A HORSE WALKS INTO A BAR…
Posted
By John Moore, Executive Creative Director
Super Bowl LIX went sideways, backwards and in reverse quickly for Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, but the advertising spectacular forged ahead. As they say in New Orleans, “Laissez les bons temps rouler!” And roll on it did for the brands, marketing teams, ad agencies and production companies that crafted the content that debuted across the evening.
Spots topped out at $8 million for 30 seconds of airtime.
That’s $266,666.66 per second.
There were roughly 80 ads, 57 of them national spots.
They covered 51 minutes of advertising alongside a 3.5‑hour game.
If everyone paid top dollar (and we know local spots did not, nor did advertisers who bought early), that would be a mind-blowing $820 million in ad spend. That figure is exaggerated, but the real number is still truly staggering.
What does this mean for all those brands? It means a lot of risk – and a whole lot of reward. With all that advertising happening at one time, you have to stand out if you want to be remembered for months or years to come.
The bartender says, “Why the long face?”
Every year brings challenges for brands trying to decide the best strategy to pursue, and this year was no different. With unsettling news popping up every other day, strategists leaned into entertaining and reassuring messages with most advertisers going with familiar ideas and safe bets. This left us with many well-trodden concepts that we’ve seen before. Socially conscious themes were dialed back, and slapstick fun was amped up.
The themes of this year’s commercials were mostly conservative, with comedy, nostalgia, togetherness, and even patriotism playing out – and celebrities, lots and lots of celebrities. These tried-and-true, original influencers still deliver.
We saw spots from across a range of industries including tech (Google, T‑Mobile, ChatGPT), pharma (Pfizer, Novartis), snacks and drinks (Little Caesars, Pringles, Liquid Death, Mountain Dew), food delivery (Uber Eats, Instacart, Door Dash) and – of course – beer (Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, Stella Artois).
Ad reviews from the likes of AdAge, USA Today, YouTube, Forbes and NPR have different ads at the top of their list because creativity is subjective, and we all have our own likes and dislikes, backgrounds and opinions. So, it depends on who you ask. Even in our agency, there was a wide range of winners and losers.
Disclaimers: I eliminated local spots, network promos and movie trailers, as their budgets are all over the place, and I had to draw the line somewhere. Finally, I’m a Gen X male, and that 100% plays a role in what I liked and what I didn’t.
Here are my mostly positive thoughts on a few of this year’s Super Bowl ads:
Michelob Ultra “The Ultra Hustle”
Starring Willem Dafoe and Catherine O’Hara as pickleball hustlers, they challenge young hotshots to a match. The “play you for an Ultra” line is an easy to recall mantra. The actors, the music and the comedy weave together for a win-win-win. It’s a fun spot that we’ll be seeing for some time. Plus, it’s Rick Ross!
Google Pixel AI “Dream Job”
A father leverages the skills he’s learned raising his children to land a job. As a father myself, I thought this was a nice way to humanize AI. It’s not groundbreaking, but I like how it takes the common sentiment that AI is going to take people’s jobs and flips it. Does it change my mind about Google Pixel? Nope. So, on the business side of what an ad needs to really do, it loses a few points.
Nike “So Win”
Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” is perfectly paired with all the hate being thrown. This, paired with the beautiful shots, copywriting, editing, and the turn from “you can’t win” to “so win” makes this spot amazing. It’s great to see Nike back in the game.
Coors Light “Slow Mondays”
This spot takes a simple concept, that on Monday, especially after a big game, everyone is moving a little slower. To make it better, Coors Light offers you a case of the Mondays. I love that they’re actually packaging cases of beer with the Mondays branding. The stinger at the end, where he tosses a beer to his sloth roommate, is great. (Spoiler: He’s too slow.)
InstaCart “We’re Here”
The Pillsbury Doughboy, Mr. Clean, the Jolly Green Giant, the Kool-Aid Man and the Old Spice Guy, among other product mascots, all race to your home, landing on the porch in an InstaCart delivery bag. Then a dad asks if they got milk, at which point we see a cow racing toward them on a motorcycle. I would have preferred he asked if they got Kool-Aid, only to see Mr. Kool-Aid come crashing through the wall. That would have been amazing. Did I mention I’m Gen X?
Pringles “The Call of the Mustaches” vs. Little Caesars “Whoa”
These two spots were eerily similar – something creatives dread happening. So, who did it best? In the first, Adam Brody uses a Pringles can, with its famous mustache, to call for more Pringles. The sound causes famous mustaches from all over to fly off their owners, grab cans of Pringles and fly them back to Adam. During flight, the mustaches create comedy mischief. In Little Caesars’ version, Eugene Levy’s eyebrows fly off after he takes a bite of Crazy Puffs. His eyebrows also fly around causing comedy mischief until they return to his face. The first ties the facial hair to the product and Pringles’ famous mustache with a solid concept. The second is just weird. That’s obviously something Little Caesars is known for, but in this battle, Pringles was the winner IMHO.
Mountain Dew “Kiss From a Lime”
Seal is a seal in the ocean who loves Mountain Dew. This is a really fun CGI spot that leaves you wondering if someone spiked your Dew with a dose of Delta9, and now you’re in a boat with the real Seal. I love the creativity and imagine it hits their target audience right across the face with a big wet flipper.
The horse says, “Because you’re going to see these spots over and over and over again.”
The investment in creating these spots will not be wasted on a one-time showing. Many were running well before game day, and the best will be running for many years to come.
Now, I’m off to pound some canned water, eat lava, plant a potato, fire Bud Lights at my neighbors’ windows, offer my wife a Hellmann’s sandwich and drive off into the sunset with Harrison Ford.
Oh, and yes, football is a conspiracy to make us hungry.