Yes, we’re those people who watch the Super Bowl for the commercials. And as marketers, we can’t help but be Monday morning quarterbacks—evaluating, critiquing, and applauding this year’s crop of ads, or as we like to say, the most expensive 30 seconds of a brand’s life.
While the digital world is going ad-free, the Super Bowl continues to be one time of year when commercials are accepted, even welcomed, interruptions during the big game. This year was no exception. Advertisers have and will continue to pay top dollar for precious airtime as total in-game spend reached $435 million, a new high, according to Kantar, an analytics firm.
Coming off the excitement of the halftime show, and a stunning come-from-behind win by the Chiefs, our team shuffled through the ads to pull which spots we liked, which puzzled us, and which simply let us down.
Which ads scored a touchdown?
Tom: With the Super Bowl and Groundhog Day happening on the same day (also a palindrome date!), it shouldn’t have been a surprise that at least one of the ad spots would pay homage to the classic 1993 movie. Bill Murray steps back into his old role to star in Jeep’s spot, which shows him reliving the same day over and over as he drives around in the brand’s new Gladiator truck and has adventures with Punxsutawney Phil. The combination of nostalgia, humor, and charm make it a winning ad. The spot also won USA Today’s annual Ad Meter, which ranks ads by consumer preference.
Fiona: It pains me to say it, but Hyundai’s “Smaht Pahk” commercial was the most effective. From featuring Boston-born celebs to the hackneyed Boston accents, it was clever, funny, and most importantly, memorable. When the Hencove team watched the ad the week before the Super Bowl, I thought using the Boston accent was a lazy marketing tactic. However, watching it “live” during the Super Bowl amongst the other commercials, it stood out and I stand corrected. While the ad appeals strongly to a local audience, it seems like it also resonated at a national level. Now, if I can just get “smaht pahk” out of my head.
Kerrianne: With alcoholic seltzer being relatively new to the market, consumers now have a choice between buying beer or seltzer. Bud Light did a great job of incorporating their traditional product, Bud Light, with their new product, Bud Light Seltzer. But Bud Light contends you don’t have to decide between products, you can have both. By using a popular musician among millennials, Post Malone, the brand was able to attract the attention of a key demographic for their seltzer product. The commercial had a comedic flair by turning Malone’s brain cells into people with face tattoos that matched his own. I typically favor White Claws, but after this commercial, I think I’m switching to Bud Light Seltzers!
Olivia: The Amazon Alexa ad was great—I’ve watched it several times now. It used smart humor to take the commands we give Alexa and place them in different historical context. The interesting subtext is that Amazon is admitting that their technology is, in a way, replacing humans. Maybe the witty parody of our modern-day, voice-activated conveniences was Amazon’s way of distracting from the real issues at hand. On another note, as Hencove’s resident dad joke apologist, Reese’s Take 5 “Rock” commercial earned a runner-up prize from me.
Which ads fumbled the ball?
Kerrianne: We all know the feeling of trying to find the perfect avocado in the grocery store—while at the same time trying to predict the future ripeness. It give me anxiety just thinking about it. And yet, Avocados from Mexico highlighted the most annoying part of avocados: they’re delicate and time-sensitive. The commercial tried to exaggerate how precious avocados are to consumers, but instead the commercial felt overdone. Plus, whenever the Shopping Network comes on, I change the channel, so by mimicking the Shopping Network, I turned my attention back to eating my chips and guac.
Tom: As with most Super Bowls there are a number of commercials that fall flat, but I thought Squarespace muffed the punt. In this spot, Winona Ryder went back to Winona, Minn.—which she is named after—to create a website for the town. Unfortunately, not much happened in the ad, which shows Ryder in the snow on her laptop being questioned by a “Fargo”-like police officer. It’s almost as if the creators of the ad were so proud of their clever concept that they forget to finish brainstorming the rest of the ad.
Fiona: For me, the Hard Rock commercial missed the mark. With a star-studded cast, including halftime headliner J.Lo, this ad had potential, but just didn’t make sense. The plotline was choppy and the ending was equally confusing. You completely forget that this is a spot for a recently renovated luxury resort because you’re trying to keep up with J.Lo as she chases after a stolen bedazzled cup. This wasn’t the best way to show off the hotel’s glitz and glamour—just J.Lo’s.
Olivia: The Facebook Groups ad was a dud. They released an ad before the Super Bowl with Chris Rock launching a rocket, making it seem like they were gearing up for a big announcement on the big day. But then, the spot was just an ad for Facebook Groups, which is definitely not new and probably the only reason half of us are still on Facebook anyway. Maybe that was the point?
Did you notice any themes?
Olivia: There was an encouraging trend of diversity at an elevated level in this year’s ads. TurboTax’s “All People are Tax People,” Budweiser’s “Typical Americans,” and Sabra’s “How We ‘Muss” all stand out. I commend these ads for showing diversity not only of groups—race, professions, age, interests, activities—but also within groups. Each ad featured different “types” of black people, old people, women and professionals, many of whom were outside the norm of what is typically depicted in mainstream media. When is the last time you saw a beekeeper featured as a job in a primetime ad? This multi-representative approach is more humanizing, avoids tokenism and combats stereotypes. It signals that these household consumer brands are looking beyond demographic data points and instead emphasizing values in appealing to their target audiences. So, kudos to those creative teams.
Fiona: This might be the one time a year when I really enjoy the celebrity appearances in commercials. They’re almost a requirement for the Super Bowl. But ads should work to create some connection between the celebrity and the story, rather than having a celebrity just because they’re a recognizable face. Coke’s commercial featuring Jonah Hill and Martin Scorsese fell flat.
Kerrianne: With the continuous rollout of new tech products, smart technology was a dominant presence throughout. Hyundai poked fun at Boston accents with their “Smaht Pahk” commercial featuring a remote parking system, Amazon featured Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi using their Alexa technology, and Google showcased their Google Assistant with the tear-jerker “Loretta” commercial, among others. Surprisingly, in reflecting on all the Super Bowl commercials, the tech-focused commercials turned out to be some of my favorite.
Tom: There were two trends that stood out with this year’s installment of ads. It seems that advertisers are stretching their ideas out too thin by playing them out on social media in advance that they become stale come Sunday. The other trend was mashups, or ads using a wide range of personalities or cultural references. Most notably, Doritos’s ad featured Lil Nas X and Sam Elliott in a dance-off and Walmart leaned on characters from a variety of TV shows and movies to promote its grocery pickup service.
Which Super Bowl ad stuck with you?