You gotta love the feisty attitude of former 'M*A*S*H' stars Alan Alda and Wayne Rogers about Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast being a record-breaker. Alda was gracious about the 'M*A*S*H' finale being topped by the Super Bowl broadcast. The New Orleans Saints victory over the Indianapolis Colts had more total viewers than the 1983 'M*A*S*H' finale. But Alda and Rogers both added a shot of vinegar to their honey coated responses.
Alda said in a statement to the L.A. Times, "If they broke our record, I'm happy for New Orleans and I hope it gives even more to cheer about to a city I love." However, he did wonder about how Nielsen measured the audience. It's a good question and one many people ask.
That's pretty good considering there wasn't a nipple in this year's game.
It's not hard to see great ratings for the game most years though. TV networks usually don't air much opposite them. Last night, for example, ABC and FOX ran repeats of their comedies while NBC had repeats of 'The Biggest Loser.'
It has become a cliche to say "I watch the Super Bowl just for the ads," but I really do. I have no interest in football at all (even less this year because the Patriots aren't in it - the only reason I would have to even be a little interested in the game is if the team from my area was in it), so I really do look forward to seeing and reviewing the ads. Too bad the Super Bowl ads aren't what they used to be (except for that Letterman/Leno/Oprah ad ... wow).
This year I'm picking the seven worst ads, while Kona is handling the seven best. Two rules for my worst: no movie ads (they're in a category all by themselves and shouldn't be judged with the other ads), and I tried not to pick any commercials that aired before today.
Will Rogers once said, "Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don't have for something they don't need."
And how do you that? That's easy. Just sprinkle in some sex! It's nature's negotiator.
Of course, it's not as simple as it sounds. These days, people are easier to offend than Catholic nuns and the FCC has made it nearly impossible to advertise products the way God intended (i.e. naked girls with abnormally large boobs writhing and moaning over the awesomeness of Flonase). So an even subtler art of using sex to get your money lies within this deeply layered process. Here are the best of the best and the worst of the worst.
If you're looking for a fun way to enhance your Super Bowl XLIV viewing experience, our own Danny Gallagher will be live blogging the game over at Asylum.
Danny has a vested interest in the game, since he grew up in New Orleans and is super excited to see his hometown team, the New Orleans Saints, bring home the Vince Lombardi trophy. After all, it's been 43 years since they've made a Super Bowl appearance. It's time, people. The Indianapolis Colts will just have to try again some other year.
Danny will also be Livetweeting Super Bowl Sunday at Asylum starting at 6PM ET, along with Asylum and NPR contributor Renny MacKay. You can join in that conversation by using the #AsylumSB hashtag. In fact, check it out now, because the conversation has already started. What did we do before live blogging and tweeting? We led such lonely, distant lives. But not anymore!
With the Super Bowl just a couple of days away, there's been tons of attention paid to both the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts players. And it's all justifiable. After all, they've made it to the ultimate NFL game. But when it comes to commercials, the king is most likely Peyton Manning. Whether it's "Cut that meat" or Sony TVs or licking the inside of Oreo cookies with his brother Eli, Peyton has the upper hand on the entire NFL in ads.
But wait, there is another quarterback in the Super Bowl, Drew Brees, and he has at least one commercial that ranks right up there with the funniest stuff either Manning has done. It was a 'This is SportsCenter' promotion for ESPN.
The Huffington Post has compiled a list of some of the more outrageous banned Super Bowl ads including the steamy PETA "veggie sex" ad and this ad for Smartbeep that has been floating around the Internet for years but didn't know until now that it was supposed to air during the Super Bowl. Thank you, Internet. You're the teacher that none of my teachers could ever be.
Every year around this time, everyone talks about the best Super Bowl commercials of all-time. In fact, CBS has a special tonight at 8pm, 'Greatest Super Bowl Commercials of All-Time.' Apple's '1984' ad, which introduced the Mac, is often cited as the best Super Bowl ad ever. Is it? I love it and it's certainly in the running and iconic. Some people say this is the best ad ever, period.
Here's the commercial. After the jump, take our poll.
Either CBS' advertising department is run by the biggest whiny fusspot since 'Frasier's' Niles Crane last visited his neighborhood Sizzler or these tough economic times have forced them to take Eric Cartman's "you can't come" business model to heart.
CBS has rejected yet another ad for their Super Bowl broadcast. This time, it's for the upcoming hack 'n slash adventure video game 'Dante's Inferno'. Unlike other controversial ads for GoDaddy.com and ManCrunch.com, this time they only had a problem with the commercial's tagline, "Go to Hell." Instead the ad will air with the tagline "Hell Awaits," which is way more creepy and disturbing since it implies that "Hell" is waiting to come to me instead of vice versa.
Don't watch the following ad if you're disturbed by having to read the word "Hell."
Mosiac, a Los Angeles based megachurch, is one of the six finalists in a Doritos contest to win some free air time during Super Bowl XLIV. Their proposed ad titled "Casket" spoofs the resurrection with the awesome power of Doritos and currently holds the top spot in the contest's online poll.
And if I were a betting man, I'd say it's going to stay there unless Jesus produced the "guy wears dog shock collar" ad.
Sure the National Football League might have the money, the talent and the millions of dollars in hotly contested advertising revenue, but they don't have puppies.
That's why Animal Planet is returning their annual festival of cute that is the Puppy Bowl for their sixth year, set to air from 3 to 5 p.m. Eastern on Feb. 7.
This year's showdown will include old favorite such as shots from the world-famous "bowl cam" and some new twists such as a new blimp-cam and bunnies dressed as cheerleaders. Warning: it's bound to be so cute that Discovery Networks will not be held responsible for broken TV due to excessive hugging.
CBS expects Sunday's Super Bowl XLIV to be the most watched television program in history. And the network is looking to make a mint on the big game after managing to sell every available ad slot for the broadcast.
The problem is a couple of those ads were sold to odd buyers when you consider that this is supposed to be a massive entertainment event. People are supposed to have fun watching the game they've waited all season to see. It's a reach to ask them to think about heavy socio-political issues.
The network estimates more than 100 million viewers will tune in this weekend when Peyton Manning (right) and the Indianapolis Colts take on Drew Brees and the upset-minded New Orleans Saints. The Saints look to be the sentimental favorite as the city struggles to rebuild from Hurricane Katrina.
Meanwhile, the Colts are playing in their second Super Bowl in the last three years -- having beaten the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.
If you're old enough to remember before the merger between the NFL and the AFL, or if you're a Philly football fan, the name Tom Brookshier is a familiar one for you. Philly fans will remember Tom as a hard-hitting defensive back and part of the 1960 Philadelphia Eagle championship team.
But for the mainstream NFL fan, Tom Brookshier was the sideman to Pat Summerall before John Madden. That was when the NFC was on CBS, and Summerall and Brookshier were the top broadcasting team.
Since I started writing for this site, I've had the pleasure of seeing episodes of shows like Dexter and Leverage before anyone else. I've had the pleasure of conversing with some of the industry's most interesting characters. But now I know I've truly made it: I got to watch a Super Bowl ad before the rest of the world. Who wants to touch me?
This year's Super Bowl will, of course, feature new commercials for Coca-Cola including a rather interesting one featuring that mecca of brand advertising, The Simpsons.
It actually takes quite an interesting turn from what you might expect. It's not all that silly. It's actually quite sad and even sullen, compared to ads featuring the show's characters in campaigns for Butterfinger and KFC. Watch it for during the game, even if you're like me and you actually watch the Super Bowl for the actual Super Bowl.
CBS may have opened their hearts, minds and bank accounts to advocacy groups for airtime during the Super Bowl, but it has also rejected two ads that contain themes that don't meet the network's "Standards and Practices department" requirements. Not only did they reject an ad for the gay dating website ManCrunch.com, but they have also kicked off an ad from the hotbed of notorious advertising that is GoDaddy.com, which has a similar, how you say, je ne sais quoi.
Check out the GoDaddy ad that you won't be seeing during the Super Bowl below. Warning: the following video contains a sensuous looking woman in a very revealing outfit, so those of you who were expecting the usual amount of big breasted women taking their tops off in a GoDaddy commercial might be more than a little disappointed.
You gotta love the feisty attitude of former 'M*A*S*H' stars Alan Alda and Wayne Rogers about Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast being a record-breaker. Alda was gracious about the 'M*A*S*H' finale being topped by the Super Bowl broadcast. The New Orleans Saints victory over the Indianapolis Colts had more total viewers than the 1983 'M*A*S*H' finale. But Alda and Rogers both added a shot of vinegar to their honey coated responses. 
It looks like a lot of people were curious to see if the New Orleans Saints could beat the Indianapolis Colts in their first Super Bowl appearance (spoiler: they did). Or maybe they just wanted to see 
It has become a cliche to say "I watch the Super Bowl just for the ads," but I really do. I have no interest in football at all (even less this year because the Patriots aren't in it - the only reason I would have to even be a little interested in the game is if the team from my area was in it), so I really do look forward to seeing and reviewing the ads. Too bad the Super Bowl ads aren't what they used to be (except for that 
Will Rogers once said, "Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don't have for something they don't need." 
With the Super Bowl just a couple of days away, there's been tons of attention paid to both the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts players. And it's all justifiable. After all, they've made it to the ultimate 
Sure the National Football League might have the money, the talent and the millions of dollars in hotly contested advertising revenue, but they don't have puppies. 
CBS expects Sunday's Super Bowl XLIV to be the most watched television program in history. And the network is looking to make a mint on the big game after 
If you're old enough to remember before the merger between the NFL and the AFL, or if you're a Philly football fan, the name Tom Brookshier is a familiar one for you. Philly fans will remember Tom as a hard-hitting defensive back and part of the 1960 Philadelphia Eagle championship team. 
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on 'Faces of America' and the Beer Summit
Six Reasons Why '24' Has Jumped the You-Know-What
The Super Bowl Commercials: The Best
