Super Bowl ads, UFC 81 thoughts
I'm a huge Howard Stern fan. That's why I became a Sirius subscriber over two years ago, just to follow him to satellite radio. So, while I didn't hear his entire rant today, I did catch most of what he said about last night's Super Bowl ads and I wholeheartedly agree with him.
Last night's ads were borrrrrring. There was nothing memorable about 99 percent of them. I remember the days when I used to actually look forward to the ads, perhaps even more so than the game itself. Now, there's nothing to see and nothing to talk about. Ever since the "wardrobe malfunction" a few years ago, certain segments of our society have exerted their will to push their agenda of fear, and one tangible effect of that is seen during commercial breaks on Super Bowl Sunday. Imagine how unbearable those three to four hours would have been if the game itself didn't live up to the hype (as it often doesn't.) Thankfully, last night's game was a good one.
So, I'm begging all parties involved (especially the FCC) to loosen up a bit and let us laugh a little. Enough with the vanilla, completely uninspired ads that we've seen the last couple of years. (By the way, did anyone else notice the somewhat racist overtones of the Sales Genie ads? What ever happened to clever, thoughtful humor? Does edgy now equal stereotypical Indian accents and Chinese panda bears?) I'm sure Madison Avenue can do better than this.
And, if you are still searching for something provocative and stimulating to get those neurons firing, head over to SI.com for my thoughts on UFC 81. I examine who Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira should fight next, why Brock Lesnar's loss was good for MMA and the UFC, which UFC 81 fighters had memorable performances, and why the UFC's recent trend of airing more fights on their pay-per-view telecasts is a good thing. UFC 81 was a very good event and certainly left us with plenty to discuss afterwards.
Kevin Richardson has been a fan of mixed martial arts competition ever since UFC 3, when 600-pound sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarborough was beaten by Keith Hackney. Kevin will cover the world of MMA — in Baltimore, nationally and internationally. He plans to take readers into the locker rooms and MMA schools, where they'll hear from local fighters and trainers. If you have a news tip or suggestions for the blog, please 
Comments
Unfortunately, Madison Avenue is all over putting someone beautfiul like Naomi Campbell into a Super Bowl ad, as Howard pointed out, although she has questionable (violent) behavior. Where's the morality in that?
Jenny
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sternrate.com
the pulse of howard stern
Posted by: Jenny Gold | February 4, 2008 11:55 PM
I really didn't see anything off of the box or slap my thight funny!
Grade: SUMMER SCHOOL
Forget about it, the worst group of ads ever.
Best thing?
The new season has arready began!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Get to work!
Posted by: Brian | February 5, 2008 1:39 AM
Pramit,
As I read your thoughts on the UFC and in particular on Brock Lesner all I could think of wow have you got this all wrong. In little over a minute two stars were made or reborn. Mir took a pounding and a half and if not for a questionable ref stoppage on the illegal punch to the back of the head he may have suffered a ground and pound stoppage. May being the key word.
This was booked as perfect as any wrestling match ever made. Both guys came out stronger which is the real thing the UFC is happy about. This wasn't about Mir needing to show the fake wrestler a thing or two about the UFC... this was both men playing to their strengths... and inexperience while a catalyst for the tap out proves that Lesner is the freak that UFC can and will market. He will eventually become the equivalent of Bob Sapp in Japan for K1. Whether or not that is good for the purists of mma is of little concern to Dana White and the bottom line and most importantly to fight fans.
Mir gets his ups for coming back and getting the tapout... he's needed in this weight class where top dogs are few and none at the present moment.
Sylvia needs to retire... or Dana needs to stop putting him on shows b/c he is a buzzkill when he fights. The collective yawn in the crowd when he comes out for the borefest that we all know is gonna come! He's the equivalent of John Ruiz in boxing. Winning isn't everything in the UFC... you actually have to look good in winning!
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Marc,
The Lesnar-Mir fight was predictable (and I called it in my preview article for SI.com.) Lesnar did the only thing he could do -- overpower Mir and take him down for some GNP. When that didn't do the job, he was lost. Mir settled down and went for armbar submissions before taking the knee. If you're saying that Lesnar is going to be no better than Sapp, that's not much of an endorsement. Sapp isn't a star -- he's a sideshow attraction.
About Sylvia, I've been down on him too in the past. But, he came out strong at UFC 81 and he was aggressive. He looked as good as he has in a while. Like you say, winning isn't everything. In this case, neither is losing. It was a valiant effort on Sylvia's part. He lost to one of the best.
Pramit
Posted by: marc | February 5, 2008 1:48 AM
LOVE STERN AND EVERYTHING HE SAID ABOUT THE SUPER BOWL
ADS WAS TRUE
Posted by: BaBaBooey | February 5, 2008 5:55 AM
One more fight asking too much?? I dont think so. A little less Joe "the douche bag" Rogan and Mike " how many stupid things can I say in one tellecast" Goldberg air time and we could probable fit in a whole extra card. And all the mind numbing prefight banter that has already been rerun 7 times on spike before the event. Cut it! I know they think they have a winning formula, but us fight fans just want to see fights. Stick the undercard stuff on the end if their worrying about boring the casual fan.
Posted by: Dan | February 5, 2008 12:19 PM
Wait, so in the same breath breath as asking the FCC to relax in what they allow to make things funnier, you have a problem with the racist overtones in a commercial using accents as humor?
I get it, maybe they should only allow what you consider to be funny?
It's a freedom of speech, not a freedom to not offend.
Besides, it's not the FCC that's the issue. It's the station owner's and sponsors, and they have (unfortunatley) all the right to keep whatever they want off the air--it's not an FCC issue.
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xzi,
Maybe they should go by what I find funny. I know my sense of humor is better than that of the corporate suits running TV programming right now.
And, it has everything to do with the FCC. The FCC can fine broadcasters who "offend." That's what the broadcasters are afraid of.
My point about the racist humor is that IT'S RACIST!!! Humor doesn't always have to offend. It can just be funny. What we saw on Sunday was not funny. It wasn't even close.
BTW, trust me -- I laugh at stuff like Apu on The Simpsons. I'm not sensitive to those stereotypes as long as it makes sense in a larger context and is clever. But, the Sales Genie ads were just pathetic. There was no inherent reason those guys had to be Indian or Chinese...
Pramit
Posted by: xzi | February 5, 2008 5:33 PM
I agree. In years past, I wanted to remain on the couch to watch the ads, but this year I used the commercial snore fests to run upstairs and finish making the food--something I used to do during the games because I didn't want to miss the hilarious commercials.
Why are certain people so uncomfortable with a good spirited “wardrobe malfunction” everyone once in awhile? At the least this type of entertainment gave us all a weeks worth of fodder for conversation. The FCC is killing the water cooler conversation.
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Deezy,
You sound like a very sensible person. And, I bet you cook up quite a meal.
Pramit
Posted by: Deezy | February 5, 2008 5:57 PM
Pramit,
I agree with you completly. I am neither Chinese nor Indian and I thought the Sales Genie ads were racist.
As for Lesnar, give him time to develop some BJJ and he can become a force in the Heavyweight division. Mir put on a great fight. I am one of the first to bad mouth Sylvia, but i was impressed with his perfomance. If he can continue on that path, he will have a fan in me.
Posted by: Manuel | February 5, 2008 7:22 PM