Super Bowl (Ad) Hangover

The Super Bowl is a spectacle in itself with the media attention, two weeks of hype, the boost in economy for the hosting city, and of course the game.  Its also quite a spectacle for advertisers, as an astronomical amount of money is spent for a spot during the game.  Year after year, the ads that are shown during the big game always create some buzz the following Monday, and as a result it has created this sense of everyone being a Monday Morning Quarterback for advertising.  Some may be feeling a little slow Monday morning in the wake of their Super Bowl celebrations, but there is also this hangover that is driven by the big budget advertising rapid fire we as Americans are exposed to on Super Bowl Sunday. With millions of eyeballs and money being invested into this four hours on a February Sunday, just exactly what body of work do the ads being produced and aired showcase? Comedy, emotional appeals, and nothing short of strange are all apart of the commercial extravaganza, especially this year.  I thought this year the ads heavily favored the pathos side of things.  One that made me feel a little uneasy was the following ad by Nationwide.

To me, this may have blurred the lines between appealing to the emotions and being a little unethical.  Using death with children to sell insurance is a tad on the sleazy side.  There were a couple that were well recieved and had a good message too. Examples include Coca-Cola having an anti-bullying spot that had a good message and a clever optimistic twist on cyber bullying at the end, and Always gave an empowering message for girls as well.  

Adweek came out with their top 5 ads from the Super Bowl, and I would definitely consider them the most talked about commercials that aired whether for their comedic or emotional value (see list here: http://www.adweek.com/news-gallery/advertising-branding/5-best-ads-super-bowl-xlix-162716).  But one ad that I found to be well done and maybe should deserve a spot on this top 5 list is the Dodge spot entitled Wisdom.  

Dodge uses the wise words of the elderly, which is something that should be valued and can be underappreciated, to associate their brand with the longevity, perseverance, and value that your elders possess.  I thought this was a great strategy and gives the Dodge brand this distinguished and accomplished brand identity that showcases to the audience the quality and dependablity that comes along with a Dodge vehicle, resulting from over 100 years of learning what works and what doesn't.

When I saw this ad, I also thought about how important it is to step back, shut up, quit complaining, and take advantage of the wise advice that the elderly have to offer.  This was Dodge's way of saying sit down and shut up, this is who we are, were we've been, and where we are going from here.  There's a great deal of value in that.