Samir Junejo

No matter how expensive, star-studded or clever a Super Bowl commercial is, it’s still a
commercial.
I don’t think I can say too much that is positive about this year’s crop in particular, so instead I will focus on a frequent criticism of American culture: the sexualization of American
marketing.
It is not just women, but even men, that continue to be objectified in order to sell products. During the Super Bowl we got such advertisements as the Teleflora commercial with some heavy sexual innuendo that was basically one of those late night phone sex ads, and the H&M commercial featuring every inch of David Beckham in his underwear. At least those in marketing don’t discriminate.
The biggest perpetrator of objectification was once again GoDaddy.com. Year after year, they shamelessly use the bodies of women to sell domain names. I’m not quite sure I see the connection between the two. However the most unfortunate thing about all this is that these companies would not be continuing this strategy if it did not work.

Matthew Benoit

This year’s Super Bowl featured better football than commercials, but there were still some gems. My favorites included ads that had a dog chasing a Volkswagen, a naked M&M, a Bridgestone-treaded football and a Coca-Cola polar bear run to an arctic
end-zone.
The worst ads, I thought, belonged to Anheuser-Busch.
They chose to promote Bud Light Platinum without any of their trademark humor, and instead tried to take a hipper, classier approach. I don’t care how classy you try to make a bottle of Bud Light; its contents still taste like Clydesdale urine.
The first ad, “Factory,” actually confused me at first, because when I see a cobalt blue bottle with the word “Platinum” on it, I think of Platinum Vodka first.
The second spot, “Party,” featured a bunch of young workers having a “work party” in a skyscraper, and no work actually seems to getting done. There is a bar, a DJ and people playing cards.
The people are all drinking from Bud Light Platinum bottles, which are practically glowing as if they are filled with enriched uranium. I don't get it. The mere fact they’re partying in a skyscraper means they can probably afford better beer anyway.
Then the voice-over artist says, “Who says you can’t mix work and pleasure?” Well, usually when alcohol and business is mixed, someone ends up getting sexually harassed, often via obscene photocopies.

Dylan Hoff

As mismatched the pair of Madonna and LMAFO were during the Super Bowl halftime show, there was a pair of movie trailers illustrating two action-adventure films that will provide varying degrees of entertainment.
“The Avengers” has been years in the making. It will be the culmination of a storyline woven in between such films as “The Incredible Hulk,” “Captain America” and both “Iron Man” films. The story of a team of Earth’s greatest superheroes joining forces promises to be an epic event.
On the other hand, there is “Battleship.” You read that correctly, “Battleship.” This movie promises to combine everything you ever loved from the popular board game: random bombing, wanton destruction and aliens.
Wait, aliens? Are you kidding me? That is what I would expect from “The Avengers,” but not a movie based on two rival navies firing blindly at each other. Call me a purist, but I would prefer a movie that follows “Battleship” canon.

Michael Cronin

The Super Bowl did not fail to entertain once again. However I am not referring to the actual game. I am referring to the only part many people care about anymore: the commercials. As a communication major studying advertising, I appreciate good advertisements. However, a bad advertisement can actually make me mad.  
Overall, the commercials this year were top notch. My favorite commercial was done by Doritos in which a dog bribed its owner with Doritos to keep secret the fact that the dog killed the cat. You just cannot go wrong with a premise like that.
My least favorite commercial had also an excellent premise. It was based off of the plot of Ferris Bueller’s day off. However, they replace the Ferrari with a Honda CRV, and to me that is just not acceptable. There is no situation in which you skip anything to drive around in a car that is not that nice in the first place.
There were many great commercials by Audi and “The Voice,” but those commercials were followed with lazy ads by Budweiser, who seemed to put in no effort at all.