While I never have been a die-hard football fanatic, the annual Super Bowl has always held a special place in my heart. It is a time when family and friends can come together, eat not-so-good-for-you food and just relax.
Each year, with news that the Super Bowl is just around the corner, I anxiously await this time when I can be surrounded by those I care about. In addition to this, I always look forward to the annual Super Bowl commercials, which never fail to leave a smile on my face.
In the Super Bowl’s 47th year, CBS reportedly sold 30-60 second advertisements for about $3.7 or $3.8 million dollars each. Many of the familiar big-name sponsors that always advertise, such as Pepsi, Budweiser and Doritos, scored screen time, as did several lesser-known sponsors like Century 21 and Priceline.
Here is the line-up for some of my favorite commercials from this year’s Super Bowl.
Best Buy- Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler remains one of my favorite comedians to this day, and she certainly did not let fans down with her performance in this commercial. She portrays the “customer from hell” as she wanders around the Best Buy store constantly asking questions for the patient sales representative to answer. As Poehler prances around the store in noise-cancelling headphones or asks what Apple’s iCloud is, one cannot deny the excellent marketing done by Best Buy in advertising their latest products and showing the considerate and patient expertise that will be given to each customer, no matter how annoying they may appear. I thought that Poehler did an excellent job associating comedy with the large, technology chain store.
Doritos- Goat 4 Sale
As one of the funniest commercials from this year’s Super Bowl, this commercial showed how obsessed one can get concerning Doritos chips. A fellow buys a Doritos-eating goat. However, this chip-crunching animal proves to be a burden for the man, who resorts to hiding all of his Doritos chips and making a “Goat 4 Sale” sign, only to be found out by his pet. The commercial takes a hilarious twist on a human-animal relationship and shows that not everything goes as planned. Once again, I found that Doritos showcased comedy to sell its product, which was very refreshing.
Volkswagen- Get Happy
Even though this commercial garnered major media attention prior to the Super Bowl for being racist towards Jamaicans, it was one of my favorites. Maybe it was the spot-on Jamaican accents that the actors imitated, or the likeable mantra of “Get Happy” that truly made Volkswagen’s commercial stand out. Whatever it was, however, this commercial kept a light and airy vibe and was likeable.
Budweiser- Clydesdale
Year after year, Budweiser always leaves viewers “oohing” and “ahhing” over the company’s trademark symbol, the Clydesdale horse. This year, however, Budweiser turned the cuteness factor way up, when they featured a Clydesdale foal and his development into becoming a draft horse. The central storyline followed the emotional meetup of a Clydesdale horse and the farmer who raised the horse years after the horse had gone on to Budweiser. It also didn’t hurt that Fleetwood Mac’s tear jerking classic, “Landslide,” was the theme song for the commercial. This commercial was my favorite because it crammed so many emotions into under a minute.
Chrysler- So God Made a Farmer
Why does Earth need farmers? Chrysler’s extremely moving advertisement featuring Paul Harvey’s 1974 speech, So God Made A Farmer, just screamed American patriotism. One of the more serious commercials of the night, this commercial explained that farmers are the very heart and soul of our nation and the world. While I am usually attracted to funny, light-hearted commercials, this one was one of my favorites because it emphasized true American spirit.