Isle ad experts pick best, worst Bowl ads

The worst 2013 Super Bowl commercials were for Calvin Klein’s "Concept" line of men’s underwear; the lengthy Jeep-USO piece narrated by Oprah Winfrey; and the "Babylandia" ad by KIA about where babies come from, according to a panel of local industry experts.

The bottom and top picks were presented at the third annual American Marketing Association-Hawaii Chapter Super Bowl Ad Review Wednesday at Dave & Buster’s in the Ward 16 Theatres complex.

Toby Tamaye, owner of AT Marketing; James Sereno, owner and director of Kinetic Films LLC; and April Rutherford, vice president and creative director at Laird Christianson Advertising, a unit of Anthology Marketing Group, explained their reasoning, some of which raised eyebrows or laughter.

The underwear commercial caused Tamaye to look away from the screen and he chose it as his least-favorite because, "I’m a guy," he said, to a burst of laughter. Tamaye also questioned the $4 million ad-buy in a broadcast with a male-dominated audience, but acknowledged that it drew about 258,000 mentions on social media sites.

Had ties been allowed, Sereno and Rutherford each would have chosen the Jeep-USO spot as their lowest-ranking ad.

Making clear their respect for the military and their families, and stating no objection to the Chrysler-Jeep brand, both had different reasons for disliking the commercial.

"In the long run," a viewer has to remember "not just the spot, but what it’s for." The Jeep connection to the military was "heavy-handed" and "felt forced," which he found "irritating," Sereno said.

Rutherford "hated" the commercial, largely because of the voice-over. "Gee, tell me what else to think and shove it down my throat," she said. The commercial "wasted my time" and left her "angry."

Conversely, the voice-over-free "Clydesdale" commercial was "just story," and connected emotionally without a heavy-handed script, she noted.

Clydesdale commercials have become an annual Super Bowl tradition and this year featured a young foal growing up to perform its duties as a famed Budweiser Clydesdale, while retaining affection for his trainer.

Budweiser did "a great job of understanding consumer behavior," Tamaye said of his top choice, but he also said the company was less successful with other commercials for Bud Light featuring Stevie Wonder, and the launch of its higher-alcohol content Black Crown beverage.

Sereno’s favorite was the Oreo commercial, with its creme-filling versus cookie preference whispered debate-turned brawl in a library, because "it really signified who they are," and started a conversation among people who remembered not just the commercial, but the name of the product days after the game.

Rutherford discussed Taco Bell, one of her top picks. The ad featured senior citizens sneaking out of a retirement home to party the night away.

It may have been perceived as "creepy" or simply "funny" or as not in keeping with the fast-feeder’s typical youth-oriented advertising, but "to me, they hit the spirit of Taco Bell. People love to have fun, no matter what age. They still want to be rebellious … still want to do all these things … they captured the spirit of youth," she said.

Audience members were polled as they entered about their opinions. The least favorite chosen, was the Dodge Ram "Farmers" commercial, with narration by late broadcaster Paul Harvey taken from a speech he made to the Future Farmers of America.

The two-minute long commercial is part of a Dodge Ram Trucks integrated online campaign to raise up to $1 million in support of FFA and local hunger and educational programs. It drew the most social media discussion of all the Super Bowl commercials this year, at more than 402,000 mentions.

Brief discussion about local commercials seen during the Super Bowl centered on new commercials aired by Mobi PCS, in which Rutherford had a hand and which she said was a new commercial in the current series promoting a new monthly rate for smartphone service.

Central Pacific Bank’s commercial also was new, Tamaye noted.

That none of the local spots made a huge "wow," impact nor effectively integrated social media, reflected missed opportunities, he said.