Football is not the only thing that gets people hyped during the Super Bowl. Leading up to the big game, there is plenty of talk about what the best commercials will be and how the halftime show will go. This year was a monumental year since it was the 50th Super Bowl with a halftime show featuring Bruno Mars, Coldplay and queen Beyoncé herself. Many advertisements positively caught my attention this year, instead of being corny or a negative interruption to the game. Moreover, the halftime show (although short in length) overall was spectacular and raised awareness of pertinent issues in our society.

Super Bowl ads take up a good amount of time during the big game. A lot of careful thought and consideration must go into each 30-second advertisement that CBS charged a whopping $5 million — an average $166,666 per second — for this year, according to an article from Fortune. Some companies make their money worthwhile with a hit, while others leave viewers questioning the company’s poor choice of advertisement. Based on last year’s performance, Budweiser could easily be seen as a disappointment this year by neglecting to feature any popular and adorable #BestBuds puppy commercials. However, their 2016 “Simply Put” commercial featuring actress Helen Mirren, who criticized anyone who drinks and drives, has a more meaningful hashtag that is trending: #GiveADamn. According to AdWeek, Budweiser promised to donate $1 to safe ride programs every time this hashtag is used in order to further support their anti-drunk driving efforts. Now that is something to tweet about.

On the other hand, Heinz was influenced by the puppy popularity Budweiser generated last year by using their own stampede of wiener dogs. The strategy of using dogs to generate popularity must work because Heinz’s advertisement featuring wiener dogs dressed up in hot dog buns, running into the arms of people dressed as different condiments, was a hit. I liked how they used positive images of puppies to convey a message, instead of seeking attention by airing something out of line. Attracting viewers through humor, or happiness is better than an advertisement that creates negative attention such as violence.

Not every advertisement can be the most popular. According to USA Today, the company that surprisingly was featured twice out of the top five advertisements was Hyundai. Kevin Hart was a popular hit as he played an overprotective dad who followed his daughter on a date by tracking his Hyundai. The company also won popularity with “Ryanville,” featuring the distraction of Ryan Reynolds, which showed off the Hyundai’s automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection. It was an excellent way to show off an advanced safety feature of the car because Reynolds could definitely be a distraction while driving.

However, the attention is not only focused on the Super Bowl ads. Beyoncé, Bruno Mars and Coldplay had a remarkable performance that ended with half the stadium holding colorful signs that read “Believe In Love.” The show was a powerful tribute to LGBT love and Black Lives Matter as well with Beyoncé’s performance of “Formation.” In celebration of the 50th Super Bowl, the halftime show also showed a nostalgic montage of various halftime shows of the past featuring Katy Perry and Prince. Did Beyoncé’s jacket look familiar to anyone? It mirrored Michael Jackson’s jacket from the 1993 Super Bowl as tribute to him. The halftime performance did a wonderful job of bringing halftime shows from the past together, while also promoting equality for everyone.

The halftime performance was enjoyable, but seemed to be over in seconds, although that’s understandable since there is only so much time to devote to a halftime show when there is a football game to be played. However, with three performers on the stage, I was prepared to see a longer show. One disappointment was that Beyoncé and Coldplay’s new single together, “Hymn For the Weekend,” was not played. Nonetheless, I was still impressed by how well the show was carried out by the performers. Regardless of the length of the show, the three performers did a wonderful job working together to put on an amazing halftime show.

The excitement will continue on soon enough for next year’s Super Bowl. Football season will come around again, and talk will begin about which teams will make it the end. The buzz on who will take on next halftime show, how much a new 30-second commercial will cost and who will win advertisement popularity will continue. The Super Bowl this year did not have any specific complaints for me. It was a great football game that was filled in with quality entertainment between the advertisements and the halftime performance. Overall, the 50th anniversary made the tradition of the Super Bowl something to look forward to.

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