Press "Enter" to skip to content

Super Bowl Ads Worth Applauding

With the Super Bowl this weekend, many folks are gearing up for the festivities, whether that be a Super Bowl party or the pre-game Puppy Bowl. For those of us who are not too keen on football or the teams vying for the coveted Lombardi trophy, the best part of the event is rarely the game itself, but rather the ads.

This year, we can expect some of our regular favorites—Doritos and Budweiser—but there are some newcomers to be on the lookout for.

In Super Bowls past, it was the new, largely anticipated spots that non-football fans looked forward to most. In recent years, however, companies have started airing their ads before the game, prompting some viewers to question why. How effective are the ads when we know what to expect? Frankly, it seems rather pointless to air a trailer for an ad that will already be short.

In an article published on talkingbiznews.com, YouTube Vice President of Advertising Lucas Watson said “ads released before the Super Bowl typically generate more than 9.1 million online views on average, compared with 1.3 million for those appearing on the Web the day of the game.”

We will, of course, still be seeing a fair amount of classic humorous ads. Along with these, some new faces are getting their share of screen time.

Mercedes-Benz and Kia have spots this year, both with different draws than usual. The Kia ad, which is the sixth Super Bowl ad Kia has had featuring Pierce Brosnan, takes the idea of the “getaway car” to a different level than viewers (and Brosnan) might expect. Mercedes-Benz, on the other hand, delves into the realm of animated fables with its spin on the classic “Tortoise and the Hare” story.

Skittles will have its first Super Bowl spot, though the company has been a sponsor since last year. Fellow candy heavyweight Snickers is airing a “Brady Bunch” themed ad with Danny Trejo as Marcia Brady, likely playing off the company’s “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” tagline that brought them success in other ads.

While humorous ad appeals tend to create quite a bit of buzz, this year a few seem to be shifting their focus toward a different conversation—and these are the ones we should pay close attention to. Dove Men+Care take a different approach to the age old “what makes a man?” question and answers it with “Care.”

Keeping with this emotional change of pace, the Super Bowl will air anti-domestic abuse ad for the first time from the organization NO MORE. The ad features scenes from inside a house, with audio from a 911 call in the background. The call itself is incredibly smart, and the ad seems to fit perfectly with all the headlines made by NFL players’ domestic abuse in 2014.

Whether this early reveal trend is better for the advertisers or not, it may take away some of the magic that is the coveted Super Bowl Ad.

Copyright © 2023, The Scout, Bradley University. All rights reserved.
The Scout is published by members of the student body of Bradley University. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the University.