7.9 Editor's Pick
February 3, 2020

10 super Super Bowl Commercials I appreciated (and a few I didn’t). ~ Waylon

You see the Tweet Trump posted, then deleted, about the Super Bowl?

All praise the victors from the great state of Kansas!*

Above: The now deleted tweet in question (The Chiefs play in Missouri). Make American Geography Great Again.

 

It’s tough loving football. I mean—it’s a great game—the closest thing to seeing war-like strategy, with off-the-field generals and an on-the-field general running and passing, or defending Sun Tzu-style in real time.

But. Concussions, suppressed by the NFL. A child abuser, still allowed to play, on the one side. The other side led by a fine QB who replaced another fine QB who dared stand up for equality and safety on the other, who still hasn’t been signed despite having the skills.

But the game was great. Mahomes is a joy to watch. The comebacks by the Chiefs, in these play-offs–each seemed like it must be the last, they couldn’t do it again.

Halftime was glorious—ridiculous, as always, but J Lo, at 50, flipping her USA cape into the flag of Puerto Rico? Yes please.

So, let’s look at those commercials that rose above blatant hypocrisy:

“Walmart pretending like they give a crap about small towns! They eat Mom and Pops for breakfast),” [quote via Reddit]

“or ads praising Donald Trump for releasing one specific drug offender from prison because Kim Kardashian asked him to,” [quote via Reddit],

or “Google doesn’t give a fuck about you or your dementia ridden grandpa, they’ll just use all that info he gives them to target their ads better”) [quote via Reddit],

or Scientology,

or rampant greed and privacy invasion (AWS, Amazon, Alexa),

…or simple stupidity to…

…evoke something wonderful. Humor. Values of Equality, of true patriotism, the kind that reflects our melting-pot or diverse heritage. Sustainable innovation that, if bought, could help fight climate change on a grand scale. Bold political takes son protecting our children without removing the rights of law-abiding citizens. Let’s go.

Here’s my 9 favorites, plus the half-time show first (I mayyy have missed a few ads, feel free to comment with your fave and I’ll add it if I agree).

My very favorite is at the very bottom:

Organic? Organic! Organic. Michelob doing what 99% of the restaurants in my hometown of Boulder aren’t doing:

There’s nothing profound about this one, but I have to admit that though I fast-forward through most commercials, I’ve watched this one in full 3 times. Maybe it was my 8 years in Bahstan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85iRQdjCzj0

There were three electric car commercials. More than the rest of the history of Super Bowl commercials, combined. I’ll save you the research: the range on all three leaves room to be desired. Support the indie Tesla–but really supporting the industry going electric is vital, right now, so get that Hummer or Porsche, if so inspired.

Let it go! Beautiful and fun, and a little moving:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvEAklsAAts

Hummer used to be the cliche vehicle for planet-haters. Now…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6EPPJHaCtw

Fun. Horrible range. Still–psyched.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92sXWVxRr0g

Sending up an icon of smooth perfection? Yes:

The return of this icon of stylish, brutal, cosmopolitan perfection! I can’t wait:

Not in the Super Bowl, but a longer trailer, I’m hyped:

Too much violence? God bless Bloomberg and his principles, bravery, and ad budget:

A non-bigoted, non-nationalistic, not Trumpie idea of America. This is patriotism:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt-zXuAAD6Q

That rare ad that rises above its genre: The Four Kinds of Love educates, inspires, moves:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3LTR32dMgI

Read 1 Comment and Reply
X

Read 1 comment and reply

Top Contributors Latest

Waylon Lewis  |  Contribution: 803,640