Todd Vanderwerff

In the past, the Super Bowl ads have occasionally outshone the game itself, injecting much-needed bits of humor into what is essentially an affair of bone-crunching action.

When the game isn’t good, sometimes the ads are the only thing worth watching.

However, on rare occasions, the ads AND the game are good and we are lucky football fans indeed, here in the good ol’ United States of America.

Sunday’s Super Bowl didn’t offer the greatest game in the history of sports (Tampa Bay’s 48-21 win was a good old-fashioned blow-out) but it did offer some well-done and zany ads.

Topping the list for this reviewer was Reebok’s “Terry Tate: Office Linebacker” spot, which showed a large black man in a football jersey running around an office and tackling those who dare not put the right cover sheet on their TPS report or those who might play solitaire when they should be working.

Offering instantly quotable lines (“When it’s game time, it’s pain time!”) and a novel concept, “Terry Tate: Office Linebacker” was the funniest ad of the game.

I was also immensely amused by the latest spot in MasterCards “Priceless” campaign, which showed a man on a date, frequently cutting to a shot of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson sitting around a living room, looking extremely angry as dramatic music played. The payoff was that the man was able to leave his cash at home thanks to his MasterCard and that was truly priceless. I enjoyed this ad purely for the bizarre sight gag of the seriously angry founding fathers.

Other ads enjoyed by the Collegian staff include:

“I really liked the Fed Ex one from Cast Away. It really tickled my funny bone.”-state and local reporter Jared Clark.

“Zebras are my favorite animal at the zoo and they always get dissed, so I like to see them in charge for once.”-sports editor Charles Maricle on the Budweiser ad featuring a football game between Clydesdales where a zebra functioned as referee.

“I enjoyed seeing Willie Nelson lampooning his tax problems in the H&R Block ad. It was worth it for the ‘This is burning my face’ line alone!”-Mike Gussiaas, photo editor.

“It’s a good thing that Jamaican guy’s hairpiece didn’t lift its leg and I wish they had given that upside-down clown guy a hot dog.”-assistant photo editor Jon Mann on two of Bud Light’s ads.

“I really don’t think the beer ads should be just geared towards men.”-photographer Theanne Tangen.

Overall, I give this year’s ads: 3.5 stars.

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