It's not particularly surprising in this economy that not one, but two, online job search sites ran commercials during the 2010 Super Bowl (Monster and

CareerBuilder). Given the unemployment rate and all the talk of resurgence in the job market, each of these big players wants a larger slice of the job finding pie, and thought that this would be the perfect time to do just that.

Monster's tried the old adage of humanized furry animals; and to be honest we're not too impressed. It tells the tale of a fiddle playing gopher/beaver/something, who leaves his life in the wild to become a famous violinist with money and women. All of which is thanks to Monster...one can only assume.  Yes it takes advantage of our universal love of animals that act like people to appeal to everybody and (sort of) lets us know that they're a job search site. At the end of the day, it just wasn't that entertaining.  Perhaps it was amusing by normal TV, or even prime-time standards, but this is the Super Bowl. Commercials have to bring their A++ game.

On the other hand, the CareerBuilder ads followed all four rules and really worked. Just watch the video for yourself.

While it IS true that most people like cute furry animals, everyone can relate to hating a job. The comically absurd and somewhat grotesque office that the protagonist is stuck in is a caricature of the nightmare office that we've all had to work in. You know the one where you're the only sane person there. Additionally, it did both a better job of entertaining, and demonstrating a (more) realistic use of the product. Sure they were both fantasies, but if you drop the funny bits you're still more likely to find a listing for a less crazy office than you are to find a listing for an international music superstar. Even after half a game's worth of beer, it is obvious which one takes the cake. Winner: CareerBuilder!