The subliminal winner, in true ’speak-of-the-devil’ fashion I think, was Louis Vuitton.  In a Hyundai ad about making ‘luxury’ avbailable to everyone, a close facsimile to the Louis Vuitton pattern was seen on a basketball.  High-end brought down to base activity.  Interesting that of all the scenes of ‘luxury’ Louis Vuitton was the only discernible brand in all of it.  I think it is just a testament to how well Louis Vuitton has played the visual identity and branding game in the past few years.  The Burberry plaid pattern has devolved into ‘chav’ territory.  But the Louis Vuitton symbol pattern remains a visual marker of luxury.  And I bet they didn’t have to pay a dime for the exposure.  Well played.

There were too many ads featuring men (and others) without pants.  Why?  Is this just the logical conclusion that the proliferation of the Improv Everywhere annual ‘No Pants’ Subway Ride has brought?  Improv Everywhere – cool.  Three or four ads during the Super Bowl – overkill.

There were way too many Bud and Bud Light ads.  How much money do they have to burn?  I kept thinking that all this ad money could have been put into making their beer taste better.  The Clydesdale / cow friendship ad fell flat to me.  The horse angle has been explored for too many years now.  And the Bud Light ‘autotune’ ad featuring T-Pain felt not like a riff on T-Pain himself but more like a rip-off of the Gregory Brothers and their ‘Autotune the News’ hits on YouTube in early 2009.

Other theme expansions did better however.  The E-Trade baby commercial series had some cute bits, the best of which was the ‘First Class’ commercial with the latest E-Trade baby sitting in first class making fun of his friend sitting back in coach.  Not sure how much further they can push this though…  Maybe it would be best to stop while the E-Trade baby is ahead and come up with something new for next year.

Dorito’s had a couple commercials that were on the edge of good.  But just not quite there for one reason or the other.  The one where the guy gets the Dorito stuck in his neck that was thrown by his friend was good but had nothing to do with them being at the gym.  It felt incongruous to me.  The dog getting revenge was probably the funniest of the bunch.  However I have never been a big fan of overly fake animal paws doing things and I just could not believe that the dog would be that interested in a bag of Dorito’s.  But maybe dogs like them.  Who knows.  I don’t have one.  A dog that is… or a bag of Dorito’s.

The Dove commercial pushing their new ‘Dove For Men’ line was pretty good.  Well directed and edited.  The best bit was the cute-but-vaguely-creepy shot of the guy in the tub with three little guys that looked like him.  Funny but weird.  And, come to think of it, I don’t know that any of the imagery would convince me that I need or deserve skin care products.  I understand that Dove is starting in on an audience ‘nut’ that is a hard one to crack… but this is maybe not there quite yet.  Still fun though.

And speaking of ‘man’ commercials, I thought the Dodge Charger commercial was relatively good.  The ‘I do all that you ask’ theme played out, not for sex, but for the right to drive a Charger.  Not bad.  Still not convinced about the car though.

A couple ads featured midgets.  Is it a new trend?  An odd Spinal Tap reference is one thing but a trend is another…

GoDaddy should think of something new.  The spokes model thing is just lame.  The name ‘GoDaddy’ barely connects with the services they offer but the addition of good looking women as ’spokesmodels’ just makes it all very odd.  Sexy titillation is not something that normally comes to mind when one thinks about web hosting.

One of the more clever ads was the ad for Volkswagen reviving the ‘Punchbug’ game that kids used to play back in the 70’s and 80’s when they say a VW Beetle on the road.  The interesting thing is that the ad tries to make the case to expand the game to include all VW models.  A stretch I think.  It was Punch BUG, as in ‘Bettle’, after all.  Not to mention that the game worked because it was easy to spot the one-of-a-kind shape of the iconic VW Beetle on the road.  Today, many of Volkswagen’s line of vehicles look not so different than most other car brands out there.  So a lot harder to pick them out of the crowd.  I think the game could be revived to rejuvenate the rejuvenated line of new Bugs.  They are still super cute and have a distinctive shape.  But it might fizzle quickly if Volkswagen tries to push it too much to apply to all of its cars.  Anyway, a fun memory and a good idea that deserves a fresh exploration.

Betty White was a good sport for Snickers.  It is a very good line, and one of the most memorable of the evening, but who, unscripted, would say, “you’re playing like Betty White out there”? 

I like the Simpsons and I like Coke but I thought the Coke ad featuring the Simpson’s cast was flat.  It could have been a lot crazier.  And also odd in that it dealt with the subject of lost fortunes and house eviction.  Something all too real to many viewers I am sure.  What was the message?  A coke will make your financial ruin all better?

The best ad of the night, though, could have been one of the simplest.   The Google ad did nothing but tell a sort of story using words typed into its search window.  It was so sweet that the wife even said ‘aww’ at the end of it.  I rolled my eyes but the point was made.  I think the ad was good because it was so simple.  It was probably written and made in about ten minutes.  And probably for very little money.  No big name stars making apperances, etc.  But the genius behind it was that the ad itself felt very much in line with the brand ‘essence’ of Google.  Straight-forward and to the point.  Simple but great.  The ominous subtext, though, (to me anyway) is that with only a few words, Google can know quite a bit about you.  So be careful what you type…

It is, literally, a trash bag.  Except that it is not.  A neo-realist representation of a trash bag.  But done in glossy treated canvas or super-shiny leather (conflicting reports) with the oh-so-Louis-Vuitton vegetable tanned leather shoulder strap.  So it’s a luxury trash bag?  Well, considering the price tag, yes.  Speaking of, I love the ruckus that is being raised over the price of this bag.  A genius move on the part of Louis Vuitton.  Of course any price that would seem ‘reasonable’ for this bag would be too low and end up killing the hype.  Instead people are shocked and befuddled by the price.  So when they eventually see one on the street they will think either ‘that woman has too much money’, ‘that woman is crazy’, ‘why did that woman spend that much on that bag?  Is it worth it?  Does she know something I don’t??’ or ‘that woman gets it’.  Any of which might be advantageous to the bag owner.

But the ‘Raindrop Besace’ bag is still a trash bag.  So is the reference too literal?  Well, the argument could be made that any more abstraction of the source inspiration and the point would be lost.  Alternatively, it could be looked at as a usable Claes Oldenburg sculpture.  Except that there is no play of scale differentiation from the actual reference object.  So then is the bag Pop Art in the tradition of Warhol?  Take a mundane object like a Brillo box and elevate it to the level of fine art?  The Brillo boxes, although definitely ‘Pop’ seemed to be art for art’s sake whereas this bag seems to have something more to do with branding and consumerism (it is for sale after all) than just art.  If it is art it is definitely ‘low’ art…

As the Brillo was a commentary on ‘art’, is the ‘Raindrop Besace’ bag a commentary on luxury goods?  Is Jacobs saying ’it’s all trash.  Even the expensive stuff’.  Or is it ‘the only distinction between you and a homless person is the logo on your trash bag’?  Is the message actually all about branding?  Is Louis Vuitton saying in effect ‘we can put anything out with our name on it and you will buy it.  No matter the price.”  Hmmm… I would hope that Louis Vuitton would not be so disdainful of it’s own customers as to bite the hand the feeds it. 

But the question remains.  Though, viewed from another angle, the Louis Vuitton trash bag could be seen as just the logical conclusion to the branding path that consumerism has been going down for so long.   The ‘Hello Kitty-ization’ of branding if you will.  The state where a brand is so well established (and idolized) that whatever it puts its mark on sells.  Hello Kitty toast anyone? 

Or… is this the egoism that so many famous designers end up flirting with at some point in their career?  The moment where they think, “I can put my name on anything and the public will eat it up with a spoon”.  Of course they would never admit to thinking that… But the evidence is out there.  Philippe Starck put his name on a series of plastic ‘Gnome’ tables for Kartell.  Damien Hirst has been covering everything in dots, spin paint, pills and skulls for several years now.  All of that stuff sells.  Is taking that step supremely self-assured or lazy?  Calculated or crazy?  Hard to say without knowing the mind of the designer in question.

So could Marc Jacobs simply be reaching that point with the ‘Raindrop Besace’  bag?  Maybe.  Or maybe he is a little more clever than a first glance at this bag would have us believe.  After all… it has immediately gotten lots of people talking.  Love it or hate it they are talking.  And passionately.  The most peculiar and amuzing thing is that I get the sense that even the people that say they think it is a terrible bag… still… kinda… want one.

That is why I think Marc Jacobs is crazy.  Crazy like a fox.  It is extremely hard for a brand like Louis Vuitton, that has had many smart branding moves, from the ‘LV’ logo-ization to Takashi Murakami, to keep producing work at such a high level.  Marc Jacobs had big creative (and brand) shoes to fill.  Because of that, with this ‘Raindrop Besace’ bag, I think he is a genius. 

Now I would love to see a a big glossy ‘LV’ branded garbage truck pull up to the Fifth Avenue curb.  And from it Marc Jacobs and Kanye West in ‘LV’ coveralls are chucking ‘Raindrop Besace’ bags out to the screaming fashionistas.  That would be fun!