• more about

    #gadgets

    7 Gadgets That Will Ruin 2010

    Shine On, You Crazy Gadgets

    The Year In Image Cache: 50 Shots That Wowed Us In 2009

    read more: #clips, #gadgets, #superbowl, #top, #feature, #giants, #ironman, #ironmantrailer, #media, #patriots, #superbowllxii, #superbowl, #teslaroadster, #valleywag

    Gizmodo Super Bowl XLII Tech Commercial Awards

    This year was a pretty incredible Super Bowl (especially after last year when one Giz staffer's hometown Bears lost). And while the most exciting 30 seconds this year were definitely late in the fourth quarter, the commercials, as always, held their own competition to captivate the audience. Here are our favorite tech-oriented spots from the night, designated with some awards that we pretty much made up after polishing off a sixer.


    Best Product Placement - Iron Man
    The Iron Man movie looks better with every second we see. But did the product placement pass you by? Keep your eyes peeled in the garage scene—Iron Man drives a Tesla Roadster. It's a nice car...but the guy can fly.

    Best Lost Cause - HD DVD
    This lame commercial plugging "what you watch after the game" was tossed in at the last moment. It's not even worth watching again, but here it is anyway.

    Best High Concept - Audi R8 (Old Luxury)
    Taking a lesson from The Godfather, a man wakes with an old (Bentley?) front end in his bed. Blood has been replaced with oil, and our longing with the R8.
    Audi R8 Luxury Sports Car Super Bowl Commercial Ad

    Best Laugh - ETrade.com (Clown Version Sequel)
    The first baby stockbroker we met was kinda lame. But then we realized that the first ETrade commercial of the night was just a setup for a great payoff.
    ETrade.com

    Worst Punchline - Garmin
    Little car, little military leader, little horse...and what about the GPS? Is it little or something?

    Best Non-Commercial Commercial Moment - Football Terminated
    You know that stupid Fox robo football player they've had for a few years as part of their graphics package? On three occasions, the Terminator came in and beat the shit out of him. And damn, it was fulfilling.

    Strangest Cross Branding - Ford (regional commercial)
    Ford pitches you a Fusion with a free iPhone...to use with Sync...a Microsoft product. And they use an iPod touch commercial style. Very weird. (And note: if this commercial existed before tonight, we're sorry. We use something called 'DVR' so we're a bit out of touch.)

    Best Adolescent Humor - AMP Energy
    There were sparking nipple clamps, I mean, c'mon.
    Amp Energy

    Lowest Kick To Disney's Balls - CareerBuilder.com (Follow Your Heart)
    Singing crickets just don't have it as easy as they used to.
    Career Builder Superbowl Commercial: Follow Your Heart

    Best Overall Commercial - FedEx Pigeons
    The fisheye POV shot from the carrier pigeon's enhanced eyewear sealed the deal. But GPS and nightvision can only do so much when you're a pigeon.
    Fedex Super Bowl Ad: Carrier Pigeons Bad Choice for Shipping


    Send an email to Mark Wilson, the author of this post, at .