The best and worst of Super Bowl ads
During advertising’s biggest night, Super Bowl Sunday, marketers battled it out to bolster their brands. PLANTERSPlanters teased its Super Bowl ad nearly two weeks before the game, releasing a teaser that showed its Mr. Peanut mascot seemingly being killed. The actual Super Bowl ad was relatively inoffensive, with a baby Mr. Peanut appearing at the funeral. There's a more involved marketing campaign with Ryder, but the Super Bowl ad didn't communicate much. HARD ROCK INTERNATIONALHard Rock International went all in on its first Super Bowl ad, maybe too much so.
Super Bowl ads dialed up fun as an antidote to politics
This undated image provided by Hyundai Motor America shows from left John Krasinski, Rachel Dratch and Chris Evans in a scene from the company's 2020 Super Bowl NFL football spot. But during commercial breaks in the Super Bowl, advertisers did their best to serve up an antidote heavily spiked with fun. “We’re going to be so deluged with political ads over the next nine months.”For the most part, Super Bowl advertisers tried to oblige. “This year it’s all about a return to Super Bowl basics,” said Kelly O’Keefe, managing partner of consultancy Brand Federation. “You cannot co-opt his message and blackball him at the same time.”Microsoft showcased Katie Sowers, the first female coach in a Super Bowl game.