VIEWPOINT: Super Ads From Food & Beverage Brands
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Well, Super Bowl XLIX is over — ending on one of the dumbest play calls in Super Bowl history. However, this was one game that was so exciting and dramatic that it wasn’t overshadowed by its high-priced commercials.
I’m sure numerous pundits will be reviewing the best and worst of the Super Bowl spots this week, but I thought I’d comment on some of the spots that were produced by companies convenience store retailers will know from the food and beverage industry. I thought most were effective, although none really stood out as a best-ever commercial.
My favorite spot this year was the Snickers Brady Bunch takeoff with rough-looking Latino actor Danny Trejo angrily conversing with mom and dad Brady until he was calmed down by biting into a Snickers bar, and morphed into sweet Marsha Brady. The kicker was Steve Buscemi’s appearance at the end as middle child Jan Brady.
Anyone who travels as much as I do could really relate to the Doritos airplane seat commercial. Keep that baby away from me! Nice job.
Anheuser-Busch always does a great job with its Super Bowl commercials. The real-life Pac-Man game commercial for Bud Light probably was aimed at a younger audience than me, though I’m sure Millennials liked it. The lost pup found and protected by the Clydesdales bordered on being a bit too emotionally manipulative, and you knew the pup was going to be OK (unlike the more cutting-edge but over-the-top GoDaddy puppy ad that was pulled by the company after protests from animal rights groups). The soundtrack “500 Miles” made the Budweiser lost puppy commercial a winner in my book.
The Skittles arm-wrestling commercial was suitably strange and fit the company’s marketing position, but I think the best promotion for the candy came just before the game started when the camera caught Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch popping Skittles into his mouth on the sideline.
Finally, the Coca-Cola commercial had a great anti-bullying message, though I wasn’t crazy about the execution.
What was your favorite Super Bowl XLIX commercial? Comment below.