As Super Bowl Sunday LIV finally arrived this year, many San Luis Obispo High School students prepared to kick back with their families and friends to watch the big game. Some came for the football, but many, including myself, watched the Super Bowl for the impressive lineup of advertisements that play throughout the game. Advertisers paid upwards of five million dollars for a 30-second slot during the game, meaning that many tend to bring their A-game to really make that purchase worthwhile. However, after watching the Kansas City Chiefs taking home the victory, I found myself less than impressed by the ads I had just watched. Many ads fell flat in their attempt to ‘wow’ one of the biggest audiences in the world, and there were few that I felt were very memorable.
“I did not like this year’s ads. The ‘Rick and Morty’ Pringle’s ad was forced and unfunny. This is the Super Bowl, they need to try harder,” said junior Rory Svetich.
Indeed, it seems the common theme this year was the misconception that more celebrities means funnier commercials. A prime example of this is the commercial for the Hard Rock Hotel, which featured musical talents like Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull, and DJ Khaled in a swing-and-a-miss commercial that featured Khaled stealing a jewel-encrusted coffee cup that Lopez called her ‘bling cup.’ The commercial felt clunky and lame, and the addition of Pitbull just kind of walking around and shouting didn’t exactly help their case. The ad also did very little to advertise the restaurant itself, showing off the Hard Rock Hotel in the beginning but quickly losing itself in the bling cup madness.
Another dull ad came from Planters Peanuts, a company that had recently gained media attention for killing off their mascot Mr. Peanut. Many were eager to see how Planters would move on from this stunt, but what came from the Super Bowl was an odd advertisement that saw Mr. Peanut resurrected by a tear from the Kool-Aid mascot. It sounds crazy (because it was), and felt like a sort of cop-out after the company had just made the bold move to get rid of the mascot, who is now being referred to as ‘Baby Nut.’
“Honestly I want to curb stomp Baby Nut. He’s so stupid, no more babies please. Baby Yoda was enough,” said senior Jahan Ramezani.
For the many misses, though, there were a few ads that did their best to save this year’s lineup. Rapper Lil Nas X defeated western actor Sam Elliot in a dance battle for Doritos, while actor Bryan Cranston was featured in a Mountain Dew ad that parodied Stephen King’s 1980 horror film “The Shining.” Additionally, Wal-Mart put together a massive crossover of characters from various movies and television shows, including “Men In Black,” “The LEGO Movie,” and “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” However, not even these ads were enough to change my mind about this year’s lineup.
Hopefully advertisers learn from this opinion article and learn to try a little harder next year.
