DISPATCH: Super Bored
This year's Super Bowl was unimpressive all around. What does it say about the state of culture?
The Super Bowl remains a ratings juggernaut in an era of waning viewership for the live events that used to bring us together as a society. Most people I know didn’t even realize the Grammy’s were happening (although they were really fun this year!), people are watching fewer NBA games than ever before, despite the massive media investment that remains in the league, and the NFL confidently held 72% of all live viewership attention in the US as of last year, a year which also included some hot political programming.
So, despite the absolute stranglehold that football has on our country, this year’s “Big Game" was a bit of a letdown. More telling than the programming itself was “culture’s” reaction. Let’s get into it.
The Game
The only thing most people could agree on is that the Philadelphia Eagles dominated this game from the coin toss to the final whistle. Despite the Eagles’ fairytale season, many still harbor such hatred for the City of Brotherly Love’s fans that it felt a bit like a wash. Most of my friends reported turning the game off sometime in the second half. Of course, a boring game is not good for engagement nor ad views, but there were a few more interesting wrinkles from social chatter worth noting:
The Setting - The most fun part of this game was the New Orleans of it all. From heartfelt memorials to the victims of January 1st’s terrorist attack to a jazzy National Anthem, the game felt like it had a real sense of place to it. I hope the NFL will host more Big Games in setting with unique culture like this, as they did a wonderful job of celebrating NOLA, and all the shots of Bourbon Street were aesthetically pleasing and engaging. Unlike with boring choices like LA or Phoenix, the stadium is also right in the heart of town, giving the game a true NOLA flavor to it.
The Script - Was the internet right all along? It seemed without the serendipitous intervention of the referees (who, for SURE, still tried to do their thing), the Chiefs showed their true colors. Has Tom Brady cursed them? Unclear. But despite the Taylor Swift of it all, the best football team won yesterday.
“Exciting Whites” - A strange narrative that’s taken root as the NFL removes “End Racism” from the field (we did it folks, we ended racism!). The internet is rejoicing in the defensive pair of Cooper DeJean and Reed Blankenship, who are very much in on the joke themselves.
Jalen Gets His Due - Jordan Brand’s spot celebrating Hurts, who seems like an overall good human being who is an excellent football player and CAN, indeed, throw the ball - was the best piece of athlete-driven content to come out of the Super Bowl, and it appears to be a social-only reaction spot that they had banked.
Jameis Winston - Give this man whatever he wants. Put this man on TV all the time. Make us sick of seeing him. He is a pure gem of a human being.
The Ads
OK, the ads were bad this year. There’s no other way to parse this. Yet, in our bubble of ad-land, superlatives continue to be thrown around. They shouldn’t be. Let’s call it for what it was, a wash. That being said, some ads still stood out more than others.
The Good:
Angel Soft - The bathroom break insight is simple and ownable. This is undeniably a good ad people were talking about and will remember. A reminder that we don’t need to overthink everything.
Mountain Dew - Wonderful and weird, this is what the people want. Good use of celebrity in the strangest possible way.
Novartis - The call-to-action to get screened for Breast Cancer was well-executed, especially the teaser featuring Hailee Steinfeld. The main spot’s focus on boobs was a little obvious, but certainly made its point.
The Fine:
Starbucks - Sorry, “The Starbucks Coffee Company,” as their new branding identifies the chain. Listen, this is a brand relaunch anthem spot, and they did a good job with it.
PFIZER - Yes, it’s a cynical attempt to launder their reputation, but PFIZER’s cancer-fighting spot was emotional storytelling done right. Simple, engaging and with a powerful message, this ad was well-done. Although, it didn’t seem to work re: their reputation with consumers.
Dunkin’ - I mean, you get it. It’s a formula that works. Why change it? Certainly made me giggle. I just wanted to see more Jeremy Strong.
Rocket - The power of the right song. By owning “Country Roads,” the brand was able to get the whole stadium singing during one of the commercial breaks. The ad itself is fine, but the song choice is what this one’s all about.
Oikos - Good casting, cute idea, well-executed. Clear value prop in protein. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to sell yogurt.
Bud Light - These ads are fine. They are helping to revitalize the brand’s base, and Shane Gillis remains a genuinely funny spokesperson who seems to actually love the product.
Duracell - Funny, best use of Tom Brady.
The Bad:
NIKE - The Swoosh’s spot read like an ad student’s best attempt at making a Nike ad, and a misread on culture (is anyone really saying women can’t play sports anymore?). Old people and marketing nerds who think NIKE is still some kind of cultural scion and fans of women’s sports are lauding it, but those people are already NIKE customers. It’s not the casting, which was obviously meant to be some kind of statement during a traditionally masculine evening (nonetheless, according to the NFL around 25% of hardcore fans are women, and viewership increased among women of all ages in 2023, including a 53% increase among swifties…err, teenage girls). It was more that the whole thing felt lazy, rushed and full of bold, declarative promise that never pays off. The copywriting was beyond lazy. A waste of Doechii. More of the same stuff from NIKE that’s been proven to, well, not really work in an era when their brand is less cool than ever. Yawn.
Coors Light - The sloths are done-to-death and the whole typo stunt was smarter than the rest of the campaign. Brands have been trying to own the Monday after the Super Bowl for eons, and no one ever really pulls it off. Just not a good campaign. Go back to Rocky Mountain Cold Refreshment, please.
META - First of all, I know who Chris Pratt and Chris Hemsworth are, yet I found both of them almost unidentifiable in this spot due not only to the glasses but also the styling (do they look the same on purpose?). Secondly, the integration of fine art is kind of a cool idea, but felt beyond random especially for a football audience. Kris Jenner is here for some reason. A messy hodgepodge of big budgets with no strategy in sight.
Liquid Death - Was this actually a bad ad? No, it’s funny enough and explains the product benefit. But I think we all expected more from this brand, which has established itself as a master of modern marketing and made one of the best Super Bowl ads ever back in 2022.
The Awful:
HIMS + HERS - The worst ad of the night. You shouldn’t trust pharmaceutical companies, but you should trust us - a company that develops nothing and simply pushes generic drugs on you with cuter branding than you’re used to from Big Pharma. Also, you’re all fat fucks.
The Controversial:
The Flying Moustache/Eyebrow Debacle - How did two brands that have nothing to do with facial hair (Pringles and Lil’ Caesar’s) land on essentially the same concept? Unclear. Both ads were strange, if not also quite forgettable. But I’m sure a very expected collaboration will now come from it.
ChatGPT - A lot of people in ad land and the tech world are bemoaning how this ad did nothing to explain what ChatGPT is and how it works. They’re all missing the point. We’ve had AI and chatbots completely shoved down our throat, and there’s no need to educate us. What we need is BRAND - an emotional attachment to a particular AI company or another. ChatGPT established a cool visual system here, and although the ad was indeed lacking overall for content, it took the brand a step forward.
Foundation to Combat Antisemitism - I love the idea of this ad, which is excessively necessary right now, but it’s interesting that they literally don’t mention the word antisemitism in it at all. If you’re going to talk about it, let’s talk about it. This ad isn’t supposed to be about not hating each other, it’s supposed to be explicitly about not hating Jews. Felt like they were afraid to say the quiet part out loud.
Hellman’s Mayo - Maybe this is only controversial to me, but mayo does not belong anywhere near anything at Katz’s Deli. If this was a mustard ad it would be an A+.
The Halftime Show
The most elucidating part of the evening was people’s reaction to Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show. Tweets and posts rolled in before the man even finished his set, and they were distinctly split between “Best Halftime Show Ever!” and “Worst Halftime Show Ever!”
The truth here, as with the rest of the circus this year, is that the performance was just fine. The promised surprises and “deep storytelling” were, well, not that surprising nor story-filled. Was it an evocative and bold statement? Yes, sure. Should he have performed a few older tracks that his fans love? Yeah, probably. Would Lil’ Wayne have been an objectively better choice? Yes.