Ageism kept creeping into the Super Bowl spots tonight. I counted three older adults on motorized scooters/wheelchairs—one of them a former Chicago Bear who is also a boomer. I continue to wonder why men want to be portrayed as:

1. Immature buffoons
2. Hen-pecked men
3. Men in prison or getting dumped

I don’t think agency planners are giving creatives the actual brief on the Super Bowl audience. (Hint: It’s not just men! And the men who are watching aren’t all 24!) And really, GoDaddy, Denny’s and Skechers spent money on time, but not creative. Go big or stay home.

Google’s French spot was the highlight for me. To reference David Wolfe, it was “ageless.” We all understand the power of the tool and they did an amazing job of storytelling in 30 seconds. Loved it.

I think Kia’s Sock Monkey spot was very funny and unexpected (loved the tattoo!), as was KGB. It’s hard to make tech engaging; KGB did; Intel missed. Etrade revived an old direction, but upped their game a bit with the girl babies and the airplane spot. It was cute but derivative. Audi did a great job with “Green Police” although it will likely hit a nerve with some consumers (at least on our coast).

The advertising was very uneven this year; makes me wonder if we put too much emphasis on this event as a benchmark for great advertising. Perhaps Pepsi had the right idea – taking it to the streets! This is one year the game was WAY better than the creative – go Saints. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

The first half of the Super Bowl is complete and the ads are in. This might be the first year I enjoyed the football more than the advertising. Tru TV and FLO TV stood out for me as smart and interesting spots. And I’m talking about FLO TV’s My Generation spot which had wonderful storytelling qualities, a great anthem and had intergenerational energy and values. And I’ll give a nod to Honda for consumer generated content and an idea that represented the brand.

I think the network did a horrible job of pairing ads in the breaks. Did we really see two spots back to back with men in no pants? Seriously? And neither very good. And back as a theme – hen-pecked men/bad men: Teleflora, FLO TV and the Dodge Charger. It all makes me want to stuff Doritos and finish my Bud.