The best commercial? "The kid, obviously."
For many Americans, the commercials aired during the Super Bowl are just as enjoyable as the game itself.
In the case of Super Bowl XLV, many Northwestern students were passive about the game, cheering for Green Bay only because it was the “lesser of two evils.” With the two teams not spurring many students on to outlandish actions, the commercials may have been what drew viewers in the first place.
Maybe you were disappointed by the results of the game, the half-time show proved to be less than satisfactory to you or the beautifully sung, albeit wrong, national anthem only heightened your frustration with pop culture; but did the commercials live up to your high standard?
When asked what his favorite Super Bowl commercial was, sophomore Nathan Mastbergen said, “I liked the one right after the half-time show because it meant that I didn’t have to listen to the Black Eyed Peas anymore.”
A commercial isn’t very memorable if it’s only liked to clear your mind of something else, but according to other students on campus, there were some very memorable commercials throughout the game.
Sophomore Felicia Maas and junior Samantha Mahler said that the Doritos commercial entitled “The Best Part” stuck out to them as memorable and funny. A FoxNews reporter stated, “With a creepy finger-licker, a resurrected grandpa and a puppy getting the best of a bad man, Doritos was the clear fan out of many advertisements.”
Doritos won three spots in the Top Ten commercials, but each commercial appealed to adults more than younger viewers. The one commercial that seems to have stuck out that most – and that appealed to viewers of all ages – was the Volkswagen commercial entitled, “The Imperial March” which featured a little boy dressed in a Darth Vader costume who tried to “use the force” on many household items.
In talking about Volkswagen’s commercial, however, junior Nate Fischer said, “I think the commercials in general weren’t that funny. They were just kind of cute.”
They may not have pulled viewers off their seats in hysterics, but they were memorable. A reporter from Media Life Magazine explains why. “The ads that seem to resonate most with viewers were those that were able to connect a truth about the brand to a human truth. In other words, the ads that were able to strike a chord with the viewers were the most well-received. For example, anyone that has ever been around kids could completely relate to Volkswagen’s ad.”
Some even called for an explanation or statement of apology from their company. Why is it that some TV advertisements just don’t work? “Advertising is like story-telling. You must have strong characters and a well-developed plotline. And since you only have 30 or 60 seconds to do so, that can be a very challenging task,” explained Media Life Magazine. Since simplicity is the key to making a commercial successful, Jenna Van Oort nailed it on the head when she said, “I liked the Carmax commercial. It was clever, simple and funny.”
The idea that the retailer’s no-hassle car sales makes you feel like a kid in a candy store was a “simple pitch,” as James Poniewozik put it in his New York Times reviews of the Super Bowl commercials.
Other favorites were the Best Buy buy-back program that featured Ozzy Osborne and Justin Bieber and the Pepsi Max commercial where the “wife hits an innocent girl off of the park bench,” said sophomore Rebecca Reints.
Depending on which channel you watched the Super Bowl on, you may not have been able to see all of the commercials that were aired. Many local channels opted to use local commercials instead of national ones. Thanks to YouTube, however, anyone can review all of the Super Bowl ads. (www.youtube.com/adblitz)
