The Copywriter Is in: Super Bowl Edition
In case you weren’t able to tell from the entirety of my being, I’m not a huge sports person. But, I did watch the Super Bowl. For the ads, of course, and I think they really stepped up their game after some flops last year.
As part of this blogging spell, I thought it would be fun to give my personal take on what went down at the Bowl. Here are my top five favorite commercials and why:
McDonald’s “Famous Orders”
This one comes to us from Wieden + Kennedy, and satisfied my craving for a juicy ad. The commercial displays what well-known individuals order, or would order, from the fast food chain. I can’t compliment this concept enough, especially because I love knowing what people’s go-to orders are when we’re out to eat.
In addition to celebrities, including fictional people was a way for them to take some creative liberties that paid off, like showing Julius Caesar’s salad or Romeo and Juliet’s shared strawberry milkshake. They also took timely advantage of the Super Bowl by featuring the Chief’s quarterback Patrick Mahomes‘s tray (btw, that’s a lot of ketchup).
Turbotax “All People Are Tax People Remix”
In this enjoyably silly commercial, Wieden + Kennedy’s Portland headquarters conquers the impossible: making taxes fun. The song and dance combo clearly took note from musical trends on TikTok. It uses lyrics like “You got a question to ask? A CPA can help you there. Got a W-2? Go on, and wave it in the air!” to both inform and entertain. I’d be okay with this one, or any dance variations, popping up on my “For You” page. I’d welcome it, in fact. And that, my friends, is what makes a good ad.
Rocket Mortgage “Home”
Small agency Highdive worked with Quicken Loans to create this spot for Rocket Mortgage. The commercial follows Jason Momoa as he comes home and performs a dramatized version of the ritual we all know and love, getting comfy at home. Momoa’s involves acts such as stripping his muscles to reveal much scrawnier arms (with forearm tattoo intact).
I think this ad conveys the company’s trustworthiness, and similarly to taxes, manages to make mortgaging sexy. Using Jason Momoa was a good way to accomplish that.
Google Assistant “Loretta”
This ad was created entirely in-house, and it thoroughly pulled at my heartstrings. The commercial portrays the voice of an elderly gentleman, struggling with his memory, determined to remember various aspects of a relationship, using the help of his voice assistant.
Talk about storytelling. In this ad, the man instructs Google to remind him of the woman’s idiosyncrasies or show him photos of vacations they took. Later, a stream of reminders like “Loretta always said don’t miss me too much, and get out of the dang house” bring him, and viewers, joy. It closes with the tagline “A little help with the little things.” Cue waterworks.
Voice assistant technology is often portrayed as being too far removed older generations to adopt. I like that this ad make me think about a benefit of the product from a new perspective.
Jeep Gladiator “Groundhog Day”
The line of text “No day is the same in a Jeep Gladiator” ends this commercial parodying the 90s classic, Groundhog Day, in which Bill Murray relives the same day many, many times.
Recreating scenes from a particularly beloved film is a lofty goal, and it seemed to be a theme in this year’s ads. I think Jeep maintained the integrity of the film and incorporated new elements enough to strike an effective balance. It pleased both movie fans and company aficionados, making it universally adored. This ad is also a product of Highdive.
That’s it for my round-up. Which ads were your favorites? I’m interested to hear varying opinions!
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