Going commercial

On a more this-worldly note, I watched the Super Bowl yesterday with my dad. I care nothing, if not less, about football and didn't even know who was playing until the day before yesterday, but it's a nation-wide cultural event and I decided to take part. I also like to give my dad some company for sports-watching sometimes. He likes to watch sports (his favorite is baseball), and neither my mom nor I provide much companionship in that area of life. So I try.

I chose the San Francisco Forty-Niners as the team I'd cheer for. I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area (San Jose) for quite a few years. My sister's family still lives there, and her youngest is a big-time Forty-Niners fan, so it was a family thing, too.

Part of the cultural thing is to watch the commercials. TV ads during the Super Bowl are the most expensive TV advertising there is, and the advertisers try to come up with a spot that will be "the one people talk about around the water cooler" the next day.

These were my favorites.

In first place, an ad for Ram Trucks, featuring an old Paul Harvey recording about farmers.



I am the granddaughter of a dairy farmer.

In second place, an ad for Budweiser beer, with a narrative about a horse recognizing the man who raised him.



I've always loved animal stories. This was sort of an equine version of Lassie Come-Home.

My dad knew an old man who raised and trained draft horses but finally had to sell them when he got too old to carry on. He went out to their new farm to visit them once and they recognized his voice and came to greet him and show him affection. He almost cried when he told my dad about it, and I almost cried when my dad repeated the story to me.

And in third place, a humorous ad for Oreo cookies, with a "whisper-fight" over whether the cookie or the cream is the best part.



How silly. Of course it's the cream.

After the game was over, I saw this Toyota commercial, which made me think of a nephew of mine (brother to the big Niners fan) who works for Toyota and travels around the country for them.



All in all, it was nice evening with my folks.

(I intentionally missed the half-time show. I never like it, so that's when I walked my dog.)