Super Bowl XL, first quarter

7:07 p.m. ACURA: Mitsubishi got people singing in cars. Acura gets them talking, for some voice-activated feature. PEPSI: A pretty fun spot with Jackie Chan. Again, nothing revolutionary. But who needs revolutionary? 7:04 p.m. BUD LIGHT: Third winner in a row, with guys grilling on the rooftops. AMERIQUEST. After last year’s impressive showing, we were very curious what Ameriquest would come up with this year. Another great "Don't judge too quickly" spot. This one will score well. 7:01 p.m. ALEVE. Leonard Nimoy has to be one of the weirdest choices for a spokesman. Semi-obscure and with limited range. That old Priceline spot he did with William Shatner apparently made him Super Bowl worthy. Trekkies probably enjoyed this one. I thought it was a bit silly. Bonus links: an online-only Nimoy/Shatner Priceline spot, and Leonard Nimoy’s photography homepage. 6:57 p.m. Don't forget the battle of bald vs. hairy in this Super Bowl. Still 0-0. 6:55 p.m. VNU Research Fun Fact No. 3: Just over 40 million American men over 18 watched last year’s Super Bowl. They were joined by about 32 million American women over 18. 6:54 p.m. PEPSI. Reliable effort if not hugely inspired. Diddy is back. The can is center stage. It won’t win any awards, but it’s flashy enough. Bonus link: How to make a backpacking stove out of a soda can. 6:50 p.m. TOYOTA: Bilingual spot for the Camry. Historic commercial, plus it didn’t suck. Gas/electric and English/Spanish analogy is pretty seamless. Bonus link: Census info about the growing Hispanic population. FEDEX: Geico started something with its caveman spots. Cavemen are funny. They’re simple and instinctual and easily offended. Good sight gags in this FedEx spot. The "doesn't exist yet" line was kind of silly, but nice effects otherwise. Bonus link: One of the Geico caveman spots. BUD LIGHT: Another great spot with the grizzly bear. If only Timothy Treadwell had brought some beer to Alaska. 6:43 p.m. SIERRA MIST: Good to see some airport-security humor. We thought that was off limits. BUD LIGHT: Great spot with the secret revolving wall. One out of every five beers ads should have some kind of wall-and-fridge humor, with neighbors ending up with the beer. Couldn't expect a better Bud Light ad. Stupid and funny. 6:36 p.m. BUD LIGHT: Someone's hidden Bud Light around the office, and employees are tearing the place apart looking for it. And they say employees' productivity drops around Super Bowl time. BURGER KING. The Whopperettes. A pretty good Super Bowl :60. Grand, eye-catching, tongue-in-cheek. Food costumes are comical. Builds on a story line (the King and Brooke Burke) people have been following. What more do you want, really? Didn't go over spectacularly at the particular party that I'm at. But it was nicely done. Bonus link: The Great MGM Musicals Page. 6:29 p.m. VNU Research Fun Fact No. 2: The top 10 food items, in order, that see a sales boost right before the Super Bowl are: regular cola, regular beer, light beer, tortilla chips, potato chips, all remaining carbonated beverages, frozen pizza, diet cola, unbreaded shrimp (!) and chocolate candy. —Posted by Tim Nudd

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Super Bowl XL, first quarter

Tim Nudd

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Tim Nudd