Super Bowl LI, hosted at NRG stadium in Houston, Texas, showcased the best of the best in American football. But when the game cut to a commercial break, a whole different competition took place. Many non-sports fans find themselves tuning in to the big game to see what the creative teams behind top brands come up with. The bar is set high, especially considering the buy in. According to Variety, A 30-second spot during the Super Bowl runs about $5 million on average.
Was it money well spent?
Check out the list of our favorite commercials that aired during the big game.
Skittles - "Romance" Skittles puts their own humorous spin on the romantic gesture of throwing pebbles at a crush's window. A young boy stands out on the front lawn launching the tiny candies at his crush’s open window. But instead of hitting the glass, the candies are landing in the mouths of an alternating cast of characters. We loved the twist on this nostalgic throwback to a classic movie trope.
Honda - "Yearbooks" Honda brings out the yearbooks and takes us down memory lane with their Super Bowl ad. Celebrities’ yearbook pictures are all brought to life to talk about chasing their dreams. Instead of directly promoting their line of vehicles, Honda chose to promote an inspiring message: The Power Of Dreams. Both humorous and heartwarming, we liked the change from the usual in-your-face advertising.
The T-Mobile - "50 Shades" T-Mobile parodies 50 Shades of Grey. Character actress Kristen Schaal is led into the red room where she has been taken to be 'punished' by T-Mobile’s competitor Verizon with overage fees and confusing billing. T-Mobile (which anyone would hesitate to call “sexy”) took a chance with this risque approach and we think it paid off.
Buick - "Not So Pee Wee Football” A young player is transformed into Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton as Miranda Kerr steps in as their football coach. Buick’s humorous and self-aware commercial works to break the association of “boring” with Buick by showcasing some of their most stylish vehicle designs yet. Any time you replace regular people with celebrities in commercials, comedy ensues. (See: Snickers)
Kia Niro - “Melissa McCarthy” What has Melissa McCarthy gotten herself into? After being launched off a boat and chased by a rhinoceros, McCarthy realizes that protecting the environment doesn’t have to be quite that dangerous. Teaming up with the comedic actress was a great move by Kia to humorously demonstrate the eco-friendly nature of their vehicle.
Did we miss anything? Let us know if we left one of your favorites off our list!