Probably the most boring Superbowl of the last decade or so, unless you are a big fan of defensive linemen and their heroics… which I personally am not.
The ads were OK though. Lots of throwbacks to the 90s, and lots of global firms trying to impress on you how very progressive they are… without actually taking a side in any truly controversial subject.
The first “corn syrup” ad from Bud (the one where they trek cross-country) was great, and the GoT thing was hilarious. The later corn syrup ones were just OK… we get it already, just bring on the adorable dog/horse/duck thing you have set up for late in the second half… oh, you use the dog and horses to show that you’re environmentally friendly. That’s fine, I guess.
I enjoyed most of the T-Mobile “texting” ads.
The “100th NFL” thing was pretty good… but it only served to emphasized what a snoozer the actual game was.
The Washington Post spot was well-done.
The Amazon Alexa spot with Harrison Ford’s dog was decent. Lots of ads where omnipresent technology was shown to be bad though. Plus the creepy accounting-software robot child.
The Audi spot where the guy has a cashew-induced near-death experience got a chuckle out of me. I doubt I’ll remember it in two days though.
I didn’t care much for the Stella commercial; it was cute, but not Superbowl-worthy. Speaking of 90s nostalgia, Chance the Rapper mixed up with the Backstreet Boys… who the hell asked for that hideous combo? It was almost as bad as the halftime show.
Even more vintage, I’m not sure why watching Andy Warhol eat an ancient Whopper for a full goddamned minute was supposed to make me want Burger King. Verizon tying themselves to the genuine first responder heroics simply because people use their lines to dial 911 seemed a bit grasping.
The Michelob Ultra ad with the woman whispering into the microphones was utterly baffling to me. Turns out it’s a thing.
I can’t believe someone thought it was a good idea to remind people that Verizon throttled a Fire Department’s data during last year’s wildfires. And that no one stopped them along the way.
ASMR is about the dumbest thing ever, but all the kids are into it on Youtube so I guess Michelob Ultra was going after the underage drinking crowd with that spot.
I enjoyed the Bud Light medieval ads. The quest to return the corn syrup was very creative, and the GoT tie-in one later was great.
The Audi ad with the guy going to heaven then being brought back into his sad little office existence was well done. The vivid colors of the afterlife vs. the stark bleakness of the office really made the ad’s point.
The food porn ad for Devour was clever too, and I agree with everyone above that the Alexa ad with Harrison Ford was funny and memorable. I also liked the Microsoft ad that expanded on their previous commercial featuring the boy with the genetic disorder. I love when technology helps people bridge differences and combining that effect with video games…winner.
The KIA ad for it’s new Telluride SUV was very good. Real people building real cars, no star power required, and lots of shots of the new vehicle, which debuts in 2020. I’m in the market for a new ride this coming fall, and I love my Kia Sorento, but I would totally jump to the Telluride if it wasn’t the first model year (never buy the first model year of any car, no matter how great the company that makes it).
The Pepsi ads were terrible, and the Olay horror spoof ad was just stupid. TurboTax robot baby thing was creepy as hell, and WTF was Planters thinking with it’s terrible Peanutmobile ad with Charlie Sheen and A-Rod?! Burger King and Andy Warhol…seems fitting since I haven’t given either one a single thought since the 1980’s.
I ran into this for the first time about a month ago. Had no idea it existed or that it was popular on any level. So when the ad came on and she started doing the whisper and finger stuff, I recognized it right away and wondered if it was way more popular than I thought.
A friend was telling me that last night he was watching the game but his daughter was upstairs doing whatever and monitoring the commercials on her phone with friends. After the Mich Ultra ad came on she rushed downstairs to tell her parents that ohmygod, that was ASMR! It’s that thing I was telling you about the other week with the thing and the other thing!
When the entire room just kind of looked back at her blankly, she rolled her eyes in disgust and went back upstairs away from the GenXers to commune with her generation.
Warhol filmed that session as part of a larger series from a Danish film-maker entitled “66 Scenes from America”. BK heard about it and asked the Warhol estate for permission to use it, and got it.
According to lore (i.e., I read it somewhere in the articles on the SB commercials this morning), the ending of the clip records Warhol saying that he wishes the burger had been from McDonalds instead.
Like the match itself, the ads were mostly underwhelming, I thought. Nothing really stuck, and nothing was as remotely clever as the Tide spots from last year. Gotta give Bud Light and HBO props though - that certainly was unexpected.
That said, there also was nothing as cringe-inducing as that MLK-ified Ram ad from SB 2018.
I think the estate said something that Andy would have been tickled to be included in some sort of ad campaign. Pop-consumerism and art was kind of his thing. I liked it, it was neat.
That one was definitely a head scratcher for me. Reminds me of a billboard for some bank or something I used to see on the way to work that said, Robots can’t take your job if you’re already retired. And I always think, who the hell is that for? Sure as hell not the thousands of slobs off to the daily grind everyday!
