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    A Take On Super Bowl 50’s Ad Winners and Losers

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments3501 Views
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    This image provided by Mountain Dew shows a “Puppymonkeybaby” in a scene from the company's Kickstart spot for Super Bowl 50. (Mountain Dew via AP)

    By Mae Anderson, Business Writer

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    The Denver Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers during Super Bowl 50 – and there were clear winners and losers off the field, too.

    Advertisers pulled out all the stops to woo the 114 million-plus viewers during the Big Game. With 30-second ads costing up $5 million, it's a huge gamble to advertise during the game. Here are the winners whose gamble paid off, and losers who dropped the ball.

    WINNERS

    Audi "Commander"
    In Audi's spot, a depressed aging astronaut is reminded of his joy for life by driving an Audi sports car with his son to David Bowie's "Starman." Super Bowl watcher Raj Nijjer, from Scottsdale, Ariz., said the ad went over well at the bar where he was watching the game. "Every guy in the bar had a smile on their face," he said.

    Axe "Find Your Magic"
    Axe left previously juvenile ads behind with a spot that urged teens to "Find Your Magic" and celebrate uniqueness and diversity rather than the traditional tropes of masculinity.

    Bud Light "Bud Light Party"
    Capitalizing on election year buzz, Bud Light enlisted Amy Schumer and Seth Rogan to canvass America to promote "The Bud Light Party." A cameo by Paul Rudd added to the fun.

    Heinz "Weiner Stampede"
    Budweiser disappointed some by retiring the puppies it featured in ads the past three years, but Heinz picked up the slack. Its ad showed dachshunds dressed like hot dogs frolicking in a field to the tune of Harry Nilsson's "Without You."

    Mountain Dew "Puppymonkeybaby"
    Love it or hate it, Mountain Dew's bizarre ad showing a creature that was part puppy, part monkey and part baby was one of the most talked about spots of the evening.

    LOSERS

    Pharmaceutical ads
    Three pharmaceutical ads struck a jarring tone with viewers. One promoted an anti-diarrhea medication Xifaxan and showed a small-intestines mascot trying to watch a football game. Another sought to raise awareness about "opioid-induced constipation." A third tackled toe fungus.

    "Wrong place. Wrong time. Wrong subject," Kelly O'Keefe, a marketing professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, said of the constipation ad.

    Henkel
    In first time advertiser Henkel's commercial for its Persil ProClean detergent, a tuxedoed spokesman told us that Persil ProClean beat rival detergents in a test – a generic-feeling ad people have seen many, many times before.

    Quicken Loans
    First time advertiser Quicken Loans imagined a world where it's as easy to get a loan on your smartphone as it is to buy music and plane tickets. "Push button, get mortgage," copy reads. Some viewers took to Twitter to complain the ad reminded them a little too much of the 2008 financial housing bubble and subsequent financial crisis.

    Colonial Williamsburg
    The tourist destination created an ad that showed historical events going in reverse to illustrate the idea that American history started with Colonial Williamsburg. Some viewers were offended that one of the events going in reverse was the collapse of the twin towers on September 11.

    Category:News
    Tags:AudiAxeBud LightMountain DewSuper Bowl



    Is “Glicked” The New “Barbenheimer”? “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” Hit Theater Screens

    Thursday, November 21, 2024

    "Barbenheimer" was a phenomenon impossible to manufacture. But, more than a year later, that hasn't stopped people from trying to make "Glicked" — or even "Babyratu" — happen.

    The counterprogramming of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" in July 2023 hit a nerve culturally and had the receipts to back it up. Unlike so many things that begin as memes, it transcended its online beginnings. Instead of an either-or, the two movies ultimately complemented and boosted one another at the box office.

    And ever since, moviegoers, marketers and meme makers have been trying to recreate that moment, searching the movie release schedule for odd mashups and sending candidates off into the social media void. Most attempts have fizzled (sorry, "Saw Patrol" ).

    This weekend is perhaps the closest approximation yet as the Broadway musical adaptation "Wicked" opens Friday against the chest-thumping sword-and-sandals epic "Gladiator II." Two big studio releases (Universal and Paramount), with one-name titles, opposite tones and aesthetics and big blockbuster energy — it was already halfway there before the name game began: "Wickiator," "Wadiator," "Gladwick" and even the eyebrow raising "Gladicked" have all been suggested.

    "'Glicked' rolls off the tongue a little bit more," actor Fred Hechinger said at the New York screening of "Gladiator II" this week. "I think we should all band around 'Glicked.' It gets too confusing if you have four or five different names for it."

    As with "Barbenheimer," as reductive as it might seem, "Glicked" also has the male/female divide that make the fan art extra silly. One is pink and bright and awash in sparkles, tulle, Broadway bangers and brand tie-ins; The other is all sweat and sand, blood and bulging... Read More

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