The Worst Super Bowl Tech Ads

If you watched this year’s Super Bowl, you probably noticed one thing: Madonna looks good for a 53-year-old. Oh, and also, the commercials sucked. Screw Brady and Manning, where the heck is the creativity, ad people? You guys are boring me. I need something more than King Elton John and moonwalking dogs.

And you know what? The Super Bowl commercials about technology were especially bad. Here’s our list of the worst, from least to most terrible.

5. GE

This starts off as one of those typical GE commercials, a show-off spot about the bigness of the company’s work. Oh turbines that look like Transformers set pieces! Oh we made a plane fly! Oh… beer? The switcharoo that GE pulled by saying it makes the machines that make beer was as surprising as Madonna’s very enjoyable half-time show. I always thought you made stuff people didn’t care about, GE. Now I’m left wondering what else do you make. Good move. Good commercial.

4. Best Buy

Oh hey, a Words with Friends on a plane joke! It was funny, right! Sorta? OK, maybe not. Anyway, Best Buy gathered every white male who has ever invented something that eventually made it onto a phone and gave them all some publicity. It’s nice to see the creators of Shazam/Square/Instagram/Words with Friend/etc get some screen time, but is it a surprise that developers and inventors aren’t necessarily the most charismatic bunch?

3. Hulu

Another peak at the Huluboratory! But this time with Will Arnett — aka Gob — as the spokesman that shows you how the TV sauce is made. I guess Alec Baldwin wasn’t available? I have nothing against the switch and nothing against the ad (which is funny at times!), it was just kind of a shrug.

2. GoDaddy

Every year, the Super Bowl gets better while GoDaddy’s commercials get worse. At this point, I don’t think the company is even trying anymore. The creative meeting: Let’s just put Danica Patrick in a bikini. Or put her with another girl in a bikini! Cool, meeting adjourned. Wait, what are we advertising for again? .Co domain names. Huh, what’s that? Don’t know. Thank god for bikinis.

1. Samsung

I don’t really mind the setup of these ‘poke-fun-at-Apple-fanboys’ commercials, but I guarantee you no iPhone-totin’ person would ever, EVER be jealous of a stylus. Are you kidding me? WHO’S WATCHING THE SUPER BOWL AND THINKING A STYLUS IS WHAT’S BEEN MISSING IN THEIR LIVES?! Who even cares about a stylus? NO ONE. Congratulations for paying millions of dollars in ad time and showing off a “feature” that no one wants or cares about. I believe in a thing called love but, really? Come on man.