Bill Murray's "brilliant reprise of 'Groundhog Day'" for Fiat Chrysler's Jeep ad "finished first" in USA Today's Ad Meter, according to Tom Schad of USA TODAY. The spot "barely beat out Hyundai's 'Smaht Pahk' commercial" for No. 1, while the rest of the Top 5 included Google's "Loretta," Doritos' "The Cool Ranch" and Rocket Mortgage's "Comfortable." Murray agreed to "reprise his iconic role of Phil Connors" from the '93 movie, and Jeep "got to work" alongside its ad agency, Highdive, Chicago. They "recruited other members of the original cast, including Murray's brother Brian Doyle Murray, and returned to the original location" of Woodstock, Ill. Jeep secured what is "known as a 'floating spot' from Fox, meaning the company didn't know exactly when the commercial would air during the game." A Jeep spokesperson said that they "didn't even finish shooting the ad until Jan. 26" (USA TODAY, 2/3). On Long Island, Verne Gay writes the "Groundhog Day" redux was "so good you almost forgot about the Jeep." Gay: "Bonus points for Ned Ryerson and Buster, whose quirks seem undimmed by the passage of years" (NEWSDAY, 2/3). In Newark, Amy Kuperinsky writes Jeep "aimed to cash in on nostalgia and the timeliness of the Groundhog Day theme." Because the spot also had Murray, it "seems to have worked" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 2/3).
WICKED FUNNY AD: NEWSDAY's Gay writes Hyundai's "Smaht Pahk," which was prereleased last Monday, was "seen so many times it had lost some of its punch by Sunday." But the "shrewd play on words and a shrewder sendup of a certain flavor of Bostonian self-assurance ... remained both funny and culturally authentic" (NEWSDAY, 2/3). In Boston, Jaclyn Reiss writes Hyundai's ad was a "'talkah' even before the Super Bowl." However, some locals "took issue with the way the word 'wicked' was used in the ad" (BOSTON GLOBE, 2/3). YAHOO SPORTS' Jay Busbee writes it "doesn't matter if Boston accents are overdone (they are), it's hard to dislike a commercial with so many likeable and funny people in it" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/3). USA Today's Charisse Jones said of the ad, "Commercials are supposed to make you think about the product, and you could not forget what they were talking about. That was a smart parking feature and they said Smart Park about 500 times. It was drilled into your head, so it was perfect and it was this kind of hilarious tribute to this iconic city" ("Today," NBC, 2/3).
TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE: The AP's Anderson & O'Brien note Google's "Loretta" spot "seemed to make an impression on game viewers." But the "tearjerker" was a "somewhat risky approach for Google amid heightened concern over consumer privacy" (AP, 2/3). In Chicago, Steve Johnson writes, "Tugging at the heartstrings is probably a wise thing for the all-knowing, all-powerful Google to do." That strategy could "help us forget the way it cunningly turns all that it learns about us into money for its bottom line." Johnson: "It won me over" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/3). In DC, Judkis & Rao write many Super Bowl viewers "were in tears" after the "simple spot." The commercial "reminded them of their parents' and grandparents' love stories, and the toll that Alzheimer's and dementia take" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/3). In S.F., Katie Dowd wrote some people "pointed out the inherent creepiness of Google tracking and filing away information about the most intimate of human relationships." But if a viewer was of the "dystopian persuasion, the commercial was made all the stranger by the bizarre hummus ad that immediately followed it" from Sabra (SFGATE.com, 2/2). CNBC's Michelle Caruso-Cabrera said she "felt conflicted about the Google ad," because she "cried, and yet at the same time I thought, 'Yes, they know everything about you.' It's creepy" ("Squawk Box," CNBC, 2/3). USA Today's Jones said, "It was so human. You couldn't watch it and not get a tear in your eye" ("Today," NBC, 2/3).
