BLEACHERS BREW EST. MAY 2006

Someone asked me how my blog and newspaper column came to be titled "Bleachers Brew". It's like this, it's an amalgam of sorts of two things: The bleachers area in the stadium/arena where I used to sit when I would watch baseball, football, and basketball games and Miles Davis' great jazz album Bitches Brew. That's how it got culled together. I originally planned on calling it "The View from the Big Chair" that is a nod to Tears For Fear's second album, Songs from the Big Chair. So there.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

My 10 best Super Bowl 50 commercials


This appears on abs-cbnnews.com

My 10 best Super Bowl 50 commercials
by rick olivares

Every year, aside from the NFL's Big Dance, the other eagerly awaited part are the commercials.

Yes, who needs to go to the loo or the kitchen when yo can stay riveted for all three hours to the tube watching one of America’s showcase sporting events but also commercials.

Each 30-second commercial cost a whopping $5 million! Well, if it does pique your interest and you pick up their product then it’s money well spent.

Looking at the top commercials that garnered a lot of buzz, those were the ones that made us of comedy and there are quite a bunch that figured in many a post Super Bowl best ads listings.

Here are my picks and in no particular order:

Hyundai - First Date
While people chafe at the lack of privacy in this age of technology, it seems all right, at least from a father’s point of view when a dad played by comedian Kevin Hart hands over the keys of his Hyundai Genesis to a man taking out his daughter on a date. The ads shows off the Blue Link Car Finder feature where the owner can track the car where it goes. Plus, a great soundtrack featuring Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust."


Coke "Mini Marvel"
Marvel superher-heroes Hulk and Ant-Man (voiced by Paul Rudd who played the miniature hero in the recent film of the same name) battle over a can of Coke Mini. 


Audi “Commander"
An ageing astronaut is put at the controls one last time… of an Audi R8 V10. Touching ad made more poignant by the use of the late Dave Bowie’s “Space Oddity."


Doritos “Ultrasound"
Perhaps the funniest of the lot. Man eats Doritos during his wife’s ultrasound and the baby inside reacts and tries to grab the snack. A pregnant woman is incredulous when her husband is eating Doritos during her ultrasound. The fetus inside reacts and tries to reach the Doritos. 


Heinz - "Wiener Stampede”
A bunch of dachshunds dressed up as hotdogs run towards people in Heinz ketchup bottle gear (like mascots) implying that they go together like nothing else. Truthfully, I did make the switch to the brand ironically because of their great ads through the years. The taste of great, of course. And the music? Air Supply’s “Can’t Live” Without You.”


Intuit "Deathwish Coffee”
One of the most incredible non-Super Bowl stories. When Intuit, the accounting software package developer created a game to advertise small businesses, Deathwish Coffee, a small New York-based company with only 11 employees won the contest and their Super Bowl ad, featuring Vikings in a storm-tossed sea being gulped down by a man drinking coffee. The brand markets itself as the world’s strongest coffee and is only for those with strong caffeine tolerance.


Hyundai - Ryanville 
A great way to showcase the Elantra’s Automatic Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection system so you don’t run over anyone even if the driver is mesmerized with a town full of Ryan Reynolds clones. The brand was a runaway winner. 


Prius “The Longest Chase” and “Hunters"
Talk about nostalgia! I love the late hard-boiled television cop show “The Wire” and this advert brings back the Sobotka family from the series who after robbing a bank make a getaway in a Toyota Prius. The cops then use a Prius of their own “to catch a Prius.” Brilliant!


Jeep “Portraits”
A 60-second advert celebrating Jeep’s heritage (75 years) using captivating portraits of people. Powerful. 


Snickers “Marilyn”
A hilarious ad featuring veteran actor Willem Dafoe who channels his inner Marilyn Monroe in that famous skirt-raising scene from “The Seven Year Itch.” It’s memorable even if I hilariously cringe seeing Dafoe in that white dress.


Skittles “The Portrait”
A disgusted Aerosmith vocalist Steven Tyler comes face to face with his larger-than-life portrait made up of Skittles candy. Tyler eggs on the portrait to sing the Aerosmith classic “Dream On.” When it is unable to hit the high notes, it breaks apart. 



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