The MVP
Two things that dominated late 2017/early 2018: Stranger Things and the Tide pod challenge. So no wonder David Harbour’s “It’s a Tide Ad” ad was an easy choice for MVP.
Playing on genre conventions of past Super Bowl commercials, like Old Spice’s gentleman on a horse, Matthew McConaughey’s Lincoln monologues, and alllll beer ads, this year’s Tide ad managed to turn every commercial into a Tide commercial. Impressive!
Touchdown!
Sometimes car companies do it right. Toyota knew what they were doing when they decided to avoid making their ad about themselves, and made it about one of the organizations that they support: the Paralympic games.
The moment the commercial starts, goosebumps and tears are immediate. The concept is simple: the odds that someone will become a Paralympian. Toyota took this concept and made it elegant. Not sure what this has to do with cars or trucks? Toyota seems to be selling the unstoppable force of the human spirit. We’re buying.
Flagged for unnecessary roughness
And then there are the ads that are not only a miss, but are downright wrong. Ram’s tone deaf commercial featuring the image and voice of Martin Luther King Jr. has received a lot of backlash in the brief time since it aired.
And this should come as no surprise considering the current racial climate of the U.S. and the NFL, the Super Bowl falling at the start of Black History Month, and Dr. King’s thoughts on capitalism and advertising.
Honourable mention
There were lots of other great ads — don’t get us wrong!
Mel’s Pick
In the NFL’s “Touchdowns to Come,” the Giants once again came up with a big performance in a Super Bowl featuring a Patriots loss, this time to the soundtrack of Dirty Dancing. Even as a Patriots fan, I swooned a little!
Michael’s Pick
Epic Rap Battles, eat your heart out. Doritos and Mountain Dew slay with the hottest rap battle of the 21st century! Dinklage vs. Freeman. Whoever came out on top, everyone was a winner when they witnessed this icy-hot mix of eye and ear candy.
And there ya have it! We’re living in an age when it’s necessary to know what’s going on — whether it be pop culture or politics. That means staying in touch with reality, audience, and context, and doing something about it!
Speaking of, if you’re looking for a Super-Bowl-Sunday worthy ad, get in touch and we’ll help you brand better.
Looking forward,Dc
