I didn’t watch the superbowl, or most of it anyway. I watched about 10 minutes of the game and sadly, missed the halftime show completely. But fortunately, the commercials, what I really wanted to see, are all over the internet.
Superbowl commercials are all over the internet. That’s probably the best thing about the Superbowl, at least for me, since I really don’t like to watch football. The commercials can really show you the state of this country’s morality. By this I mean, advertisors try to come as close to the line as possible in making these commercials, without actually stepping over the line. But even those who step over the line still put their commercials on the Internet.
One in particular cought my attention.
https://www.godaddy.com/gdshop/media/lounge.asp?isc=gooyg01agc&ci=11591
This commercial is interesting because it straddled the line, the commercial itself being banned from the SuperBowl, but a teaser to it, getting on the Superbowl.
The commercial that got on features Danica Patrick (Young female Nascar Driver) unzipping her racing suit, not to really reveal any cleavage, but to suggest that the banned ad went a lot further.
If you go to the banned ad, as I did, the reason it was banned becomes obvious. The ad shows some Holywood event and beautiful women are arriving in limos. Each one of them had their pet beaver with them. The reporters ooh and aah. Then Danica suddenly appears in her racing suit, and the reporters ask her where her beaver is. They walk away in disgust. Then she says, “At godaddy.com, I get enough exposure so that my beaver can remain safe and out of sight.”
Now there is no nudity or even suggested nudity in this commercial, but the “naughtiness” is the pun on the word “beaver” between its street meaning and its dictionary meaning of a furry little animal.
Personally, I found the commercial gross and juvinile, but it is right on the line. It shows where American morals are. Indeed, even Shakespeare made dirty puns, just as raunchy as this one, and probably the audience was just as vulgar.
Does this mean that things haven’t changed since the time of Shakespeare? Or does it mean that the most successful writers get their inspiration from the same source?
Does it mean that a small group of creative advertisers have tapped into the collective superego of America? Or does it mean that a small group of very bright people, such as Shakespeare, CONTROL the superego of America.
I personally find this fascinating, and will pick this topic up again from time to time.
February 8, 2008 at 3:58 pm |
who even uses the term beaver anymore? Kids dont even know what it means. Thats retarded that they banned it.
February 8, 2008 at 4:10 pm |
Trust me, Shakespeare got away with a lot worse. However, the interesting thing is that over my lifetime, MOST of the commercials on this year’s Superbowl would have been banned. This is one of the few that the powers that be think stepped over the line.