While many were hoping for the Seattle Seahawks to take home the title of back-to-back Super Bowl champions, the Budweiser puppy stole their thunder.
Last year, the Budweiser commercial “Puppy Love” won the Super Bowl ring of commercials and this year’s sequel, the “Lost Dog” featured the same puppy and won itself another ring.
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” Brian Perkins, Budweiser vice president told USA Today.
This year’s 2015 Super Bowl averaged approximately 114.4 million viewers per minute on NBC’s Sunday night broadcast, making it the most watched event in American TV history. Some of the 114.4 million people watching were Patriots fans and others were Seahawks fans, but collectively, most were Budweiser fans.
Costing $4.5 million for a 30-second ad, there are always high expectations for the ad bowl. In the marketing world, the Super Bowl is not a football game, but rather a contest to see who can make the most “buzzworthy” commercial. All companies try to get their message across and sell their product in the most memorable and creative way possible.
What better way to sell your product than with puppy love and the Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)” playing in the background? For me, that is about as good and memorable as it gets.
“It’s a storyline that people of all walks of life can relate to,” Perkins told People magazine.
The commercial tells the heart-warming story of the friendship between a Clydesdale, a man and a puppy. When the puppy gets lost, the man puts up signs around town and is upset that he cannot find his dog. While the puppy is lost, there is a huge storm and the puppy is saved by the Budweiser Clydesdales from a wolf. The commercial ends with the hashtag #bestbuds, leaving the audience heartfelt and with each room filling with the sound of multiple “awwwws.”
In my opinion, Budweiser definitely won the ad bowl and was closely followed by Always’ “Like a Girl” commercial.
On the other hand, I was unimpressed by Nationwide’s “Make Safe Happen” ad. Although all companies try to make memorable commercials, an ad should not put a damper on the fun of the Super Bowl, and it most certainly should not create a negative buzz.
Yes, putting out a rather disturbing ad did create talk and gave the ad attention, but little to none of the attention that the ad is getting is positive.
The little boy who starred in the commercial was saying lines such as, “I’ll never learn to ride a bike or get cooties.” He also said, “I’ll never learn to fly or travel the world with my best friend.” At the end of the commercial, the little boy said, “I couldn’t grow up because I died from an accident.” Instantly, when people see a cute little boy and hear that he has died from an accident, the mood and atmosphere is hindered.
Twitter feeds filled up with reactions from this commercial such as comedian writer Rob Fee’s tweet, “Hope you guys are having a great day. Did you know your kid is probably gonna die soon? Enjoy your nachos & funeral planning! – Nationwide.”
The message that the Nationwide commercial was trying to get express is a serious matter and one that cannot be avoided or portrayed lightly. However, I feel that the way the message was conveyed in this ad was far too disturbing and blunt.
All in all, the Super Bowl was a huge success and the vast majority of the ads were entertaining and up to par with Super Bowl standards. Only one year until we get to see what next year’s game has to offer so stay tuned.
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