Super Bowl commercials went beyond water-cooler conversation as the American Marketing Association Hawaii Chapter and American Advertising Federation-Hawaii joined forces to present the second annual Super Bowl Ad Critique Tuesday.
The panelists were Jay Evans, president of Montaj 9, a post-production facility; Jason Suapaia, producer/director at 1013 Integrated, a marketing and production company; and Brian Watanabe, senior copy writer at MVNP (formerly Milici Valenti Ng Pack Advertising Inc.). ESPN 1420/1500 personality Chris Hart served as moderator.
Each panelist presented his favorite commercial, least favorite commercial and top honorable mention, followed by audience questions and interaction.
The Hulu commercial, for a suite of technologies allowing users to watch TV on different devices, was Evans’ favorite. It riffed on the well-known "this is your brain on drugs" national public service announcement, showing one’s brain on Hulu (and other Hulu products). While not as funny as other commercials, "it talked the most about what it was selling," he said.
Suapaia’s top Super Bowl pick was the two-minute, halftime pep-talk spot starring actor Clint Eastwood. "I’m a sucker for inspirational stuff," he said. Aside from the political controversies the spot kicked up, "in a sea of ridiculousness" the commercial’s dual messages and cinematic qualities left him "feeling good," he said.
Watanabe’s top pick was the Honda CR-V spot featuring Matthew Broderick, patterned after the movie "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off," in which the actor starred. The spot "used the product (the car) organically," as it was driven by the actor who was playing hooky from work. "I’m a total Ferris Bueller nerd," Watanabe said. The spot targeted Gen-X and Gen-Y viewers’ nostalgia, as did the Darth Vader-dressed boy in the Volkswagen commercial from last year’s Super Bowl.
Least favorites included GoDaddy.com (Evans: "sexist"); Pepsi, starring Elton John and "X Factor" winner Melanie Amaro (Suapaia: "big waste of money"); and Budweiser Platinum (Watanabe: "totally forgettable"). Watanabe also noted the social media backlash the brand suffered on Twitter as users mocked and disparaged the #makeitplatinum hashtag the commercials encouraged people to use in their posts.
PLAIN LANGUAGE, A RELIEF
A new consumer education campaign will be launched by HMSA Thursday evening to help consumers navigate health care in plain language.
The centerpiece of "Heath Care: Plain & Simple" is the website HealthCarePlainAndSimple.com, which includes explanations, graphics and videos covering dozens of topics free of health care industry jargon. People in any industry use jargon as a shorthand that others in the industry understand, but it usually leaves consumers feeling clueless, uninformed or both.
"The bottom line is, we are taking the very complex and complicated issue of health care and breaking it down in language that is plain and simple," said Elisa Yadao, vice president of community affairs, marketing and communications.
The project was undertaken in advance of the health care reform that will take effect in 2014, where consumers may go to an exchange, or marketplace of health care plans, to choose their coverage. "In Hawaii a lot of us still get health care through our employers," but some smaller employers may provide workers with a stipend to purchase coverage of their choice through the exchange.
The endgame of Heath Care: Plain & Simple is not to sell plans, however, Yadao said. "People will know it’s ours, but it’s relatively agnostic," she said. The intent is to offer people answers and explanations they need, and for those who already have coverage, explain "how to make your plan work better."
The campaign will launch with a so-called tweet-up, or Twitter meet-up, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at The Greenhouse Innovation Hub at 685 Auahi St. in Kakaako. The public is invited and is encouraged to use the Twitter hashtag #simplehealthcare.
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Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
