BuzzSugar

Buzz In: What Were Your Favorite Super Bowl Ads?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:30:26 -0800

The fun of the Super Bowl may be behind us (go Steelers!), but the ads will remain, at least for a little while. Not all of last night's ads had me laughing out loud, but there were a few I particularly liked - and I'm curious to know which ones caught your eye (besides the movie trailers - we're talking about those over here).

My top tier includes Hulu's "evil plot to destroy the world" ad with Alec Baldwin, Teleflora's offensive talking flowers (seriously, folks? Don't send me flowers in a box from now on!), Pedigree's giant pets, and cars.com's David Abernathy, boy genius ad (which reminded me a little of a Wes Anderson movie, though I was also oddly put off when I found out it was for cars.com). Others that made me laugh - maybe more than they should have - were SoBe's 3-D lizards, the Doritos crystal ball (which topped USA Today's ad meter), and the Denny's thugs. The dating Budweiser clydesdales made me "squee" a little, and of course I got a laugh out of Conan's Swedish ad. And even though it's basically a repeat from last year, I'm so glad the E-Trade baby has a friend.

What about you? Which ads had you chuckling or "awww"-ing long after they left the screen?

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Buzz In: What TV Ads Do You Loathe - or Love - Right Now?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 07:30:17 -0800

The Associated Press recently investigated the phenomenon of widespread hatred for Toyota's "Saved by Zero" ad campaign. The ad - which appears to play almost constantly during NFL games, among other things - has drawn the ire of viewers (currently, there are 10 Facebook groups opposing it, the largest of which has 2,500 members). I'm definitely among those who have gotten annoyed with the (admittedly catchy) jingle.

On the other hand, I honestly cannot get enough of the Brooke Shields ads for the Volkswagen Routan that feature Shields warning people about the "Routan baby boom." I've actually stopped forwarding through an ad break just to watch one, and I just devoted four minutes of my own time to watch this extended mockumentary.

Tell me: What ads are you loving and hating right now?

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Singer to Watch: Who’s Singing That MacBook Commercial?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:30:22 -0800

I have a serious weakness for a pretty, quirky folk song a la Regina Spektor. When done well, songs out of this genre can feel so light and ethereal that you want to sprout wings and fly - or, buy a new laptop.

That’s at least what the folks over at Apple are hoping French-born Israeli singer Yael Naïm's song "New Soul" will inspire you to do, as they've featured it in their new MacBook Air TV spot. Computer or no, the commercial might send you racing to iTunes to get this song and others from Naïm into your library ASAP.

"New Soul," from her self-titled album with songs in French, English, and Hebrew, is incredibly infectious, yet personal. The album has been popular in France since its release in the Fall of last year, and I suspect Apple may have just launched her crossover career. Remind anyone of Feist and the Nano?

To watch Naïm's video for the MacBook tune, and a beautiful live performance covering Britney’s Toxic (seriously!), read more.

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Vote Now for the Year's Funniest Commercials

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 11:35:38 -0800

Oh, the irony: I fast-forward through ads on my TiVo, but I love watching whole programs devoted to truly creative commercials. So I'm excited that the voting is now open for TBS' Funniest Commercials of the Year special. The show, which will air Dec. 26, features more than 50 ads from around the world, and 10 of them are up for the title of the year's funniest.

Voting is open now through Nov. 29 at VeryFunnyAds.com, a TBS site that collects the most amusing ads from around the globe. A few of them will be familiar to anyone who watched this year's Super Bowl, notably K-Fed's self-parody for Nationwide Insurance and the Bud Light hitchhiker. But I think the international ads are my favorites; I loved this commercial from Belgium in which a guy who litters becomes a human pinball, and this farting squirrel ad from the UK just has to be seen to be believed.

What would be your nominees for the funniest commercials this year?

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Which Emmy-Nominated Commercial Do You Think Should Win?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 10:29:06 -0700

You've probably seen most, but perhaps not all of this year's Emmy-nominated commercials. Surely you've seen the Cingular one in which a mother and a daughter have a fight but use only loving words, or Ellen's working-with-animals commercial for American Express. Then there's that one in which the kid bottles up wind in a jar for his grandfather's birthday which always brings a tear to my eye.

I definitely agree with most of these nominations, and I have my personal favorite all picked out. You can watch them all here and then vote on your favorite below.

These Dunkin' Donuts Ads Got Braff'd

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 07:15:33 -0700

I'd heard rumors about Zach Braff directing some commercials for Dunkin' Donuts, mostly because one of them features Naomi Campbell poking fun at herself by pretending to freak out and throw her shoe through a window. Yet there's another Braff-helmed commercial that has been airing, and it's just bizarre.

Starring Kiss member Ace Frehley, it supposedly shows how Dunkin' Donuts iced drinks are for regular folks because being a regular person is hard. So hard, apparently Ace Frehley couldn't manage it. I think. To be honest, I don't understand what Ace Frehley has to do with Dunkin' Donuts but I do enjoy the pyrotechnics of his little performance in this spot. You can watch both of Braff's commercials and see if you can figure them out if you read more

The Ace Frehley spot:

The Naomi Campbell spot:

Zach Braff photo source

Link Time! Joseph Gordon-Levitt Hosting SNL This Month

BuzzSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:30:55 -0800

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and January Jones have been tapped to host SNL this month - The AV Club
Julia Roberts's production company has acquired the movie rights to unpublished book In the Neighborhood - Moviefone
Morgan Freeman will star in comedy Dirty Old Men - Cinematical
12 facts about the Mayan apocalyptic prediction and new film 2012 - Rotten Tomatoes
Taylor Swift has set a record for longest Billboard chart run this decade - HitFix
Helen Mirren has joined the cast of comic book adaptation Red - Coming Soon
Half of all DVR users don't actually skip commercials - Vulture
Nathan Fillion dishes about the Dr. Horrible sequel - MTV Movies Blog
Would you do, dump, or marry Andy Samberg? - TresSugar
Watch Christopher Walken reading Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" - PopWatch

SYTYCD's Brandon and Ariana Talk About Being Cut First

BuzzSugar — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:30:15 -0700

This week's ousted dancers from So You Think You Can Dance were the first to go since the top 20 were selected. Brandon Dumlao and Ariana Dubose got on the phone with a few reporters this morning, including me, to chat about how they feel after last night's elimination.

Brandon

On the timeline of replacing Billy Bell: I got the call on Friday at 11 in the morning and they told me that I was able to replace another dancer, and it was Billy, in this case. I got on a plane two hours later, it was an hour flight, I landed, got picked up, I went to the studio, found out Pauline was my partner in front of everyone, and then we went straight to rehearsal for Smooth Waltz with Jason Gilkisen. It was such a whirlwind; it was really crazy, but it was such an amazing experience.
On Russell being in the bottom with him: I was so surprised because Russell is of course a fan favorite, and I’m sure the judges love him too. When he was announced, I kind of knew in a way that I might have been going home, because he is amazing and this cast is amazing. Billy - his were such big shoes to fill that I felt it was unfair to take another guy’s spot. I was happy the way it turned out, because I didn’t think it was unfair for me to come in and take another guy’s spot.

To hear what else Brandon had to say and Ariana's thoughts on her dismissal, just read more.

On Nigel's offer of coming back for season seven: I did not expect him to say that. I really thought that that was my only chance to be in the top 20, and I wanted to make the most of it, so for him to propose that to me and let me come back for season 7, if that’s possible, that’s really crazy. Right after I got cut, I went and got into some ballroom classes and took some more hip hop. I’m ready and I’m going to keep taking classes if I can come back next season.
On whether he thinks he may have done better if he'd originally been in the top 20: I think I might have had a better chance just because the judges would have known I’d set the same standard as everyone else, because when I did the waltz they kept saying "you didn’t have enough time," "you didn’t have enough time," because they knew I’d replaced Billy. So I feel like I would have done a better job, and they would have seen I’d done a better job, and would have taken that into consideration with the results. But I’m really happy the way I did and I'm really happy the way everything turned out, because this cast is so amazing; I can’t pick who’s going to win - everyone is going to do so well.

Ariana

On her next plans and whether she'll pursue a career in L.A.: Actually, I’m more focused on New York. I want to dance on Broadway. I also sing and act, and I was singing and acting and dancing before I even auditioned for the show, so the show was just really another path for me. So I’m going to head to New York for a little bit and audition for shows and commercials and movies and just see what happens.
On rumors she could replace Noelle, who was injured this week: I have not heard from Noelle; I hope that she’s doing well. Noelle and I come from the same studio, so honestly I would probably feel a little funny about taking her place. I mean, who doesn’t want a second chance, but honestly I wouldn’t want to be eliminated again.
On her predictions for the season six winner: Honestly, it’s a crap shoot - forgive my language there. Everyone’s fantastic and I don’t think you can count anybody out; it’s going be a week-by-week thing.

Photos courtesy of Fox

Link Time! Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst Cast in Upside Down

BuzzSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:38:51 -0700

Jim Sturgess and Kirsten Dunst will star in Upside Down, a romantic sci-fi fantasy - Coming Soon
Lisa Kudrow is developing TV comedy Rapture for Showtime - Variety
Dollhouse is being pulled during sweeps, which could signal its cancellation - The Ausiello Files
Check out these new stills of Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Emily Blunt in The Wolfman - MTV Movies Blog
An Education originally had a different ending - Movieline
Watch Rainn Wilson's funny new commercials for the NBA - Best Week Ever
Ryan Murphy is writing an episode of Glee that mocks the show's real-life denial for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade - The TV Column
Bravo has picked up a second season of Top Chef Masters - YumSugar
Before the release of Saw VI, here are six terrible sixth sequels - Rotten Tomatoes
A list of TV's memorable dumb jocks - TV.com
20 of the worst horror movies ever made - Moviefone

America's Next Top Model Quiz: "Interview 101"

BuzzSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:30:52 -0700

Was it just me or was America's Next Top Model kind of a snooze this week? I miss the over-the-top fantasy glitz of the Cirque du Soleil or martial arts challenges. Not that the judges didn't give the models a tough task - each girl had to interview on camera for The Insider and script her own CoverGirl commercial. There were some major flubs, especially from Erin who had a sob-fest. I found her majorly annoying, but unfortunately she stuck it out till the end. Do you remember who did get sent home? It's time to test your ANTM IQ!

And if you want to dish about the show in more detail, take a peek at the America's Next Top Model group in the BuzzSugar Community!

Photo courtesy of The CW

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