This year’s Super Bowl ads seemed a bit different than years past – gone were the Budweiser commercials featuring cute puppies or the beer’s trademark Clydesdales. Instead, the company chose to focus on the donations of water it made following recent natural disasters here in the U.S. Other brands also took a more somber tone, with humanitarian and feel-good narratives. However, humorous commercials remained a Super Bowl staple, with brands such as M&M’s, Doritos and Mountain Dew continuing to lead the way in generating laughs.
Here is a recap of some of RLF Communications’ favorite commercials, and why we felt they resonated with consumers.
The NFL’s “Dirty Dancing” commercial
My favorite Super Bowl commercial this year was the NFL’s “Dirty Dancing” commercial. In the commercial, Giants players Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. recreate the final dance number from Dirty Dancing, iconic lift and all. In my opinion, the lightheartedness of the commercial was perfect and the fact that I genuinely found it entertaining made it more than memorable in my book. Plus, Dirty Dancing is one of my favorite movies of all time. Nobody puts baby in the corner.
Brianna LaRouche, Communications Manager
Amazon’s “Alexa Loses Her Voice”
Amazon’s “Alexa Loses Her Voice” brought Hollywood’s biggest personalities as stand-ins for the virtual personal assistant, in a truly funny take on the traditional celebrity appearance. When the voice of Amazon Echo loses her voice, the corporate team is ready to test out her ridiculous replacements. From Gordon Ramsay’s flying off the handle at an unsuspecting Alexa user who just wanted to learn how to make a grilled cheese, to Cardi B hijacking a request for country music with her smash rap hit “Bodak Yellow,” the stars’ personal take on Alexa’s task mastering made for some great laughs.
Chelsea Korynta, Communications Specialist
My favorite Super Bowl commercial was Amazon’s “Alexa Loses Her Voice,” where celebrities replace Alexa’s voiceover in different scenarios. It was simple but witty, and included celebrities that are recognizable by most! (Gordon Ramsay, Cardi B, Rebel Wilson and Anthony Hopkins).
Erin Reilly, Communications Specialist
Tide’s ads
Tide successfully mocked all of the Super Bowl ad mainstays with a series of commercials appearing to tout products ranging from cologne to beer to cleaning supplies – but all of which were instead hyping the cleanliness, whiteness and brightness of clothes washed using Tide laundry detergent. The commercials were so well thought-out and executed, that by the end of the game I was questioning the start of every new commercial. While I am sure these were in the works long before the recent negative publicity surrounding the “Tide Pod challenge,” they did help to create some new, positive PR for the brand.
Michelle Rash, Vice President
My favorite Super Bowl ad was the Tide ad. Or ads. I mean, weren’t they all Tide ads? Isn’t this a Tide ad right now?
Greg Monroy, Creative Director
The Winter Olympics “This is Me”
My favorite Super Bowl ad this year was the “This is Me” compilation showcasing the hard work our USA Winter Olympic athletes have put in to prepare for the 2018 Winter games. I am a huge fan of the Olympics (it’s on my bucket list to attend the games at least once in my lifetime!) and make a point to watch as much as I can each time they are on. This ad definitely got me in the mood to cheer on Team USA next week!
Madison Croxson, Communications Manager
Rocket Mortgage ad featuring Keegan-Michael Key
Besides being a huge fan of Keegan-Michael Key, it appealed to me as a communicator with a lifelong commitment to eschew obfuscation.
David French, Vice President