Super Bowl Breakdown
Another Super Bowl Sunday is in the books and no matter what team you rooted for — maybe it was Team Queso? — you probably paid some attention to the commercials. So now it’s time to break down what companies spent about $5.6 million each to create.
Of course we had the political/social movement ads, but not an overwhelming amount. From Secret and Olay, who boosted gender equality, to Michelob Ultra, pushing organic farming. The latter even perfectly tied in the game to its message.
My vote of the bunch goes to Budweiser for the “Typical Americans” ad, which sent a rush of pride through me. Yeah, I’m American and yeah, I can be loud and boastful and drink a classic beer while doing so. What’s it to ya?!
Incorporating good humor is always a safe bet. Our team here was particularly fond of the following commercials: Jeep, Groundhog Day, What did people do before Alexa?; Little Caesars delivery; Cheetos, Can’t Touch This; Planters’ baby peanut, and Snickers, Fix the World.
We thought Hyundai’s Smart Park took the cake for funniest ad, with Rachel Dratch summoning the old Boston Teens skit from SNL. Gotta love a Boston accent and a little nostalgia, amiright?
Every ad’s goal is to be memorable, right? Tugging at heartstrings is one way to do that — and Google nailed it with the “how to not forget” ad. Hook, line and sinker. The sweet man’s voice pulled you right in, especially if you’re someone who has had a family member suffer in the same way. Very powerful stuff.
There were some noticeable misses, too. Rocket Mortgage chose to spend its money depicting Jason Momoa shedding off layers of skin and muscle, aimed at letting people really “be yourself.” Did it do anything other than look creepy? The jury is still out. Pringles fell into the same, “uh, what?” category for me.
A personal favorite was not necessarily a commercial at all, but it came from the NFL to celebrate the 100th year of the league. It included many former NFL greats as a young boy ran the ball all the way “to the house” — and then it seamlessly cut to a live shot of the same boy from the commercial running into the stadium to hand off the game ball. It was a big win from a league whose reputation can always use a boost.
