Super Bowl XLIII Commercials-The Watercooler

Now that the game has been played, the winner decided and the trophy earned, it’s time for the real awards to be announced.

The first-ever Watercooler Commercials Award. Or as I like to call ’em, the Commies.

Best Use of Animation in a Commercial
Now, anyone who knows me knows I’ve had a long, long crush on anything Pixar. They set the standard when it comes to animation. And while the trailer for their newest movie, “Up”, might be anticipated, that would have been too easy. And well, frankly, while I still enjoyed it, I wasn’t blown away.

So the Commie for Best Use of Animation goes to “GE: Scarecrow”. Not overly elaborate, but beautifully produced. And hey, a little “Wizard of Oz” nostalgia doesn’t hurt either.

Best Commercial for a Feature Film
Wow. Lots of movie trailers tonight, from the “Transformers” sequel to “Land of the Lost” to “Year One”. But none got my inner geek going like this one below:

Oh yes. G.I. Joe. The real American hero. Sure, we all knew it was being created, but this was the first time I saw footage of it. And while there’s a very real possibility the movie will suck (I hope not), this trailer gave me a little hope, and made me think of all those times I played with fully-articulated action figures, put them in a variety of combat poses and sent them on daring missions to save the world. And that was just last weekend.

Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

Most Disappointing Commercial
There was something about the setup of this commercial — someone so full of confidence and genius that he congratulated his doctor after he was born, saved a rabbit and goldfish from an elementary school fire, and so on and so on. The narration and the music lent it an intriguing quality, and it seemed like this might be one of the better spots of the night. But then it turned out to be a cars.com commercial. And it was a lemon of one at that.

Honorable mention goes to Budweiser ads. Normally these are the ones that set the bar, but this year that bar was set about shin-high. I mean — a clydesdale in love with a circus horse? Or one who plays fetch? Weak.

Best “My Job Sucks” Commercial
First rule of a successful ad campaign? Repetition. And this ad has plenty of that. Almost annoyingly so. But then the crying man enters, followed by a koala. And that is comedy gold.

Best Use of “Air Quotes” in a Commercial
Hulu.com. I KNEW it was an evil plot to destroy the world. But I had no idea Alec Baldwin was in on it. I should do something to stop this… or I should just go back to watching more videos. Mmmm, mushy mush…

Best Use of Mullets in a Commercial
Pepsuber. MacGruber meets MacGyver. How could this NOT be awesome???

Most Valuable Player
Call it home field advantage, but some of the strongest of the night belonged to none other than NBC. First of all, when it comes to promoting your television lineup, the usual solution is to string together a montage of clips from an upcoming episode. Maybe even throw in a voiceover with some cryptic narration urging you to watch. What they don’t do is break into a mini-musical featuring characters from the Monday night shows. I couldn’t help but grin at the likes of villainous Sylar, nerdy Chuck or Medium’s Allison singing “Feelin’ Alright”.

But NBC also had the funniest — and most eye-opening — spot of the night, as it showed us just how dangerous comedy can be. So the next time you type LMAO, just remember. The next A that does fall O, could be yours.

Well that does it for this year’s Commies — and I just got a memo that I may want to change that name. Ok, so while I go back to the drawing board, why don’t you enjoy the entire collection of commercials, below — and tell us what you though. How’d this year’s ads compare to years past? Any “classics” in the bunch?