Sunday, February 5, 2017

Best Super Bowl Ads Ever

Whowoulda thunk corporate America would be the voice to stand up against Trump and his scruffy henchmen?
Coca Cola does an ad which says "together is beautiful" and ends with an image of a beautiful Muslim woman in a headscarf.



Another ad, 10 Hair Care, tells us we are in for four years of bad hair.
Audi tells us women should be raised to think they are worth every bit as much as men, as we watch a girl in a soap box derby race win with bravery and skill. Anheuser Bush runs an ad showing the German immigrant nearly perishing, trying to get to America, told he isn't wanted here, until he arrives in St. Louis, where he is finally welcomed and given a chance. A refugee ,who we all know, makes good. There is an ad with a mother and child trying to get north and being stopped, but Fox wouldn't allow the wall to be shown.
I can't remember a set of Super Bowl ads so politically potent.

Bill Belichick emailed Donald Trump on election eve:
Congratulations on a tremendous campaign. You have dealt with an unbelievable slanted and negative media, and have come out beautifully – beautifully. You’ve proved to be the ultimate competitor and fighter. Your leadership is amazing. I have always had tremendous respect for you, but the toughness and perseverance you have displayed over the past year is remarkable. Hopefully tomorrow’s election results will give the opportunity to make America great again. Best wishes for great results tomorrow.

Bill Belichick



Tom Brady wore a Make America Great Again hat. 
So, it was with mixed feelings I watched the Patriots getting thumped.
On the other hand, if you are watching a game with a political sensitivity, the Atlanta metropolitan area was an island of blue in a sea of Georgia red last November.

In these times, we have to take our pleasures where we find them.
I went to bed early--before the 4th quarter and watched the ESPN highlights this morning. A great game. Too bad it was politicized. Not that this is the first time--dating back to the 1936 Berlin Olympics and continuing in the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
Sports can be apolitical and can bind people together. But Belichick took a political stand, and you cannot turn a blind eye.



2 comments:

  1. Mad Dog,
    Interesting..My initial reaction was the opposite-I didn't find this overall a particularly good year for ads..Of course I don't set a high bar when it comes to them-I'm not looking for a lofty message-or any message-typically-I just want them to make me laugh. Since I missed a good portion of the Kia commercial with Melissa McCarthy,the only ad this year that really amused me and my guests was Mr. Clean.
    That being said, the Audi commercial was probably my favorite of the night and I also liked the changing faces commercial from Airnb. Still-my criteria centers around humor and from that vantage point last night wasn't a hit.

    On the other hand, advertising can be a very effective method of sending a message. Sure the ads may be brief-but so is the attention span of many of our countrymen, making a commercial in many ways the perfect vehicle to drive home a point. Not to mention the enormous world wide audience the Superbowl enjoys-if ever there was a year to send the message that we, as a people, embrace diversity and inclusivity it's this one. So in that respect I'd have to agree with you-last night's ads were exceptionally strong.
    As with everything-the quality of the Superbowl commercials depends on the criteria you're using to judge..
    Maud

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  2. Ms. Maud,
    Likely, it depends on the setting--I was watching in a quite room; had I been in a raucous bar, room with rowdy revelers, the quiet commercials would likely have not evoked much response from the crowd and I may have missed them.
    Mad Dog

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