As the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams vied for a Super Bowl title on Sunday night, many Americans were more entertained by the commercials (and the food) than the boring game. Here are the good ones, the bad ones, and the weird ones worth watching.
Most self-aware: Amazon
Most commercials involving Amazon’s Alexa are basically #humblebrags about how awesome she is, and by extension, Amazon. I like Alexa too, but she’s not perfect. Recently one of my kids informed me she asked them if they wanted to try the “free” 30-day music trial. “Remember to cancel in 30 days,” the child told me sheepishly.
That’s why it was refreshing to see this commercial for Alexa starring Harrison Ford, his dog, and the number of “fails” the company has experienced. In a hush-hush conversation, two employees dish about an Alexa dog collar that orders copious amounts of food, Harrison Ford satisfies with that eternal disgruntled look, and Forest Whitaker makes a cameo about a failed Alexa podcast-on-a-toothbrush.
Alexa isn’t perfect, but still the masses want her, and that’s the beauty of Amazon’s marketing prowess.
Best Mash-Up: Bud Light and ‘Game of Thrones’
Maybe Anheuser-Busch wanted to boost its declining revenue, or they really like “Game of Thrones,” but either way, Bud Light appeared in several commercials. One of the commercials prominently featured “Game of Thrones,” complete with a jousting Bud Light-sponsored knight who gets knocked off his horse by “Game of Thrones” character Gregor Clegane, a fire-breathing dragon, and that infamous soaring cello theme song.
It didn’t make me want to drink Bud Light, but it did make me even more curious about the upcoming season.
Most Clever: Stella Artois
One of the most clever, witty, and brief commercials was Stella Artois’s, starring Sarah Jessica Parker channeling her “Sex and the City” character. She orders a Stella instead of her usual cosmopolitan, and the restaurant goes bonkers. The hit of nostalgia doubled when Jeff Bridges walked in, playing “the Dude” from “The Big Lebowski.” He, too, ordered a Stella instead of his usual White Russian. “The Dude abides,” Bridges says in that crackly voice.
Since I just saw “The Big Lebowski” (and didn’t like it, sorry!) I caught the nostalgia only the Coen brothers can conjure up in an absurd caricature of a caricature. Stella captured this and looked more appealing than a Bud Light.
Most Daring: Hyundai
In a surprising break from PC culture, Hyundai had the guts to poke fun at vegans, jury duty, and talking to your kids about sex in their elevator ad boasting about how easy it is to buy a Hyundai with Hyundai Shopper Assurance. In the ad, Jason Bateman stars as an elevator operator who drops people at cringeworthy events like getting a root canal or having a colonoscopy. The insinuation is that buying a car is so frustrating, it’s at the bottom of enjoyable activities — worse than jury duty or a vegan dinner party starring “beat loaf.”
“Is that even a thing?” Bateman asks. It’s short, brilliant, and fun to make fun of things we aren’t supposed to make fun of anymore. To add to the good time, PETA pounced on Hyundai on Twitter and we are all here for it.
The Tear-Jerker: Microsoft
There’s always a few touching commercials that break up the levity (and absurdity) of other Super Bowl commercials. Microsoft’s commercial about a new gaming controller that makes gaming accessible for handicapped children, satisfied that quota. The commercial features several children who are disabled in multiple ways (several kids only have one hand) talking about the joy gaming gives them because it normalizes their childhood. However, gaming can be hard with a regular controller, so Microsoft devised a controller that’s got more of a touchpad surface and is easier to use.
The joy on the kids’ faces was palpable and the choked up parents made me sniffle too. Also, kudos to Microsoft for inadvertently acknowledging the worth and humanity of disabled children as well.
Worst Virtue-Signaler: The Washington Post
One of the most asinine commercials of the night was the Washington Post’s ad. The ad described the important role journalists play in democracy and freedom, including Anderson Cooper reporting on a hurricane to soldiers storming Normandy on D-Day in 1944, among other grossly over-the-top observations. “Because knowing empowers us. Knowing helps us decide. Knowing keeps us free. #democracydiesindarkness,” the text read at the conclusion.
To make it worse, the ad showed a few martyred journalists but left out Daniel Pearl, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was beheaded by Islamists on Feb. 1, 2002. Seems like the best way to make people appreciate and trust journalists would be to hire 50 excellent journalists instead of spending $5 million on a lame ad trying to convince us they are incredible. Next time their marketers should show their journalists’ great work rather than telling us how noble they are.
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
