Is there a better way to start your week off that sitting and watching adverts at work and not getting in trouble for it? Well I got to do just that with the Super Bowl ads!
Last night 110 million people across the world tuned into the Super Bowl to watch the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots play. Apparently New England won due to an interception in the dying seconds of the game, but you might want to check a more reputable source for that information. The commercials are always long awaited and we look forward to what brands are able to do with their one minute of airtime and millions of dollars spent.
I will admit that I watched all the commercials from Sunday night. I didn’t realize there were quite so many of them, but it’s important to do thorough research. If I had to pick a theme for this year’s ads it was about storytelling and engaging with consumers on a personal level although they were, dare I say it, somewhat on the sentimental side.
However, in the spirit of embracing sentimentality, my favourites are Dove Men+Care for their take on what ‘makes men strong’ with 30 seconds of kids calling for their Dads. I also enjoyed Toyota’s How Great I Am commercial following a double amputee through her day, workouts and hobbies, showing not only is she normal, but can do what every other human being can do. And Microsoft brought us the story of a little boy called, Braylon who has no legs, but runs, plays sports and does everything else that little boys do through the use of Microsoft technology to help develop the best prosthetic legs possible for him. I also liked Dodge’s commercial, celebrating their 100th birthday, which brought us wisdom and advice from 100 year old people. And while I know I’m going to get mixed opinions on Jeep’s film it was very consistent with their other ads, reminding us of the beautiful world with live in.
We saw ad with a serious message, such as the NFL’s ‘And No More’ which highlighted the need to stop domestic violence. Always brought us the (slightly obvious) message that girls can do what boys can with their ‘Like a girl’ advert. Coca-Cola used their airtime to combat cyber bullying and the need to show love not hate to those around us. Reebok challenged us to be more human.
There were a few light-hearted ones. I enjoyed BMW’s who flashed back to 1994 and the discussion of the internet from two famous American Broadcasters on the Today Show, cutting to the same two men in a BMW discussing the car’s new technology. The Doritos, guy on the plane made me chuckle a bit as I could relate to the hope of a good seat partner only to realize it’s going to be a screaming child. I also liked Avocados from Mexico’s ‘The first draft’. It was clever and the polar bear in a Sombrero hoping to get sent to the beach was brilliant. Bud Light’s ‘Up for anything’ film was amazing, showing a guy getting to play real life Pac-Man. Nissan brought us a series of ‘With Dad’ stories including one made with Roman Atwood, known prankster, who transformed his house into a giant ball pit for his children complete with a trampoline indoors. How epic is that!
There were the usual duds that made you raise an eye brow and wonder how the business could have justified its massive media spend but I won’t mention who they were!
What are your thoughts on this year’s clutch of ads?
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