff,
Susan Hoffman
Creative Director: Jason Bagley,
Danielle Flagg
Copywriter: Eric Kallman
Art Director: Craig Allen
Agency Producer: Sarah Shapiro
Production Company: MJZ
Director: Tom Kuntz
Executive Producer: David Zander,
Jeff Scruton
Post Production: Mackenzie Cutler
Editor: Gavin Cutler
Director of Photography: Bryan Newman
Audio Post: POP Sound
VFX Company: Method Studios
Animatronics: Stan Winston Studios
Sound Design: Stimmung
Sound Designer: Gus Koven

Beer Barrage

What good does it do for beer companies to advertise during the big game? Not too much. Most people will have already purchased their crunk juice by then. That's why these advertisers are getting a jump start and have released early ads that are designed to get you into the liquor store and stocked up on their product.

First up is an ad from Heineken starring John Turturro, entitled "Expedition Leader." Give yourself a good name.



Not bad. The philosophical circular logic is humorous and viewers will identify with the actor.
Guru Grade: 6.5 / 10

Next is a spot from Bud Light. It's about a dude who picks up a 6 pack and then encounters some interesting situations involving porn and high school acquantainces.



I wasn't feeling this one. Insert any brand at all and get the same result (but I guess that's true with most any beer commercials.) Frankly, it wasn't funny.
Guru Grade: 4.5 / 10

Last but not least is a little preview of Miller High Life's "1 Second ads" which are set to debut on Super Bowl Sunday. Click the link to watch 'em all.



I'm intrigued to see how these ultra-short ads will do. The general consensus is that they will be up and gone before anyone realizes what's going on, but we shall see...
Guru Grade: 6 / 10

Cadbury Eyebrows Dance

The Rock is so jealous of these kids. Glass and a Half Full presents this hair-raising face dance. The agency responsible is Fallon London.

The name of the song is "Don't Stop the Rock" by Freestyle.

While enjoyably fun to watch, the involvement of Cadbury is nonexistent in this ad. They just found/thought of the idea and slapped their name at the end of it. Even though it will attract the attention of the Youtube generation, I don't think there will be enough brand awareness to generate any results.

Remember that commercial with the Gorilla playing the drums for that Phil Collins song? I could have sworn it was advertising insurance or some bank, but it was for Cadbury. They need to make me remember.

Guru Grade: 5 / 10
Great for an online video, not quite so much for a TV ad.