The ads shown during the game had the effort, effects, and budgets of big motion picture films. The ads are jam packed with serious CGI and dramatic camera angles. Even simple 30 second spots for Little Caesar’s pizza are full of celebrity appearances, cinematic shots, and high quality CGI. These brands go all out at a chance to go viral. What will go viral is studied fiercely and analyzed over and over again but still seemingly unpredictable.
In addition to the high production value of seemingly every commercial, another trend this year was parent companies flexing their marketing muscles by combining their various brands they hold into one massive commercial. These whimsical crossovers are admittedly strangely entertaining. Here are two examples
Here we see the Kool Aid man crying at the burial of Mr. Peanut which spawns a new baby peanut that the Mr. Peanut brand is promoting with the problematic #BabyNut hashtag. P and G just decided instead of making ads for each of their brands, to just drop ALL OF THEM and all the celebrity spokespeople in one massive ad. I mean why not if you own that many iconic brands. It is interesting to see the companies take these two approaches at advertising. Some with flashy effects, some just saying “well look at all the brands I own”. These were not the only trends, there were a ton of fire fighting spots and tear jerkers always get some love. Super Bowl ads continue to be one of the most interesting pieces of our pop culture.
Big Big Company INC LLC 