Toshiba's Super Bowl 2008 ad: the final act of desperation?

Curious to know what about $3 million bought Toshiba on Super Bowl Sunday? If so, the recycled commercial is after the break. So, what do you do when the game's over, Toshiba?

[Thanks, Peter]

Should Toshiba have spent millions on an HD DVD Super Bowl ad?

Yes! Why, something the matter with HD DVD?Yeah, they need as much ammo as they can get right now.Maybe, it's not like they're broke -- yet.No, it would have been smarter to just give away 20,000 players for free.Hell no, it's all over, what's the difference anymore?VHS for life, suckers.Vote

[Nate @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:40PM]

eh If they wanted to thats fine by me

[LondonConsultant @ Feb 4th 2008 7:08AM]

Yeah, but the advert will confuse some consumers into buying a technology that has no future. It's probably negligent of Toshiba to promote HD DVD to naive unsuspecting consumers...

[Johnnyg0 @ Feb 4th 2008 8:42AM]

I think its more insulting to consumers that a whole industry will ignore a video player installed in a few millions homes. The gaming industry can support multiple platforms, I can't understand why the movie industry won't. ... well actually I do understand why : we don't live in a pro-consumer world. Consumers are suckers that must be exploited.

I don't plan on buying anything HD soon.. bt ftw

[E.J. @ Feb 4th 2008 4:33PM]

@LondonConsultant

Just because they're losing doesn't mean Toshiba/HD-DVD is going to roll over for Sony/Blu-Ray. How is their attempt at consumer exposure negligent? It's just good business practice.

Now, any business hiring you as a consultant? THAT is negligent.

[matt @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:40PM]

are there any other hd-dvd exclusives other than transformers and shrek?

[Daniel @ Feb 4th 2008 3:07AM]

yes. the ones i know of personally are hot fuzz and the bourne trilogy.

[michael @ Feb 4th 2008 6:40AM]

and don't forget american gangster, beowulf and transformers.

[michael @ Feb 4th 2008 6:45AM]

scratch transformers off, replace with king kong.

[Paul @ Feb 4th 2008 8:50AM]

Batman Begins, The Deer Hunter to name two off the top of my head.

[teej @ Feb 4th 2008 10:18AM]

hddvdstats.com, filter by exclusivity

[BrianB @ Feb 4th 2008 11:33AM]

Probably worth the low price just for the exclusives. If there's enough space in your entertainment closet, you can put the HD DVD on top of the Blu-ray.

[Jeebus @ Feb 4th 2008 12:34PM]

They won't stay exclusive much longer.

[jacquerr @ Feb 6th 2008 10:29AM]

don't forget Startrek and the matrix as far as i know

[matt @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:41PM]

are there any other hd-dvd exclusives other than transformers and shrek?

[mck @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:42PM]

I think they should try to do whatever they can until it starts to become pathetic. At a point, and I'm speaking as a HD DVD owner, they need to give up so that people can really start adopting HD discs. I figure I'll just wait until Blu Ray comes down to $99 and then throw my HD DVD player in the closet.

Planet Earth made it a nearly worthwhile purchase.

[LordFarkward @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:47PM]

SIR David Attenborough FTW!!!

[galla @ Feb 3rd 2008 11:28PM]

I'm so confident that blu-ray will win that im skiping the whole dual format drives and im just gonna buy the blu ray drive even though I will have no use for it whatso ever!!

[xploit @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:46PM]

HOLY DOUBLE POST BATMAN!

[kuromiko @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:54PM]

I wish the poll was about how much the ad sucked. I've seen better cereal ads.

[Christian P @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:56PM]

did anybody notice the commercial wasnt even in High Definition!!!?

[riggs @ Feb 4th 2008 8:49AM]

hahah u effin win

[walsho @ Feb 4th 2008 9:03PM]

I did notice that. It seems like the discussion ends right there... a commercial on the biggest stage in the world, advertising what they believe to be a superior HD format... and the ad is in standard def.

That commercial might go down in history as the nail in the coffin of HD-DVD.

Even if it was in high-def... the commercial would have been lame any night, but during the superbowl, it was superlame.

[DJ SlipStream @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:56PM]

I watched the whole entire game and the commercials, and this is the first i've seen of this.

[Hashbrown_Hunter @ Feb 4th 2008 1:41AM]

Probably the last too.

[404error @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:56PM]

I must have missed the commercial...I didn't see it.

[Izzy @ Feb 4th 2008 9:12AM]

I didn't see it either and I watched the entire game! Go Giants!

[Ricardo @ Feb 4th 2008 10:39AM]

same here.. watched the entire game, all the ads and nothing.. i also checked out www.myspace.com/superbowlads and didnt see it there either.. WTF?

[The Fuzz 53 @ Feb 4th 2008 10:54AM]

The commercial was during halftime. I caught just as I flipped back from watching competitive eating on Spike. I wonder if the halftime commercials cost as much as the rest of the game.

[aahatimy @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:56PM]

Saw the Super Bowl and the last 5 minutes was really entertaining. I would have credited the reciever more for the catch than Eli Manning for the throw as that was a superb catch but credit to Eli for escaping from the mess.

Real football (what you guys call soccer) is still better.

[Prey521 @ Feb 4th 2008 2:14AM]

Soccer is for pvssies!

Giants FTMFW!

[Richard @ Feb 4th 2008 3:53AM]

soccer = no pads, now who is the pussy.

[luckycharms711 @ Feb 6th 2008 3:31PM]

ever heard of shin guards? Also I do believe that soccer players are famous for flopping and faking injuries in order to try and get calls from the refs.

[Winters @ Feb 4th 2008 4:40AM]

Rugby tbh.

Better then both your pussy "american football" and pussy soccer.

[Deezul @ Feb 4th 2008 7:03AM]

When was the last time a soccer game was played in freezing, snowing, or raining weather? Oh yeah, NEVER. When was the last World Cup match played in the rain. Oh yeah, NEVER. When I see them out there playing in ANY WEATHER, I'll call it a real sport.

[caleb @ Feb 4th 2008 7:46AM]

Why would you need pads in soccer? You're not allowed to tackle each other.

soccer++ for non-stop action
football++ for hard hitting action

[Alan Strangis @ Feb 4th 2008 9:28AM]

Screw you guys. Hockey pwns soccer and football. :D

[Josh* @ Feb 4th 2008 11:39AM]

@Deezul: you've never watched any soccer, have you?

[Ray @ Feb 4th 2008 1:17PM]

Curling ftw.

[wickedpheonix @ Feb 4th 2008 2:47PM]

you want a ton of hard action and fast pace? Go watch Lacrosse - best sport evar.

but otherwise, rugby > american football, which is really just rugby but slowed down so that there's room in the game for commercials and crap.

[h0mi @ Feb 4th 2008 4:49PM]

aahatimy- what subway system is that a map of?

"soccer++ for non-stop action"

"Halfback passes to the center. Back to the wing. Back to the center. Center holds it. Holds it. Holds it..."

[ANONA @ Feb 4th 2008 5:10PM]

BADMITTON FTW!!!!!!!!!!!

[geekboy314 @ Feb 5th 2008 6:59PM]

ULTIMATE FRISBEE, BITCHESSSS.

yea. that just happened

[aahatimy @ Feb 6th 2008 1:05AM]

Homi

The picture is the map of the London Underground.

[RockinOscar @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:57PM]

this is the thign about HD DVD... they barely have any action movies on their library. die hard, black hawk down, the first two terminators without counting others, this is a good attempt however i think a lot of football people are the kind of people that like to watch only action flicks... am i wrong to think that action movies is the reason why people aren't looking for the red pill? i didnt even like transformers and i never liked the shrek series, wtf toshiba.

[animeGhost @ Feb 12th 2008 12:40AM]

actually the die hard series is exclusive to blu-ray

[teej @ Feb 4th 2008 10:30AM]

matrice, inside man, lucky number slevin, mallrats, knocked up, smokin' aces, top gun, traffic, etc.

[teej @ Feb 4th 2008 10:31AM]

*matrix's/matrices (whatever floats your boat)

[Evan @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:58PM]

Ad sucked. IT was pointless, I was hoping for something ridiculously awesome to get me excited again, but it did nothing.

[Big Sam @ Feb 3rd 2008 10:59PM]

First of all, it was a old ad. They couldn't make a new one?

Secondly, when did it air? I don't even remember seeing it.

[Mike Jenkins @ Feb 4th 2008 12:12AM]

I didn't see it at all during the Super Bowl, but I have seen it before. I doubt they wasted money airing it.