BRIAN:
I really liked the Tide commercials for spoofing other commercials, including other Procter & Gamble products such as Old Spice. In fact, I’ll admit to being tricked. For example, when I saw a Clydesdale at the beginning of a commercial, I thought it was going to be a Budweiser commercial, but it was actually Tide. This goes to show that commercials for various sets of products (e.g. cars, prescription meds) follow a fairly uniform playbook. Because of the negative publicity surrounding Tide Pods, these commercials also did a good job of generating positive feelings toward Tide.
Big thumbs down to T-Mobile (equality) and Dodge Ram (Martin Luther King Jr.) for misappropriating political/social themes into their commercials. Was there no one at these companies (or at their agencies) who thought these commercials would be a bad idea?
TAYLOR:
In what felt like a lot of sappy and heavy-hearted Super Bowl commercials, I wanted one that made me laugh. My favorite ad, which probably was overlooked by many, was the Avocados from Mexico commercial. If you know me, when it comes to snacking, you know that chips and guacamole are my Achilles’ heel. If I lived in the bio-dome and someone told me you had a plethora of avocados but the chips were outside the bubble, I too would have the chaotic reaction. Guacamole with veggies just isn’t quite the same thing.
AUDREY:
Coca-Cola Super Bowl ads have always caught my attention, and this year was no different. I’m a total sucker for commercials that play into emotion. Coca-Cola’s “The Wonder of Us” TV spot promoted a world of acceptance, this year specifically putting a focus on the LGBTQ community. The video shots were quite stunning and whimsical, and I enjoyed the poem-like copy of the ad. The ad did a great job of sending the message that Coke is a simple pleasure that can unite us all.