Monkey Business

I know I'm weighing in a couple days late on this, but, in my estimation, this was a pretty down year for Super Bowl commercials. After Gladys Knight appeared as a rugby player in a pitch for MBNA credit cards, one guy at the Super Bowl gathering I attended said, "You just wasted your $2.4 million!"

My favorites were the ads for CareerBuilder which featured a man working in an office surrounded by chimpanzees in suits going crazy, prompting the man to repeatedly say, "I work with a bunch of monkeys." I know dressing chimps in clothes and getting them to act like humans is an old formula, but it still struck a chord with me.

I also liked the FedEx ad which outlined 10 criteria needed to have the best Super Bowl commercial and then weaved all 10 elements together in the 30-second spot. The 10 elements needed were: 1. a celebrity (Burt Reynolds); 2. a cute animal; 3. a dancing animal; 4. a cute kid; 5. a groin kick; 6. a talking animal; 7. attractive women; 8. product message (optional); 9. a famous pop song; and 10. a bonus ending.