Tis the season for recapping the best Super Bowl commercials. We laughed, we cried, we thought for a second Tom Brady might retire. At the end of the day, there’s no platform like the Super Bowl to generate buzz, reach new audiences and get your message across.
Below, a few of the Maven team members sound off on our favorite Super Bowl campaigns and how some brands broke through the noise:
- Alexa: Jeep Gladiator
As someone who just recently watched “Groundhog Day” for the first time, I was really impressed with Jeep’s hilarious ad. Jeep did a great job capitalizing on the timing of the Super Bowl to recreate scenes from the classic film (with members of the original cast!) in a way that uniquely highlights their product. If there was ever a time to invest in a bright orange Jeep Gladiator, it’s now!
- Emily C: Google Loretta
While a number of ads made me laugh out loud or caught my attention with an A-list celebrity, Google’s “Loretta” about an elderly man using Google Assistant to remember attributes of his late wife stayed with me long after the commercial aired. It was powerful, emotional and stood out from the crowd. I’m not the only one who thought so – CNN reported the video had more than 12 million views by Monday afternoon.
- Emily K: Genesis SUV
I really liked John Legend and Chrissy Teigen’s ad for the Genesis car. The commercial wasn’t too heavy and did a good job of playing up their personality as a couple that they portray so well on social media. The premise of the commercial was them throwing a party (and if you follow one or both of them on social media, you know this isn’t too far from the norm) and then Chrissy roasting various party guests (also doesn’t seem too farfetched). While I don’t think this was “the best” commercial of the Super Bowl, I do applaud the way they weaved their “real” personalities into the ad and made it feel familiar and authentic.
- Rebecca: Hyundai Smart Park
Hyundai’s ad for the new Sonata features not only a star-studded cast, but a hyper focused message that I actually remembered post-game. Featuring Boston natives John Krasinski, Rachel Dratch and Chris Evans (who relish the opportunity to slide into their hometown dialect), the ad focuses on only one feature – Remote Parking Assist, known as Smart Park. Or “Smaht Pahk” if you live in Boston. The ad features hilarious quick-witted banter between stars, plenty of references to Smaht Pahk and a great demonstration of the car parking itself in a tight space – leading the cast to refer to it as the “Ghost Cahr.” It’s one of the few ads that kept the product front and center while being original and highly entertaining.
- Veronica: Cheetos Popcorn
As far as being sentimental, the Google commercial won hands down. However, my favorite commercial was humorous. The Cheetos ad was amazing because what 80s youth doesn’t love the use of MC Hammer and “Can’t Touch This?” As a parent and aunt, the orange Cheeto fingers are relatable and I just might have to start singing “Can’t Touch This” the next time they have Cheeto fingers and try to touch something.
We named a few, but there were several well-done Super Bowl commercials this year. We’re already looking forward to 2021!
Read more communications insights from the Maven Communications team here.
Posted In Maven Communications