For the amount of money Anheuser-Busch spent on Super Bowl advertising, the company is not likely to see a return on its investment. With eight ads, the majority for Bud Light, there still wasn’t anything nearly as memorable as the frogs or the “what’s up” campaigns of years past. In fact, this year’s “electronic voice” spot was a lame remake of the “what’s up” ads. Not very original!

And what was the point of the Bud Light “beer house?” I understand that this commercial is trying to be humorous, but when did messaging become irrelevant in advertising? What are the benefits of Bud Light? On the other hand, the Michelob Ultra spot with Lance Armstrong was straightforward…nothing clever but at least it had a message.

My three favorite Anheuser-Busch spots were the ones that messaged on the characters’ love of the beer. First, the “building a bridge” to get the Budweiser truck across to the town was interesting—the villagers love their Budweiser so much they are willing to do anything to make sure they receive their beer. The “asteroid” spot, where the scientists decided to party with Bud Light when they thought the earth was being destroyed by an asteroid, rang true. Ok – that’s something I would do! The Bud Light plane crash ad was funny too.

Budweiser Select 55 – forgettable. “Book Club” – a bit sexist. The most popular Budweiser spot was the “bull” making friends with the Clydesdales. Good thing they decided (at the last minute) to bring the Clydesdales back!

The only other alcohol advertiser was Miller, with just one spot. At least that spot was true to Miller’s message strategy – that Miller High Life is the beer for the common people.

The Super Bowl has become the biggest day for advertising, with nearly as much buzz created about the ads that run during the game as the game itself. This year, the Saints scored a victory but Anheuser-Busch did not.