The Super Bowl ad that generates the most buzz might just be a minute of silence.

The set-up: Two deaf guys are driving to their friend Bob's Super Bowl blast. They’re having a heated chat in American Sign Language (with subtitles on the screen). It seems the kick-off is any minute. But they forgot Bob’s house number. So the driver rolls slowly down the street honking the horn. Lights flash on at every house but one—that’s gotta be the home of their deaf buddy. Pepsi produced the spot, in consultation with the National Association of the Deaf, to "bring awareness of the American deaf community to a wider audience." And maybe sell a few bottles of soda—one of the deaf guys in the car is swigging the soft drink.

Politically correct or incorrect? "It's hilarious, although it kind of misrepresents where we are today," said Norman Williams, a senior research engineer with the technology access program at Gallaudet University, a leading school for the deaf. "It's an old deaf joke from before people had pagers. Nowadays, people would just use a pager or a phone with a keyboard if they got lost." Tom Willard, who blogs about deaf issues at Tom's Deaf Advocacy, worries about the reaction of the hearing community: "I think it is great to see deaf themes and deaf actors in TV commercials. But I have misgivings about this particular spot. I never much liked the old joke because it is based on the premise that deaf people are rude and inconsiderate." (To be fair, Bob does wave an apology to his neighbors.) For more of the deaf community’s back and forth, check out blogs like deafjoke.tv or deafread.com or postings on YouTube with both typed comments and American sign language.

An interesting sidelight to the ad is its glimpse of how technology serves the deaf. When the guys finally push Bob’s doorbell, it triggers blinking lights inside. Some products tailored for the deaf might be of use to the hearing community as well. After a late night Super Bowl blast, who wouldn’t want a special alarm-clock addition called a bed-shaker: One end plugs into the alarm, the other slips under a pillow or mattress to jostle the user awake.

--Brad Scriber 

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