Recently in Good Marketing Category

It was only a matter of time before the big companies decided to capitalize on The Hills. Take for example this silly commercial featuring Lauren Conrad and Brody Jenner babbling away with the assistance of their AT&T cell phones. It's actually not a particularly impressive spot (nor is it very funny), but hey, the welcome return of Warrant on the soundtrack is always a plus. And here I am posting it in the blogosphere; so the gambit worked. Thanks to reader Rachel for the heads up...

I don't even have houseplants, but for some reason, I want the Aqua Globe. It allows you to leave your plants unattended for up to TWO WHOLE WEEKS. Wwwhhhaaaa?? Actually, the only reason I'm so impressed with this bad boy is because the science behind the Aqua Globe seems so simple, yet so right (assuming it works). Granted, the downside is that it'll look like a hot air balloon got lodged in your fern, but hey, that's a small price to pay for what will surely be a wonderful conversation starter!

From left to right: Funny, AWFUL, strange.

After that thrilling Super Bowl, it feels almost silly discussing the accompanying ads —  the combined entertainment value of which paled dramatically next to the big game. However, it's hard to for me to go three seconds without voicing my opinion on one thing or another, especially when so much hype is involved; so here goes with my roundup of this year's commercials.

Overall, it wasn't a great night for commercials. Bugs and rodents and critters in general seemed to dominate the airwaves, which wasn't always a good thing. You'd think marketing execs would know better, but then again, these are the same people who bring us a talking baby year after awful year. Why? WHY? Nevertheless, very few spots were noteworthy this year, and there didn't seem to be any instant classics in the bunch, but there were some gems that deserve accolades. My reviews of nearly all the Super Bowl ads after the jump.

The Machines Are Here. And They Bring Cupcakes.

When you think of the intense, bloody, testosterone-fueled Terminator franchise, only one thing comes to mind: cupcakes. It's a pairing as old as time itself. Well, banking on that classic robot-cupcake association, Fox is promoting its new series, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles by giving away free cupcakes at venerable Los Angeles cupcake institution, Sprinkles. To some it might seem like a strange tie-in, but when I first read the notice in Eater LA, I was out the door so quickly you would have thought a T-1000 was charging down the hallway after me.

Photos of this adventure after the jump.

When I went to Trader Joe's tonight, I wasn't particularly in the mood for corn chowder, but when I came face to face with a towering display of these little cans, I found myself instinctively reaching for one — and for a very simple reason: its bulbous midriff. Had the corn chowder been packaged in merely plain old cans, I would have gone my merry way. But these soups were in miniature kettles!!! Or rather, miniature kettle-type cans. I don't know if kettles play a prominent role in the world of chowders, but I knew one thing: I HAD TO HAVE ONE.

Sadly, packaging masked a mediocre product. The chowder wasn't that bad, but it was just entirely too salty, almost like a chicken broth, minus the chicken. Some black pepper helped matters out, but overall, I'm not sure I'd buy this product again.

And for no other reason than I was bored/procrastinating, some bonus pics of my dinner after the jump...