Rating The Mobile Superbowl Ads

A small handful of mobile-related ads aired during Superbowl 44. Where they any good? Did they get the message across? Will they actually convert to sales? Or do all the companies involved need to fire their ad agencies?By my count there were just five ads for mobile phones or mobile phone networks from four different companies. They were from Boost Mobile, FLO TV, MetroPCS, and Motorola. Did any of them score a win? Let's take a look.

Boost

Boost's commercial featured a lot of huge football players wearing too-tight uniforms doing what looked to be a Rockettes routine on a smoky stage while someone rapped in the background about how great Boost Mobile is. The idea was the "Boost Mobile Shuffle." Production values were low, the football players looked less than enthusiastic, and the shot of a football player wearing a cheetah-print thong was disturbing. Mike Ditka's contribution to the ad, "That's fresh," was so not. This was one of the worst ads I saw during the Superbowl. The ad was so bad that the message was completely lost. Here it is again so you can form your own opinion. Face shield not included. D

FLO TV

FLO TV is Qualcomm's mobile television unit that has a network of for broadcasting mobile-optimized television to properly equipped devices. FLO ran two commercials. The first featured an emasculated man who's dragged out shopping by his girlfriend rather than be allowed to stay home and watch the Superbowl. Really, FLO? The ad was called "Spineless," and I say FLO TV was thoughtless to run this ad. Not funny at all. F

The second ad was much better. In fact, it was one of the best I saw, and perfect to illustrate what FLO TV is. It featured will.i.am's remix of the classic The Who song, "My Generation." It had a montage of historical moments that were captured for television broadcast starting in the 50s and moving forward all the way through 2010. Good stuff. It was spot on and clearly demonstrated what FLO TV is all about. FLO should have skipped the first ad all together. It' wasn't funny, but it was the right marketing message. A

MetroPCS

Interesting that the only two mobile networks to air ads were those of the pre-paid variety. For its part, MetroPCS contributed one of its "Tech & Talk" ads, which features two Indian men who take user phone calls in a radio-show fashion. This one in particular focused on a guy asking if he can get out of his phone contract, and his is yelled at, and then shamed, and then shown how glorious it is to be a MetroPCS user, where there are no contracts. MetroPCS has been using this campaign for a while. It is OK, but I was hoping for better. C+

Metro PCS: The Shaming - The best home videos are here

Motorola

Motorola went for the funny, and didn't quite pull it off. The ad featured actress Megan Fox -- in a sudsy tub -- who touted the Motorola Devour with MOTOBLUR. She takes a picture of herself in the bathtub and then ponders what would happen if she "sends it out" (to where, she doesn't say). That's followed by a series of guys staring at their phones and getting into trouble with their loved ones. It appeals to those who prefer baser comedy, and was mildly amusing. In this case, however, I don't think the phrase "sex sells" quite applies. C