Campaign Spotlight: Super Bowl LII Special

This year’s Super Bowl, the 52^nd edition of the highly-anticipated sporting event, saw advertisers pulling out all the stops to ensure their precious minutes on the Super Bowl made the biggest impact on the millions of eyes fixated on them. With Justin Timberlake’s half time performance deemed somewhat of a flop, brands had even more opportunity to come away as memorable elements of the night. And it just so happened that entertainment was at the heart of the majority of the Super Bowl ads, with many advertisers getting celebrities out in force and opting for humorous campaigns. Here’s a round-up of our top ten:

Tourism Australia – Droga5

Australian actor Chris Hemsworth and American actor and comic Danny McBride starred in this spoof movie trailer for a sequel to Crocodile Dundee. McBride plays the strangely American ‘son’ of legendary original movie character Mike Dundee who is taken in by Hemsworth. They begin to embark on an Australian adventure with nods to the original film along the way. However, the secret is revealed when Hemsworth starts showing off the best parts of the country and McBride realises that he's not in a movie but in an advertisment for Tourism Australia. Through the comedic dynamic between the two stars this spot more than gets away with being a shameless marketing ploy.

Doritos and Mountain Dew – Goodby Silverstein & Partners

This duo of ads designed to promote sister brands Doritos and Mountain Dew have the ultimate entertainment factor. PepsiCo managed to get film stars Peter Dinklage and Morgan Freeman on board to lip sync rap in a 60-second spot, taking on Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliott tunes. The ads juxtapose the heat of Doritos Blaze with the cool of Mountain Dew Ice to create two visually pleasing pieces of creative. Freeman miming to ‘Get Your Freak On’ is reminiscent of Jon Snow’s endearing Big Fat Quiz dances and what’s not to love about that.

Amazon - Lucky Generals/in-house team D1

Amazon’s 90-second ad saw a host of famous faces come to the rescue when it’s Alexa personal assistant loses her voice. Gordon Ramsey puts in his usual passionate two pence when a guy asks the assistant how to make a grilled cheese sandwich, while Sir Anthony Hopkins steps in to tell a woman her boyfriend in unavailable to call whilst he lounges in a beautiful garden feeding peacocks. Amazon’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos even makes a cameo appearance along with Carli B and Rebel Wilson. The spot is fittingly set to the soundtrack of Carli Simon’s ‘Nobody Does it Better’.

 Tide – Saatchi & Saatchi New York

Laundry detergent brand Tide played on a series of advert clichés in its spots which starred Stranger Things actor David Harbour. The actor humorously crashed into typical Super Bowl commercial settings claiming ‘It’s a Tide ad’, whilst wearing crisp, clean clothing, of course.

Avocados from Mexico – GSD&M

This ad that capitalises on the current millennial obsession with avocados imagines a ‘perfect Guacworld’ where the good is kept in and the bad left outside. The dreamy environment enclosed in a glass dome includes greenery, a string quartet, a masseur and a tonne of Avocados from Mexico. However the peace is disturbed when its inhabitants realise the chips to dip in their guacamole have been left sealed outside the dome and all hell breaks loose. The brand uses the scenario to suggest the many different ways avocado can be eaten, which becomes the resolution to the chaos. However, the millennial first world problems continue when someone realises that the WiFi is down…

M&Ms – BBDO New York

M&Ms ad saw its usual animated confectionery mascot, the red M&M, taken on a new adventure. After finding a lucky penny and simultaneously wishing that he was a human so that people wouldn’t constantly try to eat him, the sweet is turned into human form. That human so happens to be Hollywood legend Danny DeVito, who has an uncanny resemblance to the candy, who humorously runs around asking people if they want to eat him.  

Febreze - Grey New York

Febreze released a mockumentary which focused on a character’s whose ‘bleep don’t stink’. The funny work sees the man’s parents, sports coaches and doctors marvelling at how he never leaves a stink after using the bathroom. The spots end with a shot of the guy about the leave the bathroom when he finds a can of Febreze by the toilet.

T Mobile – Laundry Service

While humour dominated the Super Bowl ad scene, there were still some great contributions from brands going down a more serious, political route. One of these was T Mobile, whose 60-second spot features a series of babies, while a female voiceover explains how the newborns have open minds and the opportunity to live their best, equal and connected life. The ad also gets props for its interesting use of music. It is soundtracked by a lullaby-style, instrumental version of Nirvana’s 1993 release ‘All Apologies’. It runs under the strapline ‘Change Starts Now’.

Toyota – Saatchi & Saatchi & Dentsu

Another serious entry came from Toyota which used its Super Bowl ad space to promote its Olympic and Paralympic partnerships. Twos spots, that contribute to its ‘Start Your Impossible’ campaign, see a girl born with two legs and one arm go on to be a successful athlete, while the other has a mobility theme, weaving together movement in athletics with the car marques ability to provide people with mobility.

Budweiser – David Miami

And finally, Budweiser showcased the work its done to support US areas hit by disaster. The ad shows the brand switching over the barrels in it's Bud canning factory and start filling cans with water, which are sent to places affected by natural disasters. On the theme of coming together in times of need, the spot is soundtracked by a cover of ‘Stand by Me’ by Skylar Grey.