Americans watch the Super Bowl for lots of different reasons. Some for the hype, some for the halftime show, some actually care about the game. But one of the biggest draws every year are the ads. This year the ads were packed with celebrity appearances, humor, special effects, and a bit of nostalgia. So here (in no particular order) are the one's that stood out to us and why they got our attention.
Planet Fitness | "What’s Gotten Into Lindsay?"
You can’t help but admire this girl’s determination to redeem her reputation. Plus it’s always great to see someone have the ability to poke fun of themselves. A bold move for Planet Fitness.
T-Mobile | “Do it for the Phones”
How can you not love anything with Dolly!?! When she speaks, we listen. Also a commercial with a sequel really works for events like the Super Bowl. After seeing tons more brilliant ads, you get brought back to T-Mobile. And an original song by Miley is a bonus.
General Motors | "Dr. EV-il"
Just about everyone appreciates nostalgia. And anyone who was a fan of Austin Powers had to be stoked to see the whole team back together. A clever way to advertise electric cars without getting on a soap box.
Rocket Mortgage | "Dream House"
This one also had some nostalgic vibes, throwing back to seeing kid's commercials on a Saturday morning along with some 80s classic toys. It's not easy to make a mortgage loan provider this entertaining.
Lay’s | "Golden Memories"
This one was just fun. The more absurd the situations become, the more you are engaged in seeing how they're gonna work a bag of Lay's into the scene. Great way to bring the focus on the actual product.
Uber Eats | “Uber Don’t Eats”
Sometimes off-the-wall and borderline stupid really works. And having an all-star cast helps. Also the repetitiveness of the name of the company leaves an impression. And the little reference to Gwyneth Paltrow's candle was a nice touch.
Amazon Alexa | “Mind Reader”
This one probably got more hype than it deserved. But the smart thing they did here was include a couple that the media seems to be obsessed with these days. So a peek into their personal lives (fake as it may be) got everyone's attention.
Cutwater Spirits | “Here's to the Lazy Ones”
The black and white imagery and the selective coloring of the cans really brings the attention to the product. Which is good because a lot of people probably watched this and then just thought about taking a blow torch to their driveway.
Google | “Lizzo in Real Tone”
Being in the photography business, we understand this has always been a real problem with point-and-shoot cameras. So they did a great job bringing attention to an issue and immediately offering a solution.
Expedia | “Stuff”
A very thought-provoking message delivered by a superb actor. While the world is beginning to value experiences more than material possessions, Expedia decided to ride that wave. Well done.
Bonus: Coinbase’s QR Code
Ok we won't make you watch it. We just wanted to talk about it. At first it's like "oh, that's smart" because after a few seconds, who could resist scanning the QR code. But then it went on and on for a solid 60 seconds! However we gotta acknowledge the clever moment at the end where the QR code actually hit the corner of the screen, something we've all been watching for our screen savers to do for years.
So what do you think? Do you agree with our selection? Leave a comment and let us know which ads you liked and why.