What were the most notable commercials of Super Bowl 51?
Hello, hello, and welcome again to the annual TV Talk article about Super Bowl commercials! The corporate advertisers of America have united once again to entertain and frustrate millions of fans. Here are my insights on a few of the most memorable ones.
Best use of Tom Brady: Intel
Intel showed us the power of their 360 replay cameras, as well Tom Brady’s stunning floor food scramble. While it’s all right watching it now, it was different during the game. This commercial came at the perfect time when it was broadcast. You see, the big game was peppered with cuts to Tom Brady’s exhausted, blank face, so seeing him in a home environment and that little quip at the end humanized him. Suddenly, he’s no longer some dull-faced footballer you don’t care about because he’s not a Packer. Instead, he’s a human being with a dog.
Biggest farce: Mobile Strike
If you’ve had the pleasure of never hearing about the game Mobile Strike or any of the other Clash of Clans copycats, allow me to explain it. It’s basically a microtransaction window with some gameplay elements. While I’d advise avoiding Mobile Strike like the plague, I won’t deny that Arnold Schwarzenegger and a ridiculous special effects budget make an awesome commercial.
Most Skittles thing ever
Skittles has had a long, long line of “taste the rainbow” ads and this is yet another one. Don’t get me wrong, these ads are entertaining stuff, especially during a game so bereft of personality , but there’s only so many times you can have surreal Skittles hijinks before it starts to get old. Good stuff for now, but I hope they do something new next year.
Most surprisingly bland ads
The car ads just weren’t on the ball this year. They all were pretty lockstep and seemed rather generic fare. This is the Super Bowl, guys: go gutsy or go home. The only one I could really say caught my attention was the ad for Kia cars and even then I’d already seen the ad a week prior online. Several times.
Most embarrassing for everyone involved: T-Mobile Fifty Shades
If there’s one surefire way to make everyone in the room uncomfortable, it’s combining Fifty Shades of Grey with telephone contracts. Everything about this commercial is awkward. It’s built on a weak joke to begin with, it goes on for far too long, the actors look like they’re in pain and the second it’s over it feels dated. It’s still not as bad as last year’s puppymonkey-homunculus (Mountain Dew), but it’s still a prime example of why one-note jokes should stay one-note.
Best spectacle: Tide
It’s a tale about Terry Bradshaw, one of the game’s announcers, having a rather noticeable stain on his dress shirt. Of course, only Tide, with its immense cleaning power and freshness, can fell such a demonic, chilly stain.
Those were the ads that stood out to me. It was an historic game this year and here’s hoping that the Packers will be in the big game next year.
(All advertisements are owned by their respective companies. Top image is official promotional material for Super Bowl 51.)
TV Talk is a regular television column written by Robert Pulford, Current Staff.
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