Mark Wanczak

The game proved to be competitive, but the ads were not with the best ad award undoubtedly going to Google’s third-quarter spot. It’s difficult to say if Google’s ad was remarkably good or if the rest of the ads were so awfully bad, but the storytelling product demo surely stood out.

I see lots of folks on Twitter criticizing the ad for being too simple. The argument is that it seems unnecessary  to show people how to search on Google, it’s something that seems to be common knowledge, almost ubiquitous.

I disagree. Without the search-based narrative running through the ad, yes, I could understand that criticism. But the spot illustrated the nuanced power of Google, proved it to be more than just a one-trick search pony.

If you’d like to view any of last night’s Super Bowl ads again, AdWeek has an easy-to-navigate collection.

Update: AgencySpy has some info on the copywriter behind the ad, Tristan Smith, and notes that it’s his first campaign ever. He graduated in May of 2009. That son of a bitch. Well done, Tristan.