I have never shed so many tears as I did during the 2013 Super Bowl on Sunday.
Not because the 49ers lost (and I am a Bay Area-born gal), but because of the tear-jerker commercials that aired during the game.
In all of my many years on this Earth, I don’t remember a Super Bowl that pulled at my heart-strings like the commercials did on Sunday.
So I asked my pal Steve Sander, who’s been in the ad game forever, to help me analyze this year’s crop of TV commercials. Sander has a perspective that, of course I don’t, after his many years in the ad and PR game as a member of long-gone agencies and now as the president of Sander Marketing.
“I sort of felt there were many more emotional tug at your heart-strings spots than in many years,” he said about the ads that had me and my husband crying our eyes out. “When you look at the body of work, the most memorable were tear-jerking. The farmer spot (for Ram trucks) was my favorite spot. It was narrated by Paul Harvey and had amazing production values about farmers and the lives that they lead.”
“The Clydesdale spot was a little bit hokey, but that spot was the USA Today Ad Meter No. 1 spot by a mile. It wasn’t No. 1 in my book.”
Sander said that the humorous ads, a Super Bowl tradition, resonated with him with the “Where do babies come from” spot being his favorite. He said the ads were heavily loaded with car companies, which diluted the messages in the end.
“There were so many car commercials, it was crazy,” he said. “But 50 percent of the commercials tried to be funny, but if I didn’t remember the product, than it didn’t do a great job.”
The ad that was getting a lot of TV time during the daytime talk shows on Tuesday was the GoDaddy spot with the super model making out with the geek. “I thought that was sort of gross and not very tasteful,” Sander said. “I’m having a hard time buying into that humor. GoDaddy is traditionally very irreverent and sexual. Nobody thought it was a good commercial.”
Pink rink
The Denver Cuthroats CHL hockey team will host a special “Pink in the Rink” hockey game featuring several former NHL stars and Stanley Cup winners playing against a team of “Heroes” made up of local law enforcement officers and firefighters, with $5 from every ticket sold going to Step Up For Cancer, a Colorado charity.
Tickets are also good for the Denver Cutthroats vs. Fort Worth Brahmad game later that night. Following the Pink in the Rink charity game, fans will have the chance to participate in an auction for the players’ game worn autographed sweaters.
The event takes place at 4 p.m. Saturday with the game at 7:05 p.m. at the Denver Coliseum, 4600 Humboldt St. Tickets are available at www.denvercutthroats.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000 or on game day at the Denver Coliseum box office starting at 10 a.m.
Among those scheduled to participate are Joe Sakic, Adam Foote, Stephane Yelle, Scott Parker, Derek Armstrong, Rick Berry, Eric Lacroix, Ken Klee, Bob House, Phil Crowe and Jeff Sirkka.
The Source
Zeppelin Development, the folks behind the Taxi mixed-use development in River North, has announced that financing has been secured for The Source, its latest venture in the popular downtown Denver neighborhood.
Groundbreaking for the project is scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. Friday at 3350 Brighton Blvd. in the 26,000-square-foot 1880s brick building that will be the home of The Source.
The Source is a “culinary artisan marketplace,” which is already 90 percent leased to two restaurants, a brewery, a speciality food and cheese purveyor, a bakery, a distillery showroom and bar, a coffee roaster and coffee bar and other culinary artisans.
The tenants include Comida Cantina, Acorn, Crooked Stave Brewery, Boxcar Roasters and Coffee Shop, CapRock Spirts Distillery and Bar, Proper Pour, Mondo Food and Babette Bread.
More information at www.taxibyzeppelin.com.
PJ party
On Thursday, Denver’s most charitable crowd will attend the eighth annual PJ Day Party at the Residence Inn Denver City Center, but it’s a dress-down event with PJs required.
The event, benefiting Denver’s Road Home, plays host to more than 400 Denver business leaders dressed in their best PJs, including Mayor Michael Hancock and other Denver community leaders.
All proceeds benefit Denver’s Road Home, the city’s initiative to end homelessness. The dollars connect the city’s most vulnerable population to shelter, housing, treatment and ongoing supportive services.
“We wanted something fun for the community that would make a big impact,” said Walter Isenberg, CEO of Sage Hospitality, which manages the Residence Inn. “To date, PJ Day has raised over $2 million to help end homelessness in our city.”
To become a sponsor, purchase tickets, reserve a suite or donate to the eighth annual PJ Day from 5:30 to 10 p.m., go to www.pjday.org.
Fat Tuesday
Chef and Brew presents “Creole Food & Killer Beer,” a one-of-a-kind beer dinner featuring the small batch beers of Strange Brewing Company and the cuisine of Chef Michael Long, beginning at 6 p.m. Feb. 12, at Strange Brewing Co., 1330 Zuni St.
The Mardi Gras dinner features six dishes paired with the food friendly beers of Strange. Guests will be seated in Strange’s newly expanded tap-room.
“We wanted to bring people to the source,” said Chef Long. “Most beer dinners take place in the familiar confines of a restaurant but we want to bring people to the actual brewery. Tap rooms are often the epicenter for craft brewers featuring small test batches of beer and the chance to rub shoulders with the brewers.”
Tickets are $49 and can be purchased at www.chefbrewevents.com.
Chef-testant
Austin Henry, the 29-year-old chef poissoner (fish chef) at Coohills (14th and Wewatta), will compete for an executive chef position on “Chef Wanted With Anne Burrell” at 8 p.m. Feb. 17 on the Food Network.
The weekly series pits four chefs against each other in a quest to become a restaurant’s top chef. How does Henry fare with his fare? He’s not spilling the beans.
Eavesdropping on two women at The Celtic Tavern: “I always wanted to be a professional gambler.”
“I always wanted to be a princess, and neither one is going to happen.”
Did you hear that I have a new column, “Mile High Life,” in Colorado Community Media’s 17 weekly newspapers circling Denver? Be sure to like my Facebook page! Also, here’s where you go to get my column emailed to you Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. I’m now the social-media liaison for the Mile High Chapter of the Colorado Restaurant Association, so read my latest restaurant news there. My email: penny@blacktie-llc.com.
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