(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/quick-guide-to-the-super-bowl.jpg alt: quick guide to the super bowl)
The Super Bowl is – understatement alert – quite an event in the advertising calendar. More than a hundred million Americans were watching, and the cost of a thirty-second slot cost advertisers an estimated $5 million.
But here’s the thing. You’re busy. We’re busy. And if you’re even remotely interested in advertising, you’ve watched as many of this year’s Super Bowl ads as you can, or read at least one of the zillion articles and blogs about them.
At Superdream Towers, however, we are obligated to write about them in this week’s Creative View, but we don’t wish to bore you. So we’ll whip through a few notables and then let you get on your merry way.
This year saw a range, both in terms of quality and subject. From the serious, thoughtful Jeep (youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKn5K5V7tRo text: ‘)Portraits’ to the fun Heinz Ketchup ‘Wiener Stampede’.
(youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKn5K5V7tRo)
(youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNN9nL2vppM)
On Monday, Jeep ‘Portraits’ won a (link: http://clios.com/the-best-of-the-big-game-iris-new-york-wins-2016-super-clio-for-jeep-portraits/4431 text: Super Clio) for best ad of the Super Bowl. Interestingly, the spot itself is in vertical format. The crop works to focus the viewer’s attention on the eyes of each of the subjects of the portraits but, of course, the format is also perfect for smart phones.
T-Mobile ‘Restricted Bling’riffed on the Drake Hotline Bling music video, the subject of numerous memes, with Drake himself being a good sport.
(youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMWzX0RC7f4)
Mountain Dew ‘puppymonkeybaby’ is either amusingly compelling or wildly disturbing. It’s hard to decide. I didn’t like it at first, but have found that it is difficult to erase from my mind either the image of the eponymous character or the sound of its frankly sinister chant.
(youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql7uY36-LwA)
Then, finally, there’s Kia Optima ‘Walken Closet’. It’s not a great ad, but it did bring me to the conclusion that all ads – all of them – should have Christopher Walken in them. Can agencies all over the world just agree, right now, that we do that from now on? Great. Thanks.
(youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpb2Aug3mgc)