Football, as we say in the UK, is a game of two halves – and this year’s Super Bowl advertising reflects a clearly divided America. Thanks to this intense political climate, there seem to be more eyes than ever tuning in to see where their favourite brands stand. While it turns out that several of them aren’t afraid to ride the wave of the backlash against the presidential result, there are just as many relishing their burger-fuelled future. We’ve picked our top five from each of them.
Riding the Wave
Coke
https://youtu.be/LhP5sDUnF6c
This ad celebrating diversity in the US has actually been recycled from a campaign that ran in 2014. Set to a multilingual version of ‘America the Beautiful’, it’s been equally well-received and rebuked. The difference being that this time, the hashtag #BoycottCoke took off immediately after its airing.
84 Lumber
https://youtu.be/nPo2B-vjZ28
This building supplies company’s ad actually caused its website to crash. It addresses the idea of Trump's wall, putting it into a human context with powerful results. There’s a deeply moving beauty and defiance in the end line, “The will to succeed is always welcome here.” Let’s hope that’s true.
Budweiser
https://youtu.be/HtBZvl7dIu4
Beautifully shot and atmospherically epic, one of the most ‘American’ brands ever celebrating its immigrant roots is…timely. To say the least. In fact, it didn’t take long for the - misspelled - hashtag #boycottbudwiser to hit Twitter’s top trending list. Coke and Bud? What will they drink?
Airbnb
https://youtu.be/5qUTYHnLz2g
With sentiments like “We all belong” and “The world is more beautiful the more you accept”, it’s clear to see which side of the wall Airbnb are sitting on.
Audi
https://youtu.be/G6u10YPk_34
In Trump's America, pay equality and inclusivity might not be priority number one, but continuing to beat the drum is important and Audi’s right up there on the front line. We salute you, Audi.
Relishing the Future
WeatherTech
https://youtu.be/WIZQP7KPByg
Flipping the coin, we have this little doozy, featuring an all-white American cast and ending with the ‘inspirational’ strap ‘Made right, in America’. No racist comments on YouTube as of yet.
Kia
https://youtu.be/1dQ9a5EFZeI
Definitely slapstick fun, but a little laissez-faire, given the recent onslaught of very real blows to environmentalism. Melissa McCarthy plays a hapless activist who painfully fails at everything she does, all while driving an ‘eco-friendly’ car.
Alfa Romeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySBY1OpvNrY&feature=youtu.be
Again, very much an all-American ad, despite coming from an Italian brand. It’s like it’s been pieced together from the cheesiest stock footage they could find. Anyway, it feels like driving a flying car apparently.
Michelob Ultra
https://youtu.be/hU52cGQT85k
The incongruity of the Cheers! track playing over sporty action doesn’t sit well. There’s also lots of American ‘whooping’ and ‘back-slapping’. But I guess if you’re getting fit, this is the beer for you. So there’s that.
Mercedes-Benz
https://youtu.be/BvHFM8c7cPM
You can’t get much more scary than big, burly American biker gang clichés. Unless you find out that they’ve been directed by the Cohen brothers. It feels so wrong to be criticising them, but there is no evidence of their trademark stylings. Scarier still, Peter Fonda decides to cash in too. Is nothing sacred?
