Shortly after CBS aired BlackBerry’s first-ever Super Bowl advertisement I took to Twitter to get the social consensus on the commercial. (Watch the BlackBerry Z10 commercial here.) The feedback was mostly negative, but some Tweeters had good things to say. Here’s a selection of the most notable responses I received:
@crackberrykevin @asacco that ad was ass at best..what a waste of money..
— Simon Cardoza™ (@SimonCardoza) February 4, 2013
@asacco meh
— Daniel King (@CapnDAPPER) February 4, 2013
@asacco it was good. They brough [sic] across the idea of 30 seconds wasn’t enough to show you all it can do, so they showed what it cast [sic]
— Mahen (@mahen915) February 4, 2013
@asacco it was ok. I was expecting more, a little more of the os, or bbm.
— Sal Ciuro Desco PLG. (@salciuro) February 4, 2013
@asacco I liked it, it wasn’t what I expect but good stuff.
— Jason Anderson (@jasonlanderson) February 4, 2013
@asacco not sure how that creates interest amongst normal people who don’t know anything about the product
— Tim (@timd28) February 4, 2013
@asacco I liked it. Doesn’t make sense, but in a good way.
— Jason Cipriani (@MrCippy) February 4, 2013
My thoughts: The ad was a bit underwhelming, especially because BlackBerry started teasing it more than a week ago, sending still images to media outlets and hinting that it would be one of the best commercials during the big game. It wasn’t. But it was packed with memorable imagery, a catchy tune and lots of bright colors set against drab city backdrops, which helped to grab the viewer’s attention. Ultimately, the ad was simply meant to raise awareness of the brand new BlackBerry 10 platform and the first smartphone, the Z10, among “normal” non-techie people. And I think it did that.
But was it worth the roughly $3.8 million BlackBerry reportedly paid for the 30-second promo? I don’t have an answer to that question, but BlackBerry needs all the attention it can get right now—even if the Z10 won’t be released in the United States until mid-March. (Read my full review of the BlackBerry Z10 for more details.)
And in case you’re interested, here are a few production details on the commerical, from BlackBerry:
- Creative Agency: The BlackBerry 10 Super Bowl spot was created by AMV BBDO
- Production: The commercial was shot on a back lot in Los Angeles over the course of three days, capturing as much in-camera content as possible. This includes the jack-knifing truck and puff of smoke. Special effects also played a large role, particularly in the elephant legs, flames and duckies scenes.
- Direction: Peter Thwaites served as Director for the commercial
- Music: “Who Knows” by Marion Black
AS
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Author: asacco, Managing Editor
Al Sacco was a journalist, blogger and editor who covers the fast-paced mobile beat for CIO.com and IDG Enterprise, with a focus on wearable tech, smartphones and tablet PCs. Al managed CIO.com writers and contributors, covered news, and shared insightful expert analysis of key industry happenings. He also wrote a wide variety of tutorials and how-tos to help readers get the most out of their gadgets, and regularly offered up recommendations on software for a number of mobile platforms. Al resides in Boston and is a passionate reader, traveler, beer lover, film buff and Red Sox fan.
