Game Ruled, Perry Rocked & Super Bowl Ads Led to Tears
~ Amy Lignor
Yes, it seems – now that the game is over – that the majority of the company’s out there in America wanted Seattle to win the game, but could see into the future. Therefore, they released the most depressing commercials ever seen during a Super Bowl.
There are three reasons why an individual watches the Super Bowl. 1) They actually want to see the game. 2) They are very interested in watching the half-time show and seeing if anyone, at any time, will outdo the best performance ever given: Michael Jackson. 3) They want to see the Super Bowl commercials.
Now, on the above list, #3 actually scores higher in some polls as to why people want to watch the Super Bowl. But after last night, this will no longer be the case. As the veil of weeping and pain fell over the city of Seattle, the same pall of darkness fell over the rest of the world that actually decided to sit and watch those ads. All anyone can say is, yet again, “Thank God for Budweiser.” If it hadn’t been for their cute little pup the night would have been overtaken by dead kids, sex and burgers, and a really creepy ‘come on’ aboard a plane. The 2015 ads will certainly stick in everyone’s minds’ this year…but because they were sick, not cool.
We had hopes. Right at the beginning one commercial was all about a new movie. And when you see the name Steven Spielberg in green, neon lights, and hear music by John Williams that seems awfully familiar…your pulse races. The dinosaurs are back…and Jurassic Park will come alive once again. It won’t be a failure, because Spielberg reigns supreme. This gets the heart pumpin’…and the game is on!
But…something happened. Nissan brings on a race car driver and his son; a son watching his father on TV as the guy’s race car gets slammed. Is my Dad dead? The kid wonders, as Mom’s tears go down her cheeks. Nope. Dad gets out of the car and survives. Does he come home and happiness abounds? Nope. He goes back to the races without a care for his family. Viewers had to go through a horrific ad where Dad ain’t all that great of a Dad, and the horrible, heart-wrenching music played in the background: Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle.” This is a horrible song regarding a father and son relationship that is awful, not loving in any way. Not only was this ad awkward, but more than a little depressing.
But this was nothing compared to Nationwide Insurance that decided a dead kid would be a great Super Bowl ad. What? You know, the world is horrific enough so that the Super Bowl doesn’t have to be brought down, too. You want to “open dialogue” then take the ad to CNN. They wanted to build awareness regarding preventable accidents around the home. Nationwide said that the commercial had nothing to do with selling insurance (yeah, right), its sole purpose was to start a fierce dialogue. Well, you did just that. You made your name for creating the worst Super Bowl commercial ever made. Congrats! And by the way, “open dialogue” means speaking about the situation; the only dialog you’re getting is from millions of people saying: “Yuck!”
Carl’s Jr. “All-Natural” ad was basically about a naked girl (oops, she’s not. She has a bikini on. Gotcha!) She 
shoves a huge burger into her mouth. Sex sells, not death. So although Carl’s will go viral so all men can drool, they still beat a ‘dead boy’. They also beat Fiat, that put out a commercial where the car at the end got…happy. It was not sexy or funny – it was simply dumb.
When it comes to cool, Esurance went the right path by resurrecting Walter White (“Breaking Bad”) and casting him as a substitute pharmacist. After all, the guy knows drugs. Check this one out!
But when it comes to, thankfully, a company that wanted to have people love the Super Bowl ads, they went for a…lost puppy? Now, wait, it gets better. There is no insurance necessary for this ad. The guys and gals at Budweiser who, in this mind, still are behind the best ad ever (their extraordinary team of Clydesdales marching through the snow in order to take a knee and bow before the lost World Trade Center buildings), know that although sex may sell to some – beauty and love sell to others. Great job…as always.
And an A+ goes to Mercedes-Benz for allowing that tortoise to step into a stunning car (wish we all could have one) to beat the over-obnoxious hare! (Sort of sounds like the Super Bowl itself, doesn’t it?)
A thirty-second spot for the Super Bowl runs a company $4.5 MILLION dollars. To most companies out there, I have to say: You should have saved your cash. It really is getting to the point where ONLY Budweiser commercials should be aired during the game. The company is responsible for winning almost every first-place award for this annual event, and it’s no surprise.
One shout-out must go to Katy Perry, however, because she definitely helped the #2 reason why you watch the Super Bowl. Her performance was awesome! (Doesn’t everyone want a transformer tiger in their backyard to ride on?) Her songs were great, the sci-fi element worked, and she scored a definite TD for her efforts.
How did the #1 reason at the beginning of this list – people actually wanting to watch the game – fare in 2015? Well, that certainly earned the right to be #1 this year. The game was close, fierce, and the power and energy at the end of that sucker will live for a long, long time in the minds of football fans.
But advertisers? Think first before spending millions of dollars. Because all you did was bring down the house – and NOT in a good way!
Source: Sportsmans Lifestyle