TVSquad

Chevy must have focus groups and research that tells them that Howie Long is a good spokesperson for their products. As a Fox NFL anaylst, he's fine alongside the likes of Jimmy Johnson and Terry Bradshaw. That said, I can't stand Howie Long in his commercials.

Long is smug and arrogant in all of 60 seconds. He's supposed to be selling the advantages of Chevy products -- while dissing those of Honda in direct jabs at the Japanese company -- but he rubs me the wrong way. Perhaps it's his smile. He just acts like he has no humility. He's all confidence and self-assuredness. Those two qualities should make him an excellent pitchman. That's what Chevy is trying to project.

As far as car ads go, I think this one fell well short of GM's "Robot Nightmare." Of course, that one wasn't selling a particular model, but the end game is still the same, sell cars. It's not that it's a bad commercial. It does showcase the car, and the bit with flying through the car to show how silent it is was a nice touch.

At the end of the day though, this is the Superbowl. Considering the cost for the ad, it needs to be something special. That commercial looks good during a rerun of Charmed on TNT. Here, on the big stage, it only stands out as being decidedly below par.

Oldie but a goodie here. I haven't even seen this in at least two years but I stumbled on to it earlier today while digging around on YouTube. What is it that I speak of? Quite possibly one of the coolest commercials (it's like a tiny film really) that I've ever seen. Made by Honda in 2003, the cog commercial was only released in Britain and the Internet so I'm not sure how many people actually know about it. Tons probably, but whatever -- it's still fun to watch. It's actually quite similar to this "10,000 coins topple over" video that Adam posted about a few weeks ago.

So go ahead and watch it. The video is after the jump. But while you do, think about this: According to Honda's Wikipedia page, it took the filmmakers and engineers 606 takes to make this elaborate machine do what it was supposed to in front of a camera. I'm glad they didn't give up. Perhaps this commercial is the root of my obsession with the Honda crab?

I'm in love with the Honda Crab. If it were physically possible, I'd marry Gil (that's his name according to his MySpace page) and we'd have dozens of tiny crustacean babies.

OK... maybe not. But every time that damn commercial comes on, I have to drop whatever I'm doing and watch it. In no way does the commercial make me want to go and test drive a new Honda Element.

But it does make me want to walk around saying "I pinch" in a mediocre Spanish accent. No idea what I'm talking about? The commercial is after the jump, but be warned. That crab is adorable.