This year’s Super Bowl commercials wanted to go viral, not make sense
TV Features For Our Consideration
Our reboot-frenzied age of IP, the one that stretched 13 episodes out of Green Eggs And Ham and turned Fantasy Island into a slasher, spawned from a single truth: If you’re going to gamble, it may as well be on a sure thing.
Being bad, after all, has never corked the simple pleasures of recognition, the warm fuzzies that come with being in on the joke. Celebrity and nostalgia have always been part and parcel of the Super Bowl ad machine—remember when Bud Light raised Spuds MacKenzie from the dead?—but there was an amusing lack of logic to many of this year’s spots, a transparent and proud cynicism that placed cogent premises and brand clarity behind recognition and celebrity. Why, you probably asked. Why are these people coming together to promote this product while referencing this movie?
Perhaps Maisie Williams singing Frozen’s “Let It Go” while driving an Audi in a traffic jam—there’s some Madlibs for you—was a subtle dig at Game Of Thrones fans still fuming over the ending? There’s no indication, of course, that that’s the subtext, but, hey, it makes as much sense as the spot’s surface logic.
And then there’s Bryan Cranston inhabiting The Shining’s Jack Torrance to threaten his terrified wife (?) with Mountain Dew Zero Sugar. Why Cranston? Why The Shining? Is it because he was scary on Breaking Bad and The Shining is scary? Because Walter White was a bad dad and so was Jack? Is it because he is “the one who knocks,” and he’s knocking on a door with an ax? Why not draw some connection between Cranston and this premise? All he had to say was “I am the one who sips.”
The real missed opportunity, honestly, is not making this a Code Red ad. At least then the elevator bit would make sense.
It was almost easier, then, to swallow the commercials that nearly abandoned a premise entirely. Sabra asked the inane question of “how you ‘mus” to 19 celebrities who, by design, share little in common. Ric Flair, Teresa Giudice, Megan Thee Stallion, and Jaleel White flash by alongside living memes, drag queens, Fortnite streamers, and TikTok stars. The commercial sucks, but that’s irrelevant: What matters is that the stars will share the commercial to their online followers, each targeting a different demographic. Shrewd, smart, and—if you’re the kind of person who considers ads art—bad for art.
Overload was a running theme throughout the night. Channeling the cinematic universes that are so hot in Hollywood these days, Proctor & Gamble’s Bounty ad threw a mess of disconnected stars—Sofia Vergara and Rob Riggle among them—in with a bunch of the company’s brand mascots, from Mr. Clean to the Charmin Bear to the Old Spice guy, some of whom also show up in a Planters ad (you know the one).
Who, we wonder, longs to see Mr. Clean and the Charmin Bear breathing the same air? Along those lines, who asked for a universe in which Mr. Peanut kills himself in an act of self-sacrifice, only to be resurrected as a baby by the tears of the Kool-Aid Man? In a roundabout way, these ads are aligned with Sabra’s, in that they’re both angling to spawn online discussion. Where Sabra is using blunt-force tactics, however, Proctor & Gamble is aiming for something more organic. Unfortunately, it’s also baldly trying to capitalize on the rise of Baby Yoda, and the response hasn’t been kind. Sure, Boda is as much a commerce-driven character as Baby Nut, but at least its first order of business is to entertain. (It’s also just way cuter.)
Of course, not all is lost. A few of the evening’s spots stuck out as imaginative and amusing. Let’s wash the filthy taste of craven consumerism out of our mouths, at least momentarily, to celebrate a few of those.
(If you’re wondering where the tear-jerking Google ad is, we’ll direct you to this tweet.)
Best concept: Cheetos
MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” turns 30 years old this year, and Cheetos, bless them, proved the iconic track still has some juice. In what was by far the evening’s best ad, the spot spoke to all fans of cheese-flavored corn-based snacks by showing how “cheese fingers” can be a handy way of absolving oneself from unsavory tasks, such as helping someone move or holding a baby. Meanwhile, some very Adult Swim-esque CGI ushers Hammer’s disembodied head into the frame to sing his signature phrase. Finally, a marriage between celebrity and concept that also triggers the nostalgia sensors in a novel way.
Best nostalgia grab: Jeep
This spoof of Groundhog Day, perhaps one of the most-spoofed movies in history, works only because Jeep actually got Bill Murray. The concept itself is nonsense—Murray’s new Jeep makes his looped day less boring?—but Murray looks like he’s genuinely having fun with his furry friend, which, bonus, doesn’t die in a fiery car crash.
Best celebrity mishmash: Hyundai
This might be the hackiest premise ever—some Boston locals adopt overdone Bahston accents to talk about a car’s “Smaht Pahk” feature—but it helps when you’ve got John Krasinski, Chris Evans, and Rachel Dratch (and David Ortiz), Boston-area natives who are also beloved in the pop cultural sphere. A contrast to the overstuffed air of many of the night’s ads, the actors exude an easygoing attitude that actually serves the advertised feature, which actually needs a little unpacking. Plus: It’s fun to read what Boston natives think about it.
Best juxtaposition: Doritos
Sam Elliott and Lil Nas X don’t seem like natural bedfellows, but there’s something truly inspired about filtering the words of the rapper’s viral rap-country hit through the mouth of Hollywood’s most authentic cowboy. This is a perfect blend of concept and talent—even if we have no clue what the hell it has to do with Doritos.
Best conversation starter: Rocket Mortgage
If you want people to talk about your brand, gross them the fuck out. Rocket Mortgage embraced the uncanny valley and the queasy feelings it offers in the above ad, which we’d rather not recount lest it imprint itself deeper into our subconscious. Just know that it involves Jason Momoa’s beefy face being eerily superimposed onto a thin, spindly body. It is profane and kind of genius.
116 Comments
I thought forced celebrity overload was part of the point?I didn’t watch this year…I spent my night playing Anthem though so I’m not going to judge anyone.
It shouldn’t be the point of AVClub which is talking about Super Bowl commercials, especially Mr. Peanut, way more than it should.
I spent my night playing Anthem though so I’m not going to judge anyone.Control. We’ve found one ready for “processing”.
Oh yeah I gotta get Control now that I have a 2080;)Honestly the game is way more fun than it should be, it just needs some more polishing and probably a decent size content expansion.
Refusing to take my insult as an insult…DAMN YOU MURRY CHANG!
You missed a hell of a game
Or at least a hell of a quarter, huh?All good though, I kind of lost interest in the NFL once they started with Thursday night football.
Did you stand during the Anthem at least?
When Anthem was fun, it was really fun. I had a generally Very Good Time© for about 70 hours, which is well worth for me. But, when the good time stopped, it did not gradually stop. It used a concrete wall to stop.I’ve never played a game for 70 hours, generally enjoyed it, then absolutely dropped it without a second thought before.That being said, I’m keeping an eye out for the big update they have coming down the pike.
also, it got super cheap later on, i got a copy at gamestop for 5 bucks. thats less than a good cheeseburger, and i suspect i may enjoy it longer than that.
My favorite thing about Anthem is the giant pyramid of unsold copies I saw at a Wal Mart once.
I was doing college work. How is Anthem nowadays?
There’s a bit more content than there was on launch from what I hear.I paid $20 for it and have ~250 hours in so I’d say it’s worth it. Gameplay is fun as hell, content is still lacking.
Still lacking huh. Well that’s somewhat disappointing.
Yeah it is. If I’d paid full price for a preorder I would probably be pissed lolI’m really hopeful the revamp later this year will set it to rights. The flying/shooting/powers mechanics are seriously top notch and it’s pretty as hell especially since my 2080 runs it 50-60fps in 4k with all settings maxed.
Reminds me of Destiny. Good gameplay. But lacking in content.
Yep! I’m real hopeful for the revamp, if they get their shit together it could be great.
I agree.
MUTHAFUCKAS ARE STILL PLAYING ANTHEM?!? SHIT MURRY, I’M IN!
… EA hasn’t shut down the servers yet?
Speaking of the Super Bowl, just making sure everyone saw this: https://unnamedtemporarysportsblog.com/
What’s this about forced virility?
Damn, they edited their title (which used the inadvisable term ‘forced virality’) and now my joke makes no sense.
It’s still in the URL.
We know you’re lying because like the comments, writers on the site are locked out after 15 minutes from editing even if there are grammar or spelling mistakes.
“Forced virility”: An agressive ad campaign for an erectile dysfunction drug ad. Coming to you next Super Bowl.
the body never lies
Bald Jason Momoa looks like Norm Macdonald .
I’d still hit it.
This spoof of Groundhog Day, perhaps one of the most-spoofed movies in history, works only because Jeep actually got Bill Murray. The concept itself is nonsense—Murray’s new Jeep makes his looped day less boring?—but Murray looks like he’s genuinely having fun with his furry friend, who, bonus, doesn’t die in a fiery car crash.
Eh, I’d say it’s because they went a deal further than that, right on down to getting a lot of the actors to reprise their role, like the still aggressively cheerful Ned Ryerson.It worked on roughly the same principle as Galaxy Quest, which is hilarious precisely because it so deeply loves Star Trek. It’s an ad for a car, sure, but at core I can’t help but think that this was an ad shoehorned into an art project first and foremost by a bunch of people who really, truly, sincerely loved Groundhog Day.
Also, bring stephen tobolowsky’s Ned Ryerson back for the commercial is not getting nearly enough attention.
Woozle wuzzle?
Is it just me or was Rob Riggle firing paper towels out of his belly at this Hispanic woman’s messed up party some kind of reference to Trump’s “hurricane relief” efforts with the same paper products?
https://i.insider.com/5b9c87168905f2fd1e8b51d7?width=1000&format=jpeg&auto=webp
MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This” turns 30 years old this year…
It’s been thirty years and I still fit in to my parachute pants!
I mean…I should hope so
Mine, too! Although not in the way that’s considered “good.”
You sir are 2 Legit, 2 Legit 2 Quit trying to make parachute pants happen.
Those aren’t parachute pants. Those are harem pants. These are parachute pants.
Signed, an Eighties teen who was foolish enough to want a pair once.
Sorry, Hammer has forever changed the lexicon so that parachute pants are no longer nylon pants with too many zippers, but are baggy pants that can also serve as a parachute.All because of a Taco Bell ad:
also, Masie Williams sings better than I expected, but has there ever been a car commercial in which the mere ownership of the vehicle in question did not create an alternative route to your destination that nobody else knows about?
Selling Pringles felt extremely off-brand for the anti-establishment Rick and Morty.
And extremely on-brand for people who like money.
They did a Hardee’s commercial a few years ago and appeared on the Simpsons before that. I don’t know that it’s possible to be that popular and not compromise you anti-establishment leanings (glaring exception, Calvin and Hobbes).
I can buy a talking Pickle Rick at Target.
Eh, Roiland seems fine shilling for things he genuinely enjoys. I bet he just really likes Pringles. See also, Nintendo and McDonald’s.
Bad examples. The Mcdonalds gag pertained to a product that hadn’t existed since the 90s, and the Nintendo bit was a hyper-specific topical gag on the heavy scalping that hit that one 3DS model.They do a fair few ads, but they tend to lampshade them heavily.
They’ve also done quite a few crossover Easter Eggs with Gravity Falls, a Disney show…
I saw some people rationalizing that they aren’t selling out because the ad breaks the fourth wall and takes shots at Pringles, but meta-humor isn’t exactly a novel concept anymore.
I’m more shocked that you can’t buy Pickle Rick flavored Pringles.
Doritos is the Establishment. Pringles is the UNDERGROUND!!
The glut of shameless Rick and Morty merch, to me, signifies that they are the establishment now.
the Rick and Morty ads work, first thing I ever saw of the show was (mostly cuz I’m in Canada and it’s airdate for the first 2 seasons was … wonky to say the last) was the ad they did for Alien: Covenant that popped up on youtube where Rick’s mixture of toxicity in his bloodstream killed the alien facehugger. Now if they had announced when Episode 6 of S4 was going to land that would be better.
They essentially had a Nintendo 3DS “ad” within an episode.Granted, Rick wanted to be a scalper, which is very on brand.
The bit with Elon Musk on the show kind of felt, not like an ad, but maybe a friendly shout-out? It felt off to me. Not really a friendly show and you’d think Rick would hate a perceived rival.
Who, we wonder, longs to see Mr. Clean and the Charmin Bear breathing the same air? Along those lines, who asked for a universe in which Mr. Peanut kills himself in an act of self-sacrifice, only to be resurrected as a baby by the tears of the Kool-Aid Man?Lawrence Kasanoff, presumably.
I think Rabin did that one in “My Year of the Flops.” I can’t find his review, though.
Here you go.
I kept thinking of that. Mr Clean being near other major food icons brings back Foodfight memories…
That dolphin is giving me Steve from American Dad vibes.
That’s Charlie the Tuna.
Not a single redeeming feature to that movie.
“Not true! The animators hired (at the last minute) to work on this fine, award-worthy film are just happy for the work! Yes, they can leave anytime they want! They just have to solve the puzzle of how to remove their shackles and evade the armed guards! It should be easy for such bright, eager, young individuals!”
This is what vexes me about Superbowl commercials in this day and age: if advertisers are going for virality year-round, and branded content and social media accounts have blurred the lines of customer engagement, what place do Superbowl commercials actually have now? It’s almost like a dry, unsimulated demonstration of a product at work would be the truly revolutionary move.
You do see a certain percentage of ads that just keep it simple which, to your point, I find refreshing compared to the usual “Laugh you bastards” Super Bowl ads.
I think the place of Superbowl ads is so that companies can say they had a Superbowl ad. It’s basically saying that, if you’re a newer company, that your company wears big-boy pants. And if you’re an established brand, it’s how you say “See! We’re still cool!” to the broadest possible audience. Also how you get people to join the Army.
The “Let It Go” ad was obviously referencing road rage.
GEICO, shitty company as they are, make the best commercials. I almost laugh at everyone.
The “Let It Go” ad was meant to entice you to give up your gas-powered car, in an obnoxiously smug way, from a company who wants you to forget about their massive global emissions scandal.
Fun fact: The Audi EV is called the e-tron. étron is French for turd.
I mean, the song & commercial end by singing “The cold never bothered me anyway.” It’s not rocket science (or rocket mortgage) to draw the global warming connection in an ad for an electric car.
I was hoping for a new Pinocchio sequel.
I also thought, at first, that the “Let it Go” was referencing road rage. Probably because I am very self-aware at my extremely high levels of road rage. But it was about fossil fuels.
I like that the GEICO commercials will change after awhile, so the jokes don’t wear out their welcome.
that jeep pickup is the ugliest vehicle i have seen in decades. it looks like some sort of deranged chop shop took a wrangler and attached the bed of a 1997 chevy colorado to it with a spot welder.
Aw, the Pontiac Aztek wasn’t that long ago.
This spoof of Groundhog Day, perhaps one of the most-spoofed movies in history, works only
because Jeep actually got Bill Murray. The concept itself is
nonsense—Murray’s new Jeep makes his looped day less boring?—but Murray
looks like he’s genuinely having fun with his furry friend, which,
bonus, doesn’t die in a fiery car crash.
Obviously hard because no one here works in a creative department—but let me show you how that brainstorm went down.
The Jeep Rubicon brief must’ve said something like, “The DIFFERENT type of truck.” The creative team rolled with that, trying to think of ways to talk about different. “Hey, what about the Rubicon in a place where everything is the same….NOTHING is different.” More bullshit, “Wait, what if the Rubicon is in Groundhog Day!” Yes it work. But rather than having something NEW be different each day—as it would need to be, they just kept rolling with the idea that Bill actually enjoys the same day over and over again because the Rubicon can do all of it. By that time the ad agency/client/team knows that everyone will have forgotten the original premise of EVERYTHING stays the same, yet still kiiiinda following the commercial.
Hopefully this makes sense. Basically, you have 1 hook of “Something Different in a sea of the same” and then the rest of the shit kinda goes to hell. Pray that its entertaining and that no one is thinking too much about why or how the concept makes sense.
I’ve been doing this too long.
Sam Elliott and Lil Nas X don’t seem like natural bedfellows, but there’s something truly inspired about filtering the words of the rapper’s viral rap-country hit through the mouth of Hollywood’s most authentic cowboy. This is a perfect blend of concept and talent—even if we have no clue what the hell it has to do with Doritos.It’s yet another iteration of “Cool Ranch”: “Cool Ranch” —-> “Cooler Ranch”—->”Cool Ranch” again—->Whatever this iteration is calling itself
Still Cool Ranch but cooler.
Maybe I was just younger, but I thought in the ‘80s and ‘90s there was mostly a sense of “It’s the Super Bowl so let’s put out our best ad!”. For years now it seems like the new sentiment is “Let’s try really, really, really hard to be really, really, really funny!”. The ads just feel so purposeful now.
Puppy monkey baby.
God, that one really creeped me out, and I have no idea anymore what they were shilling, so that says something about the efficacy of it.
““Let’s try really, really, really hard to be really, really, really funny!””What is really sad is that I didn’t laugh once at any of them. Biggest laugh of the night was Dump’s “I’m saving the minorities from jail” ad.Meanwhile, all Snickers had to do (instead of that stupid hole commercial) was run the Chefs ad again, and they would have won the night.
I didn’t watch much of the game/commercials but was hoping that they would re-do that one. I kept saying it all night, “that’s great, but who are the Chefs?” LOL they would have won hands down.
#letsgochefs
I still call the team the “chefs” when they aren’t playing well.
For years I’ve found the SB ads really lacking. I can’t figure out if they’ve just gotten worse, or if my standards were just so much lower when I was younger.
They’re all aiming to go viral.
I thought the Snickers add was the best of the weird/esoteric ads. It started out not revealing wtf was going on, and made sense -sort of- at the end, and saved its fun cameo for last.The oddest trend this year is the multiple products all sharing the same spot. (Tide etc.) Although I got a solid laugh out of the Proctor and Gamble ad where the person tripped and tossed the tub of chili into the ceiling fan. “All their products to the rescue!” Heh heh ho-oo . . . corporate greed, I tell ya. ‘Looked like splattered poop.
I liked the Snickers one a lot, especially the mean ending, which seems to get lost amongst it getting written off for the song being cheesy. Also, I like eating Snickers.
I missed the beginning when they showed that it was chili and I thought it was splattered poop until I saw it again the other day.
Anything thrown into a ceiling fan is a hoot, no matter what they’re selling.
Why did you only mention Brian Cranston when referencing the Mountain Dew commercial? Tracee Ellis Ross plays the “wife” you referred to, but you make no mention of her by name, at all. I found this very odd. Do you honestly not know who she is? I thought that the most confusing part of the commercial was the two of them being apart of it together, I was trying to figure out the meaning but there most likely isn’t one as I’m gathering.
I’m so glad you consider the MC Hammer ad the best:) But I think having him scoot out of the frame like that was undignified. He just have just danced through the ad’s finish.
I don’t understand what they were doing with Hammer’s hair though. Was nothing like the early 90s ‘do he had in the video.
I really like all of the questions posed in this feature. Can’t begin to answer them, though.
“Making sense” hasn’t been an advertising imperative since the early ‘60s at least. It’s long primarily been about “being memorable” which, in the year 2020, equates to “mashups” and metahumor.
Rocket Mortgage being able to afford a Super Bowl ad is why you shouldn’t use Rocket Mortgage.
That premise holds true, however, for everything advertised during the show. Including presidential candidates.
Holy B-List-Celebrty-Cameo Batman!Literally every commercial last night was of the genre of:“Rainn Wilson and Bill Murray are your electricians, while Paris Hilton does your dishes and hey, the mailman who just popped his head in is Tom Skerritt.”
So many of these ads are just marketing mad libs, but most of them shoot past absurdism and land on that annoying guy in college yelling “I’M SO RANDOM.”Most of the ads didn’t work for me because they took already hacky premises and either went for the obvious joke or ran a one-note joke into the ground.
I particularly liked the Porsche video, mainly because I used to live very close to some of the locations in Germany where they filmed it.
Usually my interest in Superbowel commercials hovers somewhere around zero. This time it hitting negative numbers. A virtual abyss of disinterest.
I found the Super Bowl ads especially befuddling. Having never seen “Always Sunny” or “Game of Thrones” I didn’t realize that the guy with the stain on his shirt or the woman singing in the Audi were supposed to be people I recognized.“Hey, you recognize this person” is a bad hook for an ad.
that rocket mortgage one was horrifying for me.I liked the porsche one and the groundhog day one
“The concept itself is nonsense—Murray’s new Jeep makes his looped day less boring?”Why the faux ignorance? The concept is simple and makes perfect sense. He can’t get enough of his repeat day because he enjoys driving the car that much. I thought this was the best Super Bowl ad I’ve seen in years. Poo poo on your hot take.
nothing makes sense because they are all glorified and expensive tiktok videos and tiktok videos are just glorified japanese commercials.
Are we not supposed to know Rachel Weisz is Taskmaster? Because I feel like it’s pretty obvious at this point.
‘’The concept itself is nonsense—Murray’s new Jeep makes his looped day less boring?’’
I have to ask but… why? Seems like a solid concept for an add: you got a fun new jeep you can use to explore the winter wonderland with your new furry pal.
‘’The concept itself is nonsense—Murray’s new Jeep makes his looped day less boring?’’
I have to ask but… why? Seems like a solid concept for an add: you got a fun new jeep you can use to explore the winter wonderland with your new furry pal.
It was actually Groundhog Day, so the Jeep ad made more sense in that light as well.
I thought I was watching commercials from an episode of The Running Man. Conglomerate ads gave me the heebie jeebies, I’m over here having fictional post apocalyptic evil corporate empire flashbacks. Thanks advertisers!
No one is calling Baby Yoda “boda” thanks
It was the year of celebrity cameo
As a long suffering creative professional in the ad business, I know why these ads are the way they are. Copywriters and creative directors at some point in their careers go to improv classes to help focus their creativity. Unfortunately, a lot of those people believe that attending improv classes magically make them funny. I can say from first hand experience it most certainly does not.
I thought the Snickers “Giant Hole” ad was the stupidest, funniest ad I’ve seen in a long time. They took the concept of “You’re not you when you’re hungry” to the furthest possible point by feeding Planet Earth a Snickers to try and solve all their extremely minor problems and it’s just… I love it. I laughed so hard.
very nice. visit