This isn’t an AE blog. It’s a Tide ad…
If you missed the big game on Sunday, that’ll go right over your head. However, if you were glued to the TV like we were, then you saw all the best and worst parts of the game, including the ads! In the industry, we live for Super Bowl ads, and this year Agency Entourage is calling out the ones that stood out the most to us. If they stood out for the right reasons, then Worked. If they stood out for the wrong reasons, then they’re Wack or left us scratching our heads and asking ourselves, “What?”
With that being said, we’ve got a lot of great and not-so-great spots to review, so let’s dive in!
Worked
These were the spots that inspired us, made us laugh or made us cry. Either way, these spots were sometimes more entertaining than the game itself.
Tide – It’s a Tide Ad
What makes something a Tide ad? Well, according to the first brand on our list, everything is a Tide ad when there aren’t stains. Tackling every single type of stereotypical Super Bowl Ad, Tide shows that anything can be an ad for their laundry detergent. Where all of these spots really shined was how well Tide positioned their first ad, and then continued to spoof even major brands like Old Spice throughout the game. Check out the spot that kick-started the whole set.
Jeep – Anti-Manifesto, The Road and Jeep Jurassic
We were fairly surprised when we saw three different Jeep commercials, which had three very different tones. Jeep took a gamble by airing three spots done by three different agencies, but we’re happy to say all three Worked. Our favorite was the Anti-Manifesto, The Road a close second, and the Jeep Jurassic with Jeff Goldblum filled us with nostalgia. See them all below.
Avocados from Mexico – #GuacWorld
Viva la Bio-Dome! Luckily for these avocado fanatics, Pauly Shore and Stephen Baldwin aren’t in their perfect #GuacWorld….but sadly neither are the chips! In this hilarious spot by Avocados from Mexico, we learn that you don’t need chips to enjoy avocados in a utopia. The Wi-Fi is a different story. See the full spot below.
M&Ms – Human
Have you ever found yourself wondering what the M&M characters would look like as humans? Well, your wondering is over. Thanks to this year’s M&M spot, Red’s wish of being human so people would stop wanting to eat him came to life. Luckily for our funny bone, the human Red is portrayed by Danny DeVito. Check out this fun spot.
Australia Tourism – Crocodile Dundee
That’s not an ad. THIS is an ad! Everyone thinks of Crocodile Dundee when they think of Australia, but the world’s largest island took to the big game to show there’s a lot more to the land of AUS than just a knife-toting animal whisperer from the outback. Featuring Chris Hemsworth and Danny McBride, this wonderful spot has you and Danny thinking it’s a trailer for a big summer film until the very end. See it for yourself.
Amazon – Alexa Loses Her Voice
Ever wish Alexa was a real person rather than a robot? You might regret that after seeing this laugh-out-loud spot from Amazon. Jeff Bezos was in a tight spot when Alexa all of a sudden lost her voice, but luckily for him, they had some replacements that were ready to step in. Check out the spot and hope that your Alexa never loses her voice!
Dodge Ram – Icelandic Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings may not have made it to the Super Bowl, but these Icelandic Vikings did thanks to their Dodge Ram 1500. Using a fast-paced version of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” as their battle cry, this spot worked so well simply because it was a fun and light-hearted brand play for Dodge. See the full spot below.
Rocket Mortgage – Simplify
If there’s anyone who knows that life can get confusing, it’s the people that bring you home mortgage loans. Using the ever-funny Keegan-Michael Key to help people understand what’s really being said, Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans showed how they do the same for the home loan process. Check out this fun spot and start simplifying.
Pringles – Wow
Sometimes, all you can say is “Wow” and that’s just what Pringles is counting on. Teaming up with Bill Hader, Pringles shows us they aren’t some one-flavor pony. They put the power of flavor creation in the hands of the eaters, and all we can say is….prepare to be wowed:
Febreze – The Only Man Whose Bleep Don’t Stink
Sorry Jeff Bezos, you may be one of the richest guys in the world, but we bet your bleep still stinks. On Sunday, we all got to meet Dave – the only man whose bleep don’t stink. Lucky for all of us who aren’t Dave, we’ve got Febreze. Meet Dave, whose bleep don’t stink:
Doritos and Mountain Dew – Doritos Blaze vs. Mountain Dew Ice
LET’S GO! QUIET! We couldn’t have asked for anything more with this dual brand ad featuring Peter Dinklage in the Doritos corner and Morgan Freeman in Mountain Dew’s corner. They’re ready to go head-to-head in an epic rap battle, and we’ve never been more excited to see where a brand goes with a spot after the big game. Check out the full spot and see why this super cool ad is straight fire.
Wack
Sadly, not all the Super Bowl ads seemed to be worth the $5 million price tag of a 30-second commercial. These were the main ads that we here at AE considered to either be bad, boring or simply just lackluster compared to what we expected.
Bud Light – Bud Knight
Bud Light dallied when they should’ve dillied on this two-part spot. With all previous success of their “Dilly Dilly” spots, we were all sitting on the edge of our seats for when the Bud Light spot would air. While neither of these spots were bad, they were simply a bit of a letdown compared to what was expected. Nonetheless, Bud Light’s social team was quickly able to step back up when the Eagles won with a clever hashtag #PhillyPhilly. Take a look at both the spots and let us know if you’d call this a win.
Groupon – Who Wouldn’t
We wouldn’t recommend talking smack about local businesses around Tiffany Haddish and Groupon, but we will say this spot was simply – meh. While it was nice brand exposure for the discount app, it wasn’t anything that blew anyone away. All in all, it was just a little wack:
WeatherTech – American Factory
There’s nothing wrong with touting that you build your factories and products in America, but is spreading that message the wisest use of a $5 million ad slot? Well, WeatherTech thought so, and that’s how they used their Super Bowl spot – showing the construction of their new American factory. Being built in America certainly isn’t wack, but for the high bar of the Super Bowl, this ad was.
What?
Some ads this Super Bowl were so odd or seemingly off target that it simply left all us scratching our heads in confusion. (Think Puppy Monkey Baby from Mountain Dew in 2016 for Super Bowl 50.)
T-Mobile – #LittleOnes
Does T-Mobile sell diapers or baby food now, because that’s what we thought this 1-minute ad was for until the T-Mobile logo popped up at the 58-second mark? We don’t really have too many words for this, so we’ll just leave this baby-fill spot below for you.
Squarespace – Make it With Keanu Reeves
Did you want a motivational speech by Keanu Reeves standing up on a motorcycle? Then this new Tony Robbins ad is everything you need…except it’s an ad for Squarespace – a website development software. As The One, Keanu is the only guy who could make things happen beyond our imagination, but even he couldn’t save us from asking “What?” after watching this ad:
Dodge Ram – Built to Serve
When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said he had a dream, he certainly wasn’t talking about having one of his speeches used in a car commercial. Dodge may have worked with the Vikings, but this one certainly left us scratching our heads. The biggest “What?” about this spot though doesn’t come from what’s IN the ad, but more so from what is NOT in the ad. While we know that Dodge was trying to play off of the immensely well-received “God Made a Farmer” spot from 2014, this one wasn’t nearly as well liked. The biggest issue that everyone has had with this ad is that later on in the same speech where the commercial’s audio is excerpted from, Dr. King went on to vilify advertisers and car commercials in particular. Take a look at the full spot below.
That’s all folks! If you’re looking to make sure your marketing efforts always Work for your brand, then contact Agency Entourage today. We’ll be your digital marketing gurus and help build your brand to its nth degree with our extensive marketing capabilities.
