AUBURN – Monday morning armchair quarterbacks will be quibbling over more than bad calls as they gather around the water cooler today.

Brady and the boys almost pulled it off – but which Super Bowl XLII ad captured the hearts of the 93 million-plus viewers tuned in Sunday night?

Did Bridgestone beat out FedEx? Did Sobe Life Water tackle Toyota? Or did the Bud Light fire-breathing man burn the competition to a crisp?

“It doesn’t matter whether the product is good or bad – it’s the best commercial that’s going to stick out in your mind,” said 44-year-old Becky Richardson, of Auburn, one the many Patriots fans glued to the big screen at Club Texas.

Football fans around the world gathered in family rooms, bars and even movie theaters to watch New England’s unstoppable Patriots go down in history. But millions were secretly drawn by something else, whether they admit it or not.

“This is what I look forward to. It makes you laugh. It’s got to be unexpected,” Richardson joked as a group of dazzling, dancing lizards bopped their way into Super Bowl ad history along side Naomi Campbell to the beat of Michael Jackson’s ’80s classic “Thriller.”

Much rides on the ads each year, which tend to be the most closely scrutinized – if not the most watched – of the whole year. This year’s 30-second spots on News Corp.’s Fox network broadcast fetched as much as $2.7 million.

“Half the Super Bowl for me is the commercials,” said Ed Lachowicz, 26, of Augusta, rehashing his favorite ads while tailgating with friends outside the Flagship Cinemas at half-time. “Basically, these guys realize that they’re spending about a million bucks for 30 seconds, so they’re actually making something that’s quality.”

Lachowicz said he especially likes the thought that goes into the Super Bowl ads each year. His friend, 42-year-old Marceo Vachon of Gray, added that he likes the stories behind the commercials – especially those with interesting twists.

Since the 1984 Apple ad heralding the coming of the Macintosh computer, Super Bowl commercials have transformed into an art form. This year’s big ticket price tag wasn’t the only thing putting pressure on advertisers. Ads faced a Super Bowl challenge of their own as numerous Web sites and surveys allowed people to rate the commercials online.

“They built it up a lot this year, so I was anxious to see who was going to be in which ones,” said Mary Jane Vachon, 46, of Sabattus. Her favorite at half-time was the Anheuser-Busch commercial reminiscent of everyone’s favorite Philly heavyweight – Rocky Balboa.

While some watch the ads for the mere fun of figuring out their personal favorite and determining whether this crop of contenders were better than last year’s ads – others just looked forward to a break from the tension.

“The commercials break up the tension of the game,” said Scott Lagasse, 37, of Lewiston. “They’re pretty good this year. They’re pretty inventive.”

Lagasse wasn’t alone in his thoughts. Fans agreed that in game with so much on the line – Super Bowl ads serve as a welcome distraction from the pressure. And for some, they’re nothing more than mere distraction. Period. They would rather just check out the commercials later on YouTube.

“It’s just a bonus, bonus entertainment value,” said Luke Robinson, of Auburn.

While the 23-year-old marketing major loves advertising, he admits that he loves football even more and had a hard time picking out a favorite commercial because “I love watching football first!”



Newhouse News Service contributed to this story.