If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you probably know that Super Bowl is like my holiday. Totally uninterested in the sports segment of it 🙂 every morning after the big event I can’t wait to sit down and watch all the ads that aired during the match, and pick my favorites.
I’m not sure if this year I had too big of expectations, or it’s just the boring reality, but the selection was very underwhelming. Too many ads were in the completely same style, trying but not really succeeding to be quirky and Gen Z friendly, too many flying mustaches and eyebrows, motivational quotes that we’ve heard over and over again…It was really hard to pick the favorites, but here’s a small selection of what seemed the “most ok” to me 🙂
A Tale As Old As Websites – Squarespace
One of the rare ads that actually looked a bit different than the others was Squarespace’s ad. I’m not sure I understood a word they were saying, but it was fun and catchy and stood out in the bunch of other ads trying to be different.
DunKings 2- Dunkin’
In last year’s post I mentioned how much I loved Ben Affleck embracing the cringe, and this year it got even better by including Casey Affleck and Jeremy Strong. The ad (or 6+ minute movie) itself is not its best, but there are some strong moments like Jeremy Strong’s method acting immersed in coffee beans. All in all, it’s a fun watch, not much more.
Photobomb – Taco Bell
Taco Bell used an idea that always works – giving space to the audience. I guess they couldn’t resist the celebrity effect and had to include Doja Cat, but they did it in a way that works both for her persona and the oh-so-desired Gen Z audience 🙂
Potty-tunity – Angel Soft
Angel Soft gets points for the smart idea 🙂 The toilet paper company gave time to the audience to actually go to the bathroom without missing an important moment. It’s not gonna do much for the brand itself, but it deserves a mention 🙂
A probably very unpopular opinion, but I think Nike’s ad doesn’t deserve all the fuss. I’m so happy that it was an all-female ad, and finally, there are so many female idols in sports, but they all deserved so much more than the same copy we’ve heard over and over again. There is so much more to talk about women in sports than “you can when they say you can’t” and I truly believe it’s time we upgraded the narrative.
All in all, besides this selection, there were a few other nice ads, like Lay’s, Dove, or Uber Eats (which Matthew McConaughey made into a movie I’d watch :), but I really can’t say that there was anything that will be remembered for years to come. Let’s hope that next year we see a lot more creative storytelling and a lot less of brands trying to create the next “Wazzup” and failing horribly at it.