SUPER BOWL ENTERTAINMENT

Super Bowl XLVI has come to a close with a close game that featured the New York Giants in a repeat performance defeating the New England Patriots. For Pats fans it felt like a recurring nightmare, for Giants fans it was another reason to gloat over their east coast rival. For Jets fans, like myself, it was a reason to focus on what really matters- the commercials and half time show!  On one of the biggest nights in TV entertainment, these were my favorite and not so favorite moments. Football aside!

The game reached a record breaking 111.3 million viewers according to the Nielsen ratings. For some fans, it was a heartbreaker as the NY Giants took home the rematch (these teams faced off in the 2008 Super Bowl). The game started off with a pitch perfect National Anthem by singer Kelly Clarkson and by the time we reached the Madonna half-time show, social media was a blaze with over 10,000 tweets during the Bridgestone presented performance. A close game throughout, by the time the Giants clinched the 21-17 win, Twitter was up to almost 12,000 tweets per second! That’s a whole lot of chirping!

In the end, Eli Manning took home not only the MVP honors and the Vince Lombardi Trophy but the keys to the 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport. Poor Tom Brady. At least, he can still ride Gisele! Speaking of, the supermodel made mouth drops herself and not with her usual hot body but by dropping the F-bomb while dissing the Pats receivers during game time.

Speaking of models and cars, Victoria Secret model Adriana Lima was also in the spotlight- doing double duty in both a spot for Kia and Teleflora. For the flower company, Lima seductively assured men that “Guys, Valentine’s day is not that complicated. Give and you shall receive”. The spot was hotter that my buffalo wings and I’m pretty sure it made the boys look up from their beer. Hell, even I was turned on. In the Kia, spot Lima played a scantily clad race car girl in a fantasy sequence alongside rock band Motley Crue. Speaking of hot race car drivers, Danicka Patrick starred alongside fitness guru Jillian Michaels in a spot for GoDaddy.com which featured the ladies drawing on nude model, Natalia Velez, with magic markers. Even Fiat towed the line, or should I say the cat walk, by including a sexy Italian model and a car faster than a cheetah. Sex Sells did not stop there. H & M unveiled David Beckham in barely there briefs and I can speak for all women when I say this is one ad I won’t mind seeing again…and again…and again! Gentleman, if you want us to look like Adriana Lima, take some notes from Becks! Even M & M’s got into the nudity when our favorite cartoon de-shelled to his inner chocolate core and danced to LMFAO’s hit “I’m Sexy & I Know It”.

Other notable spots that featured vehicles sans models include Sonic’s daredevil themed ‘firsts’ ad – the cars first skydive, bungee, kick-flip and yet another sexual innuendo about being ‘your first’ and a plea to visit LetsDoThis.com. This might have been my favorite ad simply because of the cool stunts and music by the band OK Go. Chevy dominated the car spots with a commercial about the end of the world where only Chevy drivers and Twinkies (and who doesn’t love Twinkies) survive and a graduation spot where a college kid mistakes a new car for his gift instead of a refrigerator. Both memorable. Last year, Chrysler won me over with their Detroit themed spot featuring Eminem. This year, they went with a slightly different demographic spokesperson…sarcasm on slightly, in choosing Clint Eastwood. This film legend delivered a sentimental half-time spot alongside images of a struggling Detroit (and country in general) and evoked the American spirit when encouraging us toward a comeback saying  ‘It’s halftime in America too”.  A middle-aged Matthew Broderick a la Ferris Bueller also attempted to sell us on a Honda…not so much.

After sex comes baby. And there were some funny spots with tiny tikes. My favorite being a sling shot baby for Dorito’s who steals chips with Granny’s help from his older brother. E-Trade’s talking babies included speed dating in the newborn unit at the hospital, and there was even a baby that doesn’t poop and also serves as a time travel machine for a Toyota Camry.

If babies don’t make you ooh and ahh, perhaps puppies do. My favorite canine spot featured a moonwalking French bulldog in a dog race-track scene for Sketcher’s.  A scruffy Budweiser terrier brought beers to happy partygoers and a Volkswagen dog got back in shape to chase cars down the street. Most notably, Dorito’s featured a dog who traded chips as hush money for killing the family cat. This spot was made for only $20 bucks as part of the Dorito’s “Crash the  Super Bowl Competition” and won it’s creator a $1 million prize. That’s a whole lot of kitty!

And of course, there were the staples of the Super Bowl like the Budweiser Clydesdales and the Coca-Cola polar bears.

Lastly, there were some misses as well- an over the top street scene for the new Samsung phone that left me wondering what all the fuss was about and why my phone needed a pen. A majestic Elton John ruled over his ‘X Factor’ esque audition kingdom and denied his subjects Pepsi, and the creepy Cars.com confidence appendage commercial  (an arm like head growing out of the side of the man’s body that looked like a devil on his shoulder) … well, just weird.

The only thing weirder was seeing Madonna jump around stage like a high school cheerleader. That or the Matrix-ish outfit she sported mid-performance. The Queen of pop arrived on stage in a Egyptian homage with all the expected glam or Cleopatra. She struck a pose with some of her oldest hits and of course sang her new song “Give Me All Your Luvin”. Surprisingly, there was nothing diva about it as she willingly shared the stage with stars Nicky Minaj, Cee-Lo Green, LMFAO, and M.I.A who apparently briefly flipped off the camera. I didn’t notice the gesture until I saw the issued apology today on behalf of NBC. As for Madonna, I give the girl credit. For a singer topping fifty she sure looks and sounds good (lip synching or otherwise). She has always been the ultimate entertainer and while I did think she put on a decent show, she was not the explosive dancer I saw just a few years ago on tour at the Staples Center.  Her show ended with a plug for World Peace.

And with that I say peace…out, that is.