Last mission to repair the Hubble telescope
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Rays fan guide to the Trop Print |
 Email story |
 Comment |
 Email editor |
By SHARON KENNEDY WYNNE
Published February 4, 2005
PRNewsFoto
Degree for Men presents The Mama’s Boy, an “in-action” hero touting the latest anti-perspirants. Talk about a creepy scene.
|
AP
Perennial advertiser Anheuser-Busch features Cedric the Entertainer.
|
A full 25 percent of the Super Bowl audience is watching just for the ads, according to research from the retail industry.
The past few years, however, most critics say the ads haven't lived up to their hype. And like a petulant child, the advertisers responded with a lot of fart and weenie jokes.
After shelling out a record $2.4-million for 30 seconds, advertisers this year promise more tasteful ads and more clever ones, too.
The reaction will be monitored differently this year, too.
Market research company Intelliseek will be monitoring the blogosphere for the buzz on Super Bowl ads to give their clients instant feedback on their ad extravaganzas. Intelliseek, which owns blogpulse.com, also will set up a panel of 50 to 100 bloggers to offer comments on ads during the game for its clients.
"The Internet is becoming a water cooler on steroids," said Pete Blackshaw, Intelliseek's chief marketing officer.
Here's some things you can expect:
Visa enlists Spiderman and Captain American to assures consumers they won't need a team of cartoon superheroes to protect against debit card theft. In the ad, a woman cries out for help, distressed that a stolen Visa check card will be used by a thief to drain her checking account. Childhood heroes from Marvel comic books rush to her aid, only to be disappointed by the false alarm: Visa cardholders are not liable for any fraudulent charges, they tell her.
Degree deodorant will sport a funky new commercial using action figures to spoof men who won't take risks. Part GI Joe commercial, part Maxim magazine satire, the spot shows a mama's boy doll being pushed around.
Tabasco maker McIlhenny, which scored big in the 1998 Super Bowl commercial when a mosquito exploded after a biting a man who has splashed hot sauce on his pizza, says its new commercial this year offers a similarly unexpected twist.
Despite criticism from red-faced parents who were asked by their kids what erectile dysfunction is, Cialis has decided to return to the game for a second year, with a 60-second commercial to air in the third quarter. The ad will show mature couples playfully grooving to the 1963 Ronettes song Be My Baby .
Rapper and producer Sean "P. Diddy" aka "Puff Daddy" Combs will appear in a Super Bowl spot for Pepsi. In the ad, Combs drives a Pepsi truck to a red carpet event. The spot also features 1990s Pepsi spokesmodel Cindy Crawford and Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria.
Advertisers hope to avoid a repeat of the vociferous complaints generated by last year's spots. Viewers were turned off by ads for erectile dysfunction, a flatulent horse, a crotch-biting dog, a Scotsman who wore nothing under his kilt and a man who mistakenly underwent a bikini-wax treatment.
And Anheuser-Busch's "wardrobe malfunction" ad has been benched for the Super Bowl.
The Bud Light spot purported to explain how Janet Jackson's infamous peep show during last year's Super Bowl came to pass -- with a Bud Light drinker cast as the hidden hand that ruined Jackson's dress. Bob Lachky, the brewer's vice president of brand management, summed up the current climate, tellingg USA Today , "Why take the risk? All you need is one person to be offended."
- Sharon Kennedy Wynne wynne@tampabay.com
[Last modified February 3, 2005, 15:33:12]
|
|
| Home |
 News
|
Politics
|
Opinion |
Sports
|
Entertainment
|
Money
|
Go Momma
|
Blogs
|
Video | Weather | Traffic |
Classifieds
|
Jobs |
Real Estate |
Cars
|
Site Map |
|
