On one of the world’s largest stages, does playing it “safe” pay off? Well, here’s hoping so for brands with the bucks big enough to afford advertising during the Super Bowl. It would be hard to argue that the tone for this year’s ads was a little more upbeat than last, and there was little ground broken with most big brands counting on celebrities, and funny-but-not-hilarious storylines to keep us on lock between the whistles.
Here are the ads we liked best here at well-run media + marketing!
Avocados from Mexico: Avos In Space
Come on! What’s not to like here? Aliens, emojis, the white and gold dress that caused the civil war, and Scott Baio! Yes, the brand got it’s point across: Avocados are always in season, and double-dippers should be punished. And did we mention, Scott Baio?
https://youtu.be/1ndPEQCoSzk
apartments.com: Moving on Up
Beans don’t burn on the grill, right? Lil Wayne, George Washington and Jeff Goldblum. We couldn’t help ourselves here. Not sure if changing my apartment will change the world, and apartments.com could have done a better job communicating “exactly” what they do… but it was memorable, funny, and left an impression.
https://youtu.be/eeTnbqn2M6Y
Kia: Walken Closet a/k/a Beige Socks
Oh, man! You bet this one has pizzaz, and it also has Christopher Walken doing his in-your-face, can’t say no, delivery with a polka dot sock on his hand. We really did laugh out loud at this one, and were at the same time amused that the Kia on display was white? Not a far cry from beige, but like we said… not a lot in the risk-taking department this year.
Toyota: The Longest Chase
This one was clever, cute, and really hammered home the message that the all new Prius was not just a “green machine”, but a hot, fast, and fun-to-drive little number! The foiled bank robbery, the long-distance chase, and the jab at the 24-hour news cycle gave us lots of reasons to keep laughing – and watching!
https://youtu.be/MYeM-8hO3hM
Biggest Letdown:
Bud Light Party: Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen
Hey, they can’t all be winner’s right? We’re still stinging from the Panthers’ loss, but this ad sure didn’t live up to the star-power potential we had hoped for. It’s Amy Schemer and Seth Rogen, for crying out loud, but other than a few bits about size enough for us to handle… well, there just wasn’t much more meat on the bone. (See what we did there?) However, we did muster up a few more chuckles at the Independence Day nods!
https://youtu.be/JohgwbpQuy8
From the WTF File:
Mountain Dew Kickstart: puppybabymonkey
We’re not sure what the hell was going on here, but that puppybabymonkey thing was straight out of an Chipotle-induced case of food poisoning night sweats that was night-capped with some sort of hallucinogen and blunt force head trauma. Three awesome things combined = puppymonkeybaby? We can think of many more threesomes that are far more awesome.
https://youtu.be/ql7uY36-LwA
Of course, there was that Colgate bit about wasting water while brushing. Good message, but… And speaking of which, we honestly thought that opioid-induced constipation ad was a pump fake, and were left waiting for the punchline that never came. Paired with the later bit on toenail fungus, there were probably more leftovers than usual at this year’s Super Bowl parties. 😉