Quick—it’s been a number of days since the Super Bowl. How many ads (of the $3MM for :30-second variety) that you saw during that day’s game do you actually remember?

For me, I remember a few:

• Joan Rivers for GoDaddy.com
• The VW Commercial with Darth Vader (the :60-second spot that made its way around Facebook and Youtube in advance was MUCH better)
• A Ton of Auto Commercials (Eminem one is only one that stands out)
• Faith Hill and the “nice rack” boyfriend for Teleflora.com (I think?)

What’s the point? Breaking through is harder than ever. But it’s not just on TV—we’re in a world of constant distraction—TV, Print, Radio, Satellite Radio, Facebook, E-Mail, Twitter, Foursquare, Kindles, IPads, etc. But, sometimes, little things do break through and really make you notice.

Case-in-Point: I’ve been travelling a lot for work of late—was on a US-Airways Express flight that should have air-time between 55-65 minutes. Imagine the scene as the single flight attendant was about to begin her spiel, which we’ve all become used to treating as the teacher from Charlie Brown “Wah wah wah wah.” But, very quickly, she caught all of our attentions when she threw in this line “We’re excited to welcome you aboard our flight today—we’re a Mars-based flight crew and anticipate flying time of approximately 5 years and 6 months. <DRAMATIC PAUSE>  Now that I’ve got your attention, I invite you to follow along as I go through this quick safety demonstration.”

Shock value—Yes
A Little Cheesy—Yes
Captured Our Attention—Absolutely

Now it’s your turn—what’s some advertising or communication that has broken through the clutter for you of late and why?