Pulling off a Super Bowl ad is no easy feat. There’s a lot of pressure, a lot of eye balls, and a lot of dollars to consider. We reacted in real-time on Twitter to Super Bowl commercials as they aired, and we’re still talking about what we saw. There were some clear winners and some that missed the mark. Some brands tried to be funny, some pulled at heartstrings, and some went high budget. So who came out on top? These are the talk of the office at Empower right now:
Our Number One Pick: Tide
Tide played the long game with four spots throughout the evening. What started as a tongue-in-cheek question (Isn’t every ad a Tide ad?) morphed into a game-long ad campaign that brought in other brand spokespeople, such as Isaiah Mustafa and Mr. Clean, and poked fun at advertisers during the game in general — a type of self-awareness consumers enjoy because they feel in on the joke. By ambushing ads throughout the game, viewers were expecting every ad to be a Tide ad … even when they legitimately were for a competing product (sorry, Persil). Bonus: No one talked about eating any Tide Pods.
Tide won the night, but I will watch the Shaun White Iron Man spot any time it comes on. I can’t say that about much else tonight. Kudos NBC. #EmpowerSB #SBLII
— Mitch Dunn (@MitchDunn) February 5, 2018
Tied for Second: Toyota and Verizon
Toyota came right out of the gate with a strong spot, “Good Odds,” featuring Canadian Paralympic skier Lauren Woolstencroft. The storytelling was spot-on, and we were all rooting for Lauren by the end of the ad. Taking its brand narrative outside of the expected parameters and hitting consumers in the heart was a bold move that paid off. Verizon also opted to go for the feels, while competitor Sprint went for humor. Verizon was the clear winner. The brand’s emotional “Answering the Call” spot featuring first responders being thanked by those they rescued not only struck an emotional chord with consumers, but also reinforced the brand promise of connectedness and dependability.
Toyota paralympics spot. Oh my gosh, that little baby. No matter what celebrities/athletes/musicians/actors we see tonight, that little baby will be my favorite talent of the evening. #EmpowerSB #SBLII
— Jeffrey Warman (@jeffrey_warman) February 4, 2018
Third, But By No Means Last: Amazon
Alexa lost her voice, and laughs — not to mention star cameos galore — ensued. An appearance by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos was also a smart move — again, viewers felt in on the joke when they recognized him. It’s like when Stan Lee appears in Marvel films. While the audience laughs along, the different uses for Alexa are showcased, making for an amusing workhorse.
Other Contenders
There were a variety of other strong contenders. Avocados from Mexico channeled Bio-Dome, while E*Trade parodied a catchy earworm. Doritos and Mountain Dew collaborated with well-known celebrities to create a “Song of Ice and Fire.” And we’d never put the NFL’s homage to “Dirty Dancing” in the corner; it made for an entertaining watch too.
I’d go insane if chips were left out of my bubble and WiFi went down. Everyone can relate. Nice work @AvosfromMexico #SBLll #EmpowerSB #alwaysavocados
— lepullins (@lepullins) February 5, 2018
NFL wins the ad game. Changed the rules on touchdown dances and get Eli in on the action. The build up and the payoff were well worth it. #EmpowerSB #SBLII
— Justin Estrada (@Jestrahda) February 5, 2018
Lost In The Clutter
Other brands got a little lost in the clutter. T-Mobile had a lot of babies, but it was not clear what it was selling. Febreze’s spot was funny but didn’t have the sticking power of the NFL spot. Budweiser’s ad, while well done, felt a bit more like a self-serving pat on the back than it should have.
Biggest Misses
The biggest miss of the night though was Dodge. Empower collectively cringed and so did the public. Perhaps it could have been avoided if Dodge had opted to release the ad prior to the game. Consumer reaction was swift and brutal. There are some subjects that should not be used to sell cars … or anything really. Martin Luther King Jr. 9/11. Gandhi. To name just a few. During brainstorms a lot of ideas get thrown around, but it was unfortunate for Dodge that this is the one that made it to the big game. Advertising and politics don’t mix well, as Pepsi learned the hard way in 2017. But hey, there’s always next year!
@Dodge trying way too hard and falls flat. There’s got to be a better payoff and/or deeper message if you’re going to quote MLKJr. #SBLII #EmpowerSB
— Brad Turner (@bjtisme) February 5, 2018
