Supa Bowl Commercials
The ask:
Watch at least 5 Super Bowl ads and pick 2 to analyze and review. This was an interesting ask because I didn’t actually watch the Super Bowl, never have, so any gifs or pics I choose don’t reflect my favorite teams or anything, I have no idea what any of them mean XD.
That said, since I didn’t watch the Super Bowl live, I went the perhaps less intricate but necessary route of watching a compilation on YouTube. These were the 5 I watched:
I chose to review Budweiser and Oreo’s commercials.
Review número uno: Oreo
This commercial did a twist (ahahaha, pun very much intended) on their slogan “Twist, Lick, Dunk” where they introduced the catchphrase “Twist on It.”
In the commercial we see several important and well known events being decided by twisting an Oreo just like flipping a coin except it’s based on the bet the player’s choose, such as the cream being on the right after twisting.
In my opinion, the message for this ad is to show Oreo as a dependable and trustworthy option in people’s lives. The cookie is everywhere and familiar so it’s not too big of a reach to introduce the twist as a substitute for the tried and true coin flipping method.
Besides the obvious answer of the audience being Super Bowl viewers, this ad is for the average consumer who probably reaches for the main stream brands when it comes to snacks. They look for dependability and predictability in those snacks most likely.
What did they do well?
- I think they did a good job in showing the trust people have in Oreos since they’re kind of a constant in this world – people putting their trust in “the twist” for making important decisions like whether to report the sighting of a UFO like in the ad demonstrates this.
2. I also think that the pacing of the ad was relatively well done – nothing too fancy, just showing a basic storyline and introducing a new catchphrase and idea.
What could they have done better?
- Their choice of important and historical events were not particularly interesting to me. I know a lot of people are probably complaining about the Kardashian appearance. While this isn’t a huge issue of course, I don’t personally think deciding to air Keeping Up with the Kardashians was as interesting an event as the Greeks invading Troy in the famous wooden horse.
2. Someone also made an amusing comment on the inaccuracy of the Troy soldiers’ armor, noting that it’s actually Roman armor – now I’m no history buff but that was kind of interesting to me that a multi billion company made a mistake like that.
Ok, on to:
Review número uno: Budweiser
In this commercial, the power cuts in a remote bar in the mountains and all of the highways are closed due to the snowstorm. However, the iconic Budweiser Clydesdales come to the rescue and they’re able to deliver the beer the old fashioned way in a horse drawn carriage.
The message seemed to be similar to that of Oreo’s – that they’re a reliable and familiar company, with the added touch of serving since 1876. They seem to be wanting to establish themselves as a drink that brings people together since there were many people at the bar just waiting to drink some.
The audience would be for those who look for traditional and long standing choices when it comes to their purchases. In people’s minds, surely a company that’s been around for 147 must be doing something right – right?
What did they do well?
- They showed their values well that they’re a dependable and traditional company through the effort the delivery people went through, as well as showing the iconic Clydesdales coming to save the day. Lines like ” Let’s do it the old school way” further emphasized their effort to showcase tradition and legacy in this ad. They also reminded of how long standing they are by saying “Delivering since 1876”.
2. They also portrayed the cozy and traditional feeling of the scenes really well by showing the bar as a friendly and warm place in contrast to the snowy and storming outdoors.
What they might have done better:
- I found the darkness of the majority of the shots made it feel a little more tense than I think it needed to be. Sure there was a big storm happening, but when they showed sun coming through in some scenes I wish they would have kept that for the rest to better show the hope and almost saving grace that the Clydesdales are bringing.
2. Maybe it’s just because it’s late and my comprehension is really low right now haha, but I’m a little confused on why they needed to deliver the beer in the first place. I’m not familiar with how beer taps work, my thought was that maybe they run on electricity and since it had been cut they couldn’t serve the beer anymore and needed old fashioned kegs to pump from. But if I’m confused, I’m sure a few more viewers were as well, so maybe this was a small issue in helping the audience understand this commercial.
Since I haven’t watched any Super Bowls ever, I unfortunately don’t have any to recall for the bonus so I’ll stop here – If anyone’s reading this I hope your team did well!