Monday, February 8, 2010

Super Bowl Ads and Nifty Presents

Yesterday was the Super Bowl. I wasn't too invested in the game itself because I didn't care, really, who would win. I was technically rooting for the Saints because it was their first Super Bowl, and New Orleans is a cool town. But I've always been a sucker for the other part of Super Bowl Sunday: the commercials.

I know. They're ads. I shouldn't like them. And I really shouldn't do a write-up of them in my blog summarizing my favorites because I'm just feeding into our money-driven, consumerist culture... but, well... I'm a sucker for a well-written ad.

My top 5 favorite ads, in no particular order (I'm giving them my own names because it's more fun that way):

Sad Intel Robot:


The "Be a Man" Car Commercial:


Betty White Gets Tackled:


Sappy Google Ad:


Pantsless Men Singing:


I think the Google one and the Intel Robot were my actual favorites, but overall I thought it was a lackluster year for Super Bowl ads. Maybe it's a reflection on the economy or something, I don't know. A lot of the commercials got a good laugh out of me, but that's because I was at a party with a room full of other people laughing. Had I been alone I probably wouldn't have laughed as much.

Oh, and an honorable mention goes to the Brett Favre in 2020 ad. No idea what that was a commercial for, but it was funny.



The other bit of my blog entry today is about presents. I'm coming up on my five year anniversary at work. Five years. That's a new one for me. I've never worked at a job this long before.

An email was sent to me so that I can pick a present to reward me for being a loyal employee. Of course, the email was automatically generated, and it triggered my spam filters. I almost didn't look at it because I assumed it was a scam, then I remembered that my first milestone anniversary was coming up. Sure enough, the link inside the email sent me to a page with a message from the company president (well, sort of... eh, that's a long story that's not worth getting into here) and a list of presents (jewelry, watches, backpacks, duffel bags, crystal glassware, a Shop Vac, a Dooney & Bourke wristlet, and a number of other fabulous prizes) I can choose from. This will be a tough decision.

I have narrowed it down to the "diamond" necklace shaped like a Triforce ("diamond" in quotes because they're so small you can barely see them), a "pearl" ring ("pearl" in quotes because it's cultured freshwater pearl), a watch, a nice Cuisinart saute pan, a cool-looking globe, or a telescope.

Pros and cons... let's look at the cons first. The ring might not fit my fat fingers. The necklace might not fit my fat neck. The watch might not fit my fat wrist. The pan isn't non-stick. The globe is just a globe and I don't have anywhere to put it. The telescope is probably poor quality and I probably won't use it.

Geez, maybe I should just get the Shop Vac. Or the home theater speaker system. Or the coffee pot. Or the big tool box. Or the Swiss Army knife.

Ack. I need to think about this.

3 comments:

  1. Shop Vac!

    "Non-stick" pans are evil anyway. They'll be the thing that gives us all cancer someday. We still have a couple of teflon coated pans around but they rarely get used because our stainless steel pans are much better and come clean just as easily.

    Honestly, I'd go with the saute pan assuming it's not some goofy 4" pan. Good cookware is something that when you don't have it you don't think you need, but once you use it you wonder how you lived without it.

    BTW did you know there was an anti-abortion commercial immediatly following the Betty White commercial? From what I can tell everyone missed it.

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  2. I was wrong about the "non-stick" aspect. According to the product, it "Features Quantanium nonstick interior and 18/10 stainless steel and pure aluminum encapsulated in the base for fast and even heating." Also, it's 5.5-quarts, so I don't think it's going to be small.

    Cookware is nice, but jewelry is pretty. Still debating.

    Yes, I knew about the anti-abortion commercial. We were all still laughing about Betty White, so we missed most of it. And it was pretty hard to tell it was anti-abortion.

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  3. I'd go with cookware too - that stuff can be expensive but also it is useful. I don't wear jewelry enough to get more and even when I do it is the special pieces I've been given or choose myself.

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