Super Bowl ads go for comedic Catharsis

Many Super Bowl advertisers are also using celebrities, a standard strategy no matter what’s going on in the world. This year’s commercials show Amy Schumer selling Hellmann’s Mayonnaise; Michael B. Jordan embodies Alexa for Amazon.com Inc .; Maya Rudolph as four quarter-sized cowboys for a buy-now, pay-later service Klarna Bank AB; a two-dimensional Matthew McConaughey with Doritos 3-D Crunch; and Post Malone and Cedric the Entertainer who promote Bud Light, along with commercials like the Bud Knight.

In addition to the Doritos ad, PepsiCo Inc.’s

Frito-Lay runs a Cheetos ad that re-shows Shaggy’s 2000 hit “It Wasn’t Me” with Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, and another multi-brand commercial featuring Super Bowl players fighting over the snacks.

“When we watched the Super Bowl and tried to understand what consumers were looking for, it was this moment of joy and release,” said Rachel Ferdinando, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Frito-Lay North America.

Of course, not all advertisers shy away from the tensions of the past year.

Running a gloomy two-minute ad starring Bruce Springsteen, Jeep acknowledges the divisions in the country. The last frame shows the outline of the US with the phrase “To the ReUnited States of America.”

‘I don’t seem funny or serious. I don’t care, ”said Olivier Francois, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Stellantis NV, the parent company of brands like Jeep and Chrysler. “I’m shooting for a lasting message.”

Advertisers coughed up a whopping $ 5.5 million for 30 seconds of airtime during this year’s matchup Sunday between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs, hoping to capitalize on one of the few remaining TV events that have a major number of consumers reached simultaneously.

This year’s game is the culmination of a season ravaged by the coronavirus, which led to interruptions such as the delay of a major game scheduled for Thanksgiving due to an outbreak on the Baltimore Ravens.

The game is still expected to blow other TV shows out of the water. Last year it reached about 100 million viewers.

While attempts at humor have always dominated the Super Bowl ad space, historically the commercials feature a range of themes and tones, including serious and emotional approaches. This year, there seems to be much less variation, said Tim Calkins, a clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

“Advertisers reflect our behavior and the life we ​​lead, but only in the most positive way,” said Prof. Calkins.

“Some of the ads that ran in the Super Bowl last year would never run this year,” he added, citing a 2020 Super Bowl ad for Google featuring an elderly man who lost his wife, and the emotional New York Life ad about love as an action.

Advertisers’ challenge this year was twofold: sell their products and philosophies to a country on edge, but also stand out in a sea of ​​feel-good ads, executives said.

“There is more pressure this year,” said Eliza Yvette Esquivel, Chief Strategy Officer North America at branding agency FutureBrand. “People are fatigued from the onslaught of what has happened to us over the past 12 months, and there have been few moments with one eyeball when we have had any relief from that.”

Mountain Dew recruited actor John Cena for a playful Super Bowl ad promoting Major Melon flavor.

“A tone-deaf brand is one that lacks empathy for what consumers are going through. We spent a lot of time on that, ”said Greg Lyons, chief marketing officer of PepsiCo Beverages North America, parent company of Mountain Dew. “In recent years, with racial inequality, with politics, it was harder to make sure you had the right tone, and Covid just added to that.”

While most brands shied away from stories that were serious or overly emotional, some tried to promote their social responsibility efforts while keeping the tone sunny.

General engines Co.

recruited comedians Will Ferrell, Kenan Thompson and Awkwafina to deliver on its promise of new electric vehicles; the trio want to warn Norway that America will smash its EV record.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.

shows a boy talking about how a burrito can change the world, based on “how we plant things, water things, and make things grow …”

Chipotle had planned a campaign this year to raise awareness of food standards and support farmers, but initially had no plans to buy a Super Bowl spot, Chief Marketing Officer Chris Brandt said.

When the chain’s advertising agency, Venables Bell & Partners, showed him the place, he changed his mind.

“We’ve spent a lot of time on the tone of this place to make it up, not so serious and depressing, but a little optimism and to talk about what we think about agriculture,” said Mr Brandt. “It just felt like it was big enough, but still had a good lighthearted tone.”

A few advertisements refer to the pandemic, but in an oblique way. Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade, for example, portrays 2020 as a relentless storm of lemons from the sky destroying everyone’s lives.

Other Super Bowl regulars pass a spot this year. Budweiser said it would spend some of the money it would have spent on the Super Bowl on vaccine awareness efforts. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are also sitting out, although Pepsi continues to sponsor the halftime show.

Newcomers to the event include Kimberly-Clark Corps

Huggies, Unilever PLC’s Hellmann’s and Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s.

Some of the first timers are achieving strong business performance despite the pandemic and its blockages, including lawn care marketer Scotts Miracle-Gro Co.

, online marketplace Mercari Inc.,

online car retailer Vroom Inc.,

Klarna, freelance network Fiverr International Ltd.

and rival online food delivery services DoorDash Inc.

and Uber Eats.

Most chose to keep the pandemic out of their advertising, but not all. Scotts Miracle-Gro, for example, acknowledged in his ad that backyards have had “quite a year.”

Write to Alexandra Bruell at [email protected]