For me, the Super Bowl is never about the game. Oh, sure, I usually have a preference of winners, but it doesn’t really matter to me. (And it’s a good thing, since this year, my preferred team took a beating.) And, it’s not particularly a social event, like it is for some. No, none of that; for me, it’s all about the commercials.
But this year, the big game was pretty disappointing on all fronts. The game itself was a boring blowout, but the ads were just about as bad. They weren’t particularly funny, or dramatic, inspired or inspiring. For the most part, they were just your everyday, run-of-the-mill commercials. What fun is that?
But they weren’t all bad. Here are a few of the ones I enjoyed.
I liked the Doritos time machine, though I’d already voted for it online, and part of the fun of the Super Bowl is being surprised by the newness of the ads. (Though it was nice to have cast my vote for the winner.)
I liked the Volkswagen angel wings, though I thought it could’ve benefitted from just a bit more brevity.
I enjoyed the Coca Cola “America the Beautiful” spot, though I’m not surprised it stirred up some controversy. You could tell when it was playing that it was the sort of thing that would fire up some folks. Narrow-minded folks, IMO, but it was pretty clear it would create some talk. More important, I usually love Coke commercials, but this one falls firmly in the “like” category. It was nice enough, but didn’t give me that feel good feeling their ads so often do.
Budweiser, on the other hand, knows how to make people feel good. Their welcome home ad definitely hit the right spot.
And, not surprisingly, Bud also had my absolute favorite commercial of the night—and it came so late. Definitely a case of saving the best for last. I always enjoy their Clydesdale ads, and this one was no exception. The horse and the puppy bit was just adorable, and I hope it’ll get lots of air time.
So, those are the few Super Bowl ads that I enjoyed Sunday. Sadly, there were far more that I’m hoping I don’t have to see making the rotation into my regular viewing. And, I hope the ad agencies are already working on making next year better.
