GeekDad, the SuperBowl, and the new Dylan?

Even just thinking about Wired's blogging collective of sci-fi loving, mustachioed, game-playing, tech-freaky fathers puts a smile on my face. I love those guys at GeekDad so much. From reviewing Star Wars themed lego creations to raving about the "10 Science Fiction TV Series [They] Can't Wait to Watch with Their Kids," these guys make it clear that they unapologetically love being good fathers while completely embracing their geekdom.

God Bless 'Em.

Most recently, one of them - Ken Denmead - commented on his picks for the worst Super Bowl ads. Unsurprisingly, the GoDaddy.com ads were blasted. I'm not a parent (I'm certainly a geek), but even I was a bit put off by the excessive and entirely unnecessary sex appeal of the ads. Moreover, my intelligence was a bit insulted: rather than tell anything about the GoDaddy service, the ads just flashed some flesh under the assumption that sex sells, even when the product may have been a bit ambigiously pitched.

Don't get me wrong: I don't need my ads to be blatent endorsements of their represented goods and services. Often, the crew working on an advertisement consists of talented filmmakers, writers, directors, etc. who are trying to break into the film industry, and so they build a resume and forge an artistic identity through branding themselves while helping to endorse brands.

Such must be the case for the Dylan/Will.I.Am Pepsi ad (embedded below).

I don't typically comment on Dylan's endorsements. They haven't bothered me much, and my sense is that it's far easier to criticize (and to make the obligatory, sarcastic "I guess the times are a-changin'" comment) than to understand or accept. In the 60s, Dylan reportedly said that he'd let his music be used for the endorsement of ladies underwear: at the time, it was almost preposterous to imagine an underwear ad. But, sure enough, in the early aughts, there was Dylan, strumming and singing in a Victoria's Secret ad. Didn't bother me. With the release of his most recent album (Modern Times), Dylan did an iTunes promo in which he sang one of my favorite tracks from the album ("Someday Baby"). I like the song, the commercial is well done, I dig Apple, I have an iPod...so...whatever.

But one thing bothers me about the SuperBowl ad. Wait for it. Let me describe.

The commercial - visually beautiful, artfully done, thematically significant - essentially compares popular cultures of previous generations with the pop culture of today's youth, reminding us that "every generation refreshes the world." Overtly, it suggests that Shrek is the new Gumby, that Jack Black is the new John Belushi, that the cell phone slowjam tribute is the new Bic lighter...And that Will.I.Am...I say again, Will . I . Am ... is the new Dylan. Look, I even like the mash-up. It's a decent mix, and Dylan notoriously approves of interpretations of his songs (see the Dylan-approved soundtracks for Masked and Anonymous as well as I'm Not There).

But, really? The new Dylan?