PEPSI'S THREE-MINUTE BRITNEY SPEARS 'GLADIATOR' AD

Marketer: PepsiCo Brand: Pepsi Title: "Gladiator" Agency: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, London Made to be broadcast in Europe only, this is Pepsi's full, three-minute 'Gladiator' spot starring Britney Spears, Beyonce Knowles and Pink. It might as well be called 'We who are about to drink salute you.' Its 'Ben Hur'-meets-MTV story line features three warriors who throw down their weapons and engage the crowd in a rousing rendition of Queen's 'We Will Rock You.' Filmed at the Coliseum in Rome, it was produced by Pierre Marcus of BBDO Worldwide and directed by Tarsem Singh. The production company was Radical Media. Client: PepsiCo Brand: Pepsi/iTunes downloads Title: "I Fought the Law" Agency: BBDO Worldwide, New York This Super Bowl ad hypes the Pepsi-Apple promotion that is giving away 100 million free downloads from iTunes. The spot presents as heroes a group of teenagers who have each been formally charged with copyright violations for illegal music downloading. With the song 'I Fought the Law' playing in the background, the children gleefully thumb their noses at the music industry. Client: The Recording Academy Brand: Music Industry Copyrights Title: "Club" Agency: Edelman, New York Expressing the opposite sentiment is this new spot from the Recording Academy, which represents the interests of recording companies and artists. Here, we see a young teenager downloading a song in the privacy of her bedroom. But her criminal act suddenly stops the music for everyone: Dance clubs go silent, music companies go bankrupt and rock stars must face the horror of not being able to afford their next Rolls Royce. Crotch Dog Marketer: Anheuser-Busch Brand: Bud Light Title: "Good Dog" Agency: DDB, Chicago One of a number of crotch-focused Super Bowl ads, this one features two dog owners who meet near a cabin in the woods to demonstrate their animals' skills at retrieving bottles of Bud Light. The winning dog attacks the genitals of one man, forcing him to throw his bottle of Bud Light into the air. The other man catches it and smiles wickedly. This spot received the highest consumer recall score for the period of Jan. 19 to Feb. 1 in the bi-weekly Intermedia Advertising Group survey. Client: Subway Brand: Subway Title: "Husband" Agency: Fallon Worldwide, Minneapolis Last fall, Subway's cross-dresser spot launched its new 'It's OK, I had Subway' campaign. Each ad in this group presented consumers who felt free to 'be bad' because they had eaten a healthy Subway lunch. This fellow gave in to his impulse to dress up as a 16-year-old female cheerleader. Another leaped on stage at a go-go bar to strip. Client: Subway Brand: Subway Title: "Misunderstanding" Agency: Fallon Worldwide, Minneapolis The clarification ad ran in the immediate Super Bowl post-game period on CBS. It begins, 'Some of you may have gotten the wrong idea about Subway...' and goes on to explain that its earlier ads meant that if you ate a health Subway lunch, you could occasionally EAT bad, not BE bad. So, no more Subway excuses for cross-dressing as a teenage girl. Marketer: Office of National Drug Control Policy Brand: Anti-Marijuana Title: "Slam" Agency: Foote, Cone & Belding, New York In what first appears to be a heated, door-slamming argument, a couple rehearses the confrontation they plan with their marijuana-smoking child. The spot is the latest in the White House campaign that has been tangled in controversy over its cost, its ad billing procedures and its fundamental effectiveness. Client: MoveOne.org Brand: Anti-Bush Campaign Title: "State Misleader" Agency: Zimmerman and Markman, Los Angeles Produced for MoveOn.org to run on TV on either side of President Bush's State of the Union Address. The portrayal of the Bush administration's Medicare policies is witheringly negative. A voice clearly not the president's says, 'My bill actually forbids Medicare from negotiating lower drug prices. So you'll probably have to pay more for your prescriptions than you do now.' Client: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Brand: Medicare Title: "Medicare" Agency: Campbell-Ewald This spot produced for the federal Department of Health and Human Services portrays the Bush Medicare policies as being more generous than ever before and providing 'more benefits and prescription drug coverage.' It indicates that you will save on the price of your medicines and, overall, 'get more.'

PEPSI'S THREE-MINUTE BRITNEY SPEARS 'GLADIATOR' AD

Featured Stories