Hasta La Creative!

Ten years after Janet Jackson‘s “Nipplegate” fiasco (and 55 years after “The Day Music Died,” which reminds of simpler times when people were better at naming things), the Super Bowl has become one of the least controversial broadcast TV events. This year’s spots were, in two words, pretty dull. This morning, water cooler talk centered around what was perhaps Peyton Manning‘s worst performance in his storied career, with a few words spent on an adorable puppy befriending horses for Budweiser. Even GoDaddy, America’s idiot PG-rated smut peddlers, were commended by critics for this year creating a spot that was more about a harmless joke than it was about visiting their website to see if Danica Patrick really got naked. Booooorriiiinnnnnggg.

Now, imagine a world in which the above apparently “banned” commercial from Carl’s Jr. ran last night. Would that world be much different from the one that we currently reside in? Well, no, not really. But, at least some group of oversensitive moms in some rural town would have protested this commercial. I mean, do their five-year-olds really need to know that the world is a scary place where scantily dressed cowgirls suck on massive sausages for minutes on end without taking a bite? What about when that mayo or butter or whatever drops slowly onto her left breast? One might say it’s suggestive of semen, dripping slowly off of a large penis getting sucked off at a ranch. Yes, one might.

As for the origin of this spot, we’ve reached out to 72andSunny who tell us the spot was definitely not from them. Also, last we heard, Carl’s Jr. doesn’t make a breakfast sandwich with a comically large sausage stuck in its center. So, we assume it’s some prankster doing it on spec somewhere because he or she was bored. But, in the meantime, we’ll just pretend that this actually ran during the Super Bowl, and that we had something…ANYTHING…more to talk about today.

(Updated): We have no a brief statement from CKE Restaurants’ brand’s Carl’s Jr. on the spot:

On behalf of CKE Restaurants, Inc., parent company to Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s restaurants, They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But, we had nothing to do with this spoof ad.’”

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In a timely follow-up to last week’s humorous “Long Week” spot, W+K NY have released “Jersey,” the latest in their “This Is SportsCenter” campaign.

The 17 second “Jersey” features SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott and Broncos mascot Miles. Miles, depressed enough after seeing the Broncos steamrolled in the Super Bowl, prepares for what is presumably his end of the bargain following a losing bet with Seahawks mascot Blitz, and Scott feels for him. For the Denver mascot, it’s going to be another long week. “Jersey” is a fun continuation of the mascot rivalry W+K explored with “Long Week,” although we’re guessing Broncos fans won’t be so amused. Stick around for a second look at “Long Week” after the jump. continued…

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In case you didn’t catch it over the weekend, NFL pro Brad Smith discussed his most anticipated Super Bowl ads, a chat that followed his thoughts on Richard Sherman and more Super Bowl controversy. There’s a prevalent Beats-starring Colin Kaepernick spot that stirs his emotions. It’s quick and painless, and MediabistroTV sat down with Philadelphia Eagles’ wide receiver, who was in town in town to promote his “Design for Brad Smith” competition to talk about the issue.
Take a gander, and to watch more mediabistroTV videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV.

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The Super Bowl, shown in 200 countries, including Hungary, is translated in simple terms by international announcers.

A few members of the show’s cast appeared in a truncated version of an episode of Jerry Seinfeld’s web series, “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.”

At a time of atomization and endless special-interest hobbit holes, big live television events like the Super Bowl fulfill our need for something, anything, in common.

McCann Erickson has launched an integrated social media campaign called Not-So-Super to raise awareness about sex trafficking for the New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition.

“Sex trafficking is commonly perceived as something that happens far away, in other parts of the world. We are eager to try to change that perception.” said Tom Murphy, co-CCO of McCann New York. Because of this, it’s all too easy for people to dismiss the sex trafficking epidemic as something that doesn’t concern them, but it’s a very real issue much closer to home than many suspect.

McCann’s “Not-So-Super” campaign shines a light on the sex trafficking epidemic happening in New York, elsewhere in this country, and all over the world. “It is the buyers of commercial sex who drive such a high demand that girls as young as 12 are trafficked across state lines to meet it. We need to address the day in and day out demand to bankrupt this so-called business model and put an end to the buying and selling of young girls once and for all,” says Sonia Ossorio, President, National Organization for Women – New York City. So McCann is hoping their campaign can help curb the demand for commercial sex, which spikes around big events like the Super Bowl, that leads to the exploitation of women and children by pimps and sex traffickers.

At the center of the campaign is the “Not-So-Super” website and the above video, a harrowing look at the victims of sex trafficking and the increased demand placed on sex workers during the Super Bowl and other big events (accompanied by an increase in the likeliness of physical abuse at the hands of their clients and pimps/traffickers). It’s hard to watch, especially on the Friday going into Super Bowl weekend, but it’s an important message that needs to be shared and a stark reminder that some dread the impending arrival of the big game. The website also offers a telephone hotline for people who are or may know victims of sexual trafficking, and a variety of other resources. The full campaign will “span film, print, street activities, a website and twitter initiatives.” Hopefully, “Not So Super” can help make a difference for victims of sexual trafficking at one of their most vulnerable times of the year.

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Super Bowl mania has officially begun. Advertisers are scrambling to make sure their ads get enough hype leading up to Sunday’s big game. And then there’s that other hype we’ve been hearing about involving comments Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks made during his NFC championship post-game interview with Fox Sports’ Erin Andrews.

This morning MediabistroTV sat down with Philadelphia Eagles’ wide receiver Brad Smith, in town to promote his “Design for Brad Smith” competition, and got his take on the Sherman controversy.

We’ll have more on the “Design for Brad Smith” competition during our coverage of New York Fashion Week next week. And to watch more mediabistroTV videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV.

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Looking for an alternative to a multi-million dollar Super Bowl ad? Enter “Digital Streaker,” a site which launched this past Wednesday, offering brands the opportunity to upload their logo and place it in front of a streaker’s schmeckel. Once you upload your logo, you simply select a site for the digital streaker to run naked across, and then you’ll receive a unique link to the site featuring your logo blurring out digital streaker’s man bits.

Don’t have a logo in mind but want to participate in this bit of Internet mishigas anyway? That’s cool, Digital Streaker also gives you the option to blur out his putz with a cat face, a dolphin, a shuttlecock, pancakes, Kim Jong-un, or a bowling trophy. You can also choose between cheerleader streaker, feathered boa wearing streaker, luchador streaker, and horse mask streaker. I went with luchador streaker with a cat wang, which I sent on over to the official Scientology website.

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When we heard GoPro was going to be a Super Bowl advertiser again this year, we were prepared for something epic. And while the event the camera brand chose to feature is definitely a monumental moment, it's also … kinda old.

GoPro today unveiled its 30-second Super Bowl spot, which shows the first moments of skydiver Felix Baumgartner's 24-mile plunge to the earth way back in October 2012. Baumgartner and sponsor Red Bull used seven GoPro cameras to document the Stratos jump, and GoPro's Super Bowl ad serves mostly as a teaser to the eight-minute short film created from all that footage. (Which you can also see below.)

Leveraging this partnership to create Super Bowl ad content makes sense on one level, but the decision also banks on the hope that Red Bull itself hasn't already sucked all the marketing marrow from the bones of this extensively publicized event. 

Even last October, Red Bull released its own nine-minute video recapping the jump from Baumgartner's point of view. While the new Stratos video hosted on GoPro.com reveals a few new angles, it's essentially just the same thing we saw last October, which was the same thing live viewers saw a year before that.

In a statement, GoPro acknowledges that it's treading a bit of a worn path, but the brand is confident the Stratos jump still has a lot of excitement to offer:

"While many people are familiar with the Stratos event, what most don’t  know is that GoPro rode shotgun during the jump, documenting every moment with seven HERO2 cameras. We want audiences to understand the insane versatility of GoPro cameras, from baby walkers (see our Baby Dub Step Super Bowl commercial from last year) to outer space. We want them to experience the Stratos event again, for the first time, through our video story, and with the out-of-this-world imagery that only a GoPro can deliver."

Millions have viewed Red Bull's footage, but clearly there are millions more who missed the hoopla the first few times around. Will they be impressed with GoPro's example of the great heights its devices can reach and document? Or will they miss the GoPro logos and just wonder why Red Bull is still running an ad from 2012?