I watched a compilation of Super Bowl ads this week, which included:
- Booking.com
- Doritos
- Hellmann’s Mayo
- Starry
- UberEats
- Drumstick
- Pringles
- Oikos
- Reeses
- T-Mobile
Hellmann’s Mayo
Kate McKinnon’s character can’t figure out what to make from the leftovers in her fridge, so she asks her cat, and the cat’s responding meow sounds like the word “mayo.” Cut to a montage of TV appearances and book signings for the now-viral Mayo Cat and owner promoting an anti-food waste message. The commercial ends with a tabloid cover covering Mayo Cat’s recent breakup with Pete Davidson. This feels like millennial humor, but I think the cute cat and the story would make it appeal to a wide audience.
What works: The cat, obviously. The cat is very cute, and “cat video gone viral” is now a known story archetype that works well in a short commercial spot. Like almost all of the Super Bowl commercials I watched, this one had some stars, but unlike many of the others I felt that this one still made sense if you weren’t very familiar with the individual actors. Finally, I think the added message of reducing food waste made this commercial feel not just funny, but wholesome and positive.
What didn’t work for me: There was so much going on on-screen during this short commercial, and the cuts were very fast, so even though the storyline was pretty simple and familiar I had trouble taking everything in.
Starry
Ice Spice is sipping on a soda flanked by two cartoon citruses who are kissing her cheeks. Her ex with a blurred out (7-up?) logo on his sweatshirt shows up, the citruses exclaim how vulnerable and awkward the moment feels as Ice Spice rejects him. Overcome with emotion (??) her ex’s head explodes in a fountain of soda. The slogan “It’s time to see other sodas” appears on the screen. This is definitely targeting a younger demographic.
What worked: What hit for me was that I’d never heard of Starry before, so I was immediately intrigued by this high-budget ad and wanted to know more about the product. I’m not a person who keeps a finger on the pulse of pop culture and also didn’t know who Ice Spice was (sorry!) but that didn’t detract from the experience because the story felt familiar and her character was easy to understand. I also thought the bright pops of yellow and green on the dark club interior and in contrast to the ex’s gray sweatshirt looked exciting, bright, and refreshing. There was a little bit of a retro vibe with the character design of the mascots that ties in to some of Starry’s other branding. And speaking of tie-ins, Starry did a bunch of dating/Tinder related social media campaigning around this ad that fits the fun slogan felt seasonally appropriate with the proximity to Valentine’s Day.
What didn’t work for me: Maybe I am old, but I didn’t really understand the soda explosion at the end, and to me it felt kind of gross. It felt like there was a lot of absurdist humor in the ads I watched, which I can sometimes get behind, but when it feels like it’s happening just because “it’s what the kids like now” it falls flat for me. But again, who am I to say what the kids like now?