Super Commericals? My Kids Weigh In

The common marketing logic is that puppies and babies sell. In fact, since the pets.com sock puppet made its debut in 2000, it seems like every other commercial includes a talking animal or a stock-trading baby.

As the Steelers were preparing to handle the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, I was wondering how my kids would rate the commercials ... puppies, babies, and all.

I know that kids under age 10 aren't the target audience, per se, but children look at the world through a different lens. So what do they see when it comes to the big game? What kind of impact do those $100K per second, $3 million, 30-second spots have on America's future spenders?

Thus, I decided to conduct a very, very unscientific experiment with LJ and Julianna. I asked them rate the Super Bowl commercials on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being the best).

Mind you, this experiment was not without its trials and tribulations. At one point, LJ saw a commercial that disturbed him so much (the Castrol grease monkey chimp kissing the guy), that he declared: "Now that one makes me want to stop watching commercials and only watch the game!"

Nevertheless, we made it through the first half with the kids viewing and rating every single ad.

So, what was the verdict? Which ads did the kids love the most? Below are LJ's and Julianna's ratings.

Note: Only the first half commercials were rated because second half is past their bedtime!

Super Bowl XLIII Commercials
LJ's & Julianna's Top 10

1. Doritos - Crystal Ball
2. E*trade - Talking Baby
3. Pedigree - Crazy Pets
4. Pepsi Max - I'm Good
5. Budweiser - Clydesdales Stick
6. Firestone - Taters
7. Cheetos - Chester the Cheetah
8. Movie Trailer - Land of the Lost
9. Bud Light - Meeting
10. Audi - Chase

You'll notice a theme in my kids' top choices. Their favorites, in every instance, included:

• bodily harm and/or property damage (Doritos; Pepsi Max; Firestone; Land of the Lost; Bud Light; Audi)
  
  OR
  
  
• talking animals/babies (E*trade, Pedigree; Budweiser; Cheetos)

I'm not really sure what all of this means for LJ's and Julianna's future spending habits. But one thing is painfully clear about their tastes in advertising (and my parenting abilities).

My children love to see people get hurt, stuff get blown up, and smart-ass animals and kids.

Now isn't that just super?