It was sometime in the third quarter Sunday. The 49ers were rapidly gaining on the Ravens, and there wasn't a dry eye in the sports bar.
Female eye, that is, and it wasn't because the ladies were all Ravens fans. Blame it on the Budweiser Clydesdales.
As its 2013 contribution to the always anticipated Super Bowl commercials lineup, AB InBev had just trotted out an adorable young Clydie and a heartwarming, 60-second tale of a trainer and the horse that never forgot him.
Who would want to fast-forward through that?
As technology finds new and better ways to avoid TV commercials, the question has to be asked: Don't some people like commercials? Or, put another way, doesn't everybody like some commercials? We think this is true, especially when it comes to ads that are in heavy rotation after their Super Bowl debuts. Here, in no particular order, are a few of our faves:
1E-BABY, IT'S YOU
They're all so cute, how could we pick just one E-Trade baby? We can't, so we'll go with the duo in the 2009 commercial. You remember. "Take these broken wings ... What? I can't flex the golden pipes?" ph.ly/baby
2STILL MEAN
Pittsburgh Steeler & Hall of Famer Mean Joe Greene touched us with the Coca-Cola ad in which a young fan offers the limping player his Coke. Though the ad had already aired, it blew up when it ran during the 1980 Bowl. ph.ly/Ixl_N
3WASSUP?
Full disclosure: Director Charles Stone III is the son of beloved former Daily News columnist Chuck Stone, but we weren't the only ones enjoying the 2000 Super Bowl commercial for Budweiser. ph.ly/wassup
4WHERE THERE'S A WILL
You thought the Go Daddy babe making out with the nerd was over the top? They should've done a 34-minute-long blackout version of Will Ferrell's spot for Old Milwaukee. (Aired in limited markets last week for Super Bowl XLVII.) ph.ly/ferrell
5A BETTER MOUSE TRAP
In this fan-made commercial for the 2008 Bowl, an opera buff's plan to catch a mouse with Doritos ends poorly - for the buff. Short, succinct and silly - and that's what makes a great TV ad. ph.ly/n6U64
- Becky Batcha, Laurie Conrad, Pat McLoone, Don Russell, Vinny Vella
