Blockbuster Super Bowl Commercials
You thought The Colts are the only champions of the Super Bowl XLI. Nope. There was another champ of the event and it was a blockbuster … no … literally! Okay here are some clues: a mouse, a rabbit, a guinea pig. You still can’t figure it out? Or maybe you just didn’t get the commercial spot.
Seriously though, the 2007 Super Bowl last February was a blast. The Colts’ triumph was for others unexpected while for some it was nothing short of predictable. The game was perceived as boring at least for some for people. It’s good however that there were blockbuster Super Bowl commercials. When you hear the word blockbuster, something was a sure winner. And this year’s Super Bowl ads, the winner was a “Blockbuster”.
Almost instantly after it was shown, the internet sites were immediately flooded with people talking and exchanging comments about this cute ad. At home, people were bubbling about a series of commercials that were shown during the Super Bowl. But the only spot that stood out amongst the blockbuster Super Bowl commercials was that from Blockbuster.com. People from across America voted it the champion of the ads. And it ranked number 1 on an online survey conducted by MSNBC.com.
The commercial TV spot was introduced already in the 1st quarter break of the Super Bowl. The spot featured popular live animated characters Carl and Ray and the famous mouse who is still unnamed until this day. Carl is a rabbit and Ray is a guinea pig. The team of these three talking animals made the ad very successful, making only Bud Lights’ Rock, Paper, Scissors a second placer in MSNBC.com’s online survey. Why was it chosen as the number 1 among the blockbuster Super Bowl commercials?
Blockbuster.com’s 2007 Super Bowl ad, which was dubbed as Blockbuster Mouse, went home with eighteen percent of the votes. The Blockbuster mouse entry was 6 percent ahead of the Rock, Paper, Scissors of Bud Light which received only twelve percent. The concept of the ad was basic and easy to digest. Carl and Ray were talking about how they can get through the Blockbuster.com website. Both experimented with a live mouse, clicking and dragging until they realize that the “mouse” was not actually “plugged in”.
Blockbuster SuperBowl commercial started with a scene on the sidewalk of a store. Carl, the rabbit, asked Ray, the guinea pig, if he was doing the right thing. The ad then showed Carl clicking on the live mouse that looked as if it was given a CPR. Ray then suggested to drag the mouse and to drag the mouse faster. This was where the funny part started to burst. After displaying quick service details of Blockbuster.com, the ending then showed Ray holding the mouse by the tail and realized they actually needed to plug it in. The final punch line was made by the mouse, who was already exhausted by the abuse of the two, saying “don’t even think about it.”
Blockbuster.com said it was their biggest and most effective ad ever considering a big budget for the Super Bowl. The ad which was officially titled Mouse Click hired Jim Belushi to voice Ray the guinea pig and James Woods to voice for Carl the rabbit. Bob Goldthwait took the voice behind the abused mouse. Blockbuster Super Bowl commercials have been running on TV during the annual event since the year 2002.
The secret to the success of Blockbuster Super Bowl commercial was the use of a traditional but effective method of producing ads – the use of talking animals. The concept has been overused but it never fails to deliver results. Viewers find talking animals very appealing. And it will be no surprise if 2008 Super Bowl ads will have, again, talking animals.