|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jens 'n' Frens
Idle thoughts of a relatively libertarian Republican in Cambridge, MA, and whomever he invites. Mostly political.
"A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures."
-- Daniel Webster
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sunday, February 07, 2010 :::
Shortly after the Who started their Super Bowl halftime show, I thought, "now I know why they hoped they'd die before they got old," which, actually, some of them did — only two of the original members are left, and if I could borrow a line from Jethro Tull, they're too old to rock and roll, but they're too young to die. They improved over the course of the act, but they are clearly past their prime. American Idol winner Carrie Underwood performed the national anthem before the game, and did a fine job except for the last note; she ended flat, but the rest of her delivery was excellent, and she didn't try to dress up the song like a twenty-dollar whore as so many singers do.
Speaking of twenty-dollar whores, Danica Patrick was back. Some sorts of humor are best done over-the-top and some are best done subtly. In my opinion, sexual humor is nearly always best done subtly. Perhaps IndyCar and NASCAR fans disagree.
I'd like to add something at this point that I expect to be somewhat controversial: my favorite commercial was the Google commercial.
I'm not averse to stereotypical-guy humor. I enjoyed the whale commercial a great deal. I got a kick out of Brett Favre in 2020 dithering over whether to retire while pointing out that he's "older than most of... the owners." I'm going to try to persuade my fiancee to allow the song "I wear no pants" at our wedding. Many of the other irresponsible-guy ads (including about 300 commercials for Budweiser — I wondered if it wouldn't have been cheaper for Anheuser-Busch-InBev to just buy CBS — and 200 for Doritos) were amusing, if not memorable. But by late in the third quarter it was long past time for something cute and sweet, and Google delivered (perhaps preempting Budweiser, who had a cute ad not much later). There were no big noises or shiny things, just a simple ad showing a series of search requests that added up to a cute story. It was not only a welcome reprieve, it was consistent with their brand — their home page is more cluttered than it used to be, but still far less cluttered than the overwhelming majority of the web.
The game itself was quite good, even though the team I was cheering for lost. There was a particular player for the Colts whom I would have liked to see pick up a ring. But you have to feel good for New Orleans. The Saints have not exactly had their day in the sun, and the city is still picking up the pieces after one of the worst calamities to strike a major American city in recent times: Ray Nagin. So, congratulations to New Orleans; we all know you know how to celebrate. If you need some cheap beer for the occasion, try calling Anheuser-Busch-InBev; they may be especially eager to make a deal for your business, as I understand they have a large marketing expense to cover.
::: posted by Steven at 11:45 PM
|
|
|
|
