Advertisement

Super Bowl 52: Best and worst of Sunday’s TV commercials

Click to play video: 'The best and worst of Super Bowl ads'
The best and worst of Super Bowl ads
ABOVE: The best and worst of Super Bowl ads – Feb 5, 2018

NEW YORK – This year’s Super Bowl ads ran the gamut from tame humour to … tame messages about social causes.

After a divisive year, advertisers during the Big Game worked overtime to win over audiences with messages that entertained and strove not to offend. The slapstick humour and sexual innuendo that used to be commonplace during Super Bowl ad breaks were nowhere in sight.

Instead, Budweiser , as always the largest advertiser during the game, eschewed the usual puppies and Clydesdales to showcase employees that send water to places in need. Verizon showed people thanking first responders who saved them. And Tide tried to make people laugh (and perhaps forget about its Tide Pod problem ) with a humorous series of ads that starred “Stranger Things”‘ actor David Harbour.

READ MORE: Ram Trucks’ Super Bowl LII commercial reportedly uses Martin Luther King’s voice without authorization

Click to play video: 'Ram truck ad using MLK speech draws backlash'
Ram truck ad using MLK speech draws backlash

“This is a year where people are feeling a little frayed around the edges because the divisive political environment on both sides,” said Kelly O’Keefe, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Brandcenter. “They want to feel like there’s something still good in the world.”

Story continues below advertisement

While the Philadelphia Eagles bested the New England Patriots in a nailbiter on the field, advertisers were fighting a similar battle to win over the hearts and minds of viewers. It’s the largest live stage for advertising all year, so advertisers brought their A-game.

Tide took a novel approach with ads each quarter that poked fun at typical Super Bowl ads. Harbour popped up in familiar-looking ads that appear to be about different products: a car, an insurance company, jewelry and Old Spice (another P&G product). The twist? They’re really all Tide ads, because there are no stains on anyone’s clothing.

WATCH: Doritos and Mountain Dew Super Bowl ad features Peter Dinklage and Morgan Freeman
Click to play video: 'Doritos and Mountain Dew Super Bowl ad features Peter Dinklage and Morgan Freeman'
Doritos and Mountain Dew Super Bowl ad features Peter Dinklage and Morgan Freeman

Tame comedy like the Tide ad was a theme throughout the night. In a year that saw the #MeToo movement shine a spotlight on sexual harassment, the vast majority of ads sill starred men but there weren’t any that focused on scantily-clad women or sexual innuendo, save for an awkwardly dancing – and fully dressed – woman in a Diet Coke ad.

Story continues below advertisement

Comedian Keegan Michael-Key cut through complex jargon to put things plainly in a humorous ad for Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans. When a restaurant patron is confused by what a “beef-protein gluten-free pate” is, he explains: “It’s a burrito, filled with plants pretending to be meat.”

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

READ MORE: Super Bowl LII: Eagles beat Patriots 41-33

An Amazon ad showcased different celebrities – including actress Rebel Wilson, actor Anthony Hopkins, singer Cardi B and chef Gordon Ramsay – filling in as the voice of Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant.

M&M’s featured Danny DeVito as a human M&M. And Mountain Dew and Doritos staged an epic hip-hop lip sync battle between actors Morgan Freeman and Peter Dinklage. The two synced to Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes, respectively.

“There’s a reason so many marketers are using celebrity combined with comedy – because it breaks through the clutter, delivers the message and gets buzz,” said Aaron Shapiro, CEO of ad agency Huge.

WATCH: Eagles fans torch property following Super Bowl victory
Click to play video: '‘Philly’s on fire’: Eagles fans torch property following Super Bowl victory'
‘Philly’s on fire’: Eagles fans torch property following Super Bowl victory

An ad for Blacture, rapper Pras’ new media platform, was one of the few ads to make an overtly political statement. It showed an African-American man standing alone on stage with tape over his mouth and a blindfold on his eyes. “Blacture. Be celebrated. Not Tolerated,” text on the screen read. And T-Mobile’s ad showed babies and enlisted Kerry Washington for a voiceover that talked about equality.

Story continues below advertisement

“The (T-Mobile) message is terrific but all the way through, if you asked consumers who the ad is for, nobody would know,” said Kimberly Whitler, marketing professor at the University of Virginia.

That kind of attempt to connect brands to social causes was a big theme of the night. Charles Taylor, a marketing professor at Villanova University, said a fifth of all Super Bowl ads featured causes, compared with just 6 per cent last year.

READ MORE: Justin Timberlake’s Super Bowl LII halftime show has everyone but Prince fans applauding

Toyota kicked things off by depicting the story of Lauren Woolstencroft, a Paraolympic skier who was born missing her left arm below the elbow as well as both legs below the knees, to promote its Paralympic sponsorship.

Budweiser showcased employees from its Cartersville, Georgia, brewery as they canned water to send to places in need like Puerto Rico and California.

Hyundai showcased its donations to fight pediatric cancer by bringing real Hyundai owners into a room during the pre-game Super Bowl festivities and letting them meet cancer survivors. Hyundai donates each time someone buys one of its cars.

“There’s a lot of research that says millennials really like it when brands link themselves to causes,” said Taylor. “It’s just refreshing for a lot of people to see these unifying types of messages by the advertiser.”

Story continues below advertisement

But advertisers can stumble in these efforts when the connection seems tenuous. There was some negative reaction when Fiat Chrysler’s Ram trucks ad featured a speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. The commercial, timed to the 50th anniversary of the speech, showed people doing good deeds like giving out food to the needy and rescuing a boy from a fire.

“Everyone was offended,” said Zach Mann, who watched the game in Venice, California, with a group of 15 thirtysomethings. “It seems insensitive. We know it’s Black History Month, but using an American hero to sell a Dodge was off-putting.” (Ram trucks are no longer affiliated with the Dodge brand.)

Instead, it was the humorous ads like the Tide spots that won that group over.

“Everyone seems to be moving into more comedy, quirky, unique (ideas), which my friends and I all are enjoying way more” than past years, Mann said. “I think we all need more laughter these days.”

 

Curator Recommendations

Sponsored content

AdChoices