THE COMMERCIAL YOU NEVER SAW
I don’t know about you, but for me the Super Bowl doesn’t conjure up romantic thoughts (unless you have a crush on Peyton Manning). The commercials that air throughout the game though, are an entirely different story… at least for one couple.
Rand Fishkin spent more than a year devising a way he could propose to his girlfriend during the Super Bowl. The Seattle CEO eventually settled on buying airtime during the big game and proposing on national TV. To help finance his efforts (keep in mind the price to secure one of the coveted commercials averages about $2.5 million) he anonymously created mysuperproposal.com, a website to share his plans… and solicit donations.
Fishkin wrote on his site: “This is to do something no man has ever done before, propose before the largest audience imaginable. Man, how sweet would that be?”
Surprisingly (or perhaps not in our media obsessed society), Fishkin’s efforts drew national attention. He even appeared on several TV programs, including “Entertainment Tonight,” but stayed in the shadows and with his voice disguised to protect his secret.
Despite the help from various media outlets, Fishkin’s ad never made the cut for the Super Bowl and he had to go with Plan B: running the commercial during his girlfriend’s favorite TV show, “Veronica Mars.” Two nights ago, while Geraldine DeRuiter sat on her couch watching the popular CW show up popped Fishkin on her television set.
“Whole world? This is Geraldine,” Fishkin said, holding a picture of DeRuiter. “She is amazing in every way. For the last five years, we’ve spent the best parts of our lives together and made it through the tough times, too. I couldn’t ask for anything more in my life than her love. And that’s why I’m here today. Geraldine, will you marry me?”
While the commercial played, Fishkin dropped to one knee beside DeRuiter and held open a ring case. Fishkin told news reporters his girlfriend watched the commercial in shock, then, “after nearly hyperventilating,” she said, “Yes!”
By the way, Fishkin told reporters, the $10,000 in cash donations raised through his site will be donated to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville.
THE COMMERCIAL YOU WILL NEVER SEE AGAIN
If you tuned into Sunday’s Super Bowl you may remember seeing a Snickers ad, which featured two auto mechanics accidentally kissing while eating the same candy bar and then ripping out some chest hair to do something “manly.”
If you liked it, then hopefully you have a good memory, because according to press reports, you will never see it again. The company who created the ad said the commercial has been pulled from the air because of complaints that it’s homophobic.
In addition to the commercial that aired during the Super Bowl, Snickers’ website featured the same ad with an alternate ending that showed the men attacking each other and also showed players from the Super Bowl reacting negatively to the kiss.
The addition of the players’ reaction set off a wave of discontent from various advocacy groups. The Human Rights Campaign, released a statement that said, “Jeering from the players is the kind of thing that fuels anti-gay bullying on playgrounds.” Meanwhile, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation called the ad “inexcusable” prejudice.
As for the makers of Snickers, they said they “just wanted a funny commercial and didn’t intend to offend.”
What do you think about the ads?
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