2012 Super Bowl Ads: Dogs Steal the Show
Published on February 06, 2012
Sunday night's Super Bowl may have starred Eli Manning and Madonna, but dogs stole the show during the game's commercial breaks. Ads featuring canine actors swept the top three spots in USA Today's Super Bowl Ad Meter rankings.
Here's a roundup of our favorite clips from the big game:
Bud Light: "Here We Go"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyFWSys3TJU&feature=channel_video_title
The beer company's commercial introduces us to a true rescue dog named Weego, whose new owner trains him to fetch cold bottles — and even a keg — for his friends. Bud Light is also using the ad to celebrate shelter dogs. For every "Like" that the company's Facebook page receives, Bud Light will donate $1 (up to $250,000) to Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation.
Doritos: "Man's Best Friend"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3bqbJduK2w
Huff the Great Dane won this commercial's creator $1 million on Sunday night. The advertisement was one of 6,100 videos submitted for the "Crash the Super Bowl" contest that Doritos runs, which allows voters to pick which user-generated commercials air during the big game. USA Today's Super Bowl Ad Meter ranked the ad as the number-one commercial of the night, so Doritos shelled out a cool $1 million to its Virginia Beach creator.
Skechers: "Go Run"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlYCBJSYWBQ
A Skechers spot stars a French Bulldog named Mr. Quiggly, who outruns a pack of Greyhounds and then moonwalks across the finish line. But the ad, which was filmed at Arizona's last operating dog track, has stirred up controversy among activists.
Volkswagen: "The Dog Strikes Back"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-9EYFJ4Clo
A commercial for the 2012 Beetle shows a tubby dog named Bolt getting in shape so he can race the car down the road. After a few months of treadmill-jogging, swimming and resisting table scraps, the pup finally fits himself through the doggy door and outruns the Volkswagen. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Australian Shepherd–St. Bernard mix donned a furry fat suit for his role, and he had to learn how to "act" so he would be comfortable in the suit on camera.