Tuned In

Ain't That a Snow Globe in the 'Nads: Amateurs Beat Pros at Super Bowl Ads

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As we saw last night, the major running theme of this year’s Super Bowl ads was anxiety over the economy and job loss. This morning, there are probably a few advertising professionals feeling that anxiety even more deeply. The vaunted USA Today Ad Meter poll this morning was won not by any pro advertising agency but by two unemployed amateurs who did a spot for Doritos. (You remember it: the one ending with a man in an office taking a snow globe to the crotch.) As part of Doritos’ Crash the Super Bowl ad competition, the creators—two brothers—win a $1 million bonus for winning the USA Today poll. 

I suppose disgruntled ad pros might say that the victory for the slapstick ad was a sign of the dumbing down of pop culture and a sign of what happens when we stop valuing professionalism. But then again, the pros gave us guys getting bowling balls dropped on their heads and computer geeks molesting Danica Patrick via the Internet. 

By the way, you can find this ad and all the rest streaming today along with my reviews here at time.com—or at Hulu, which happened to air my favorite ad of the night.