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Some may be Patriot fans and some may have been rooting for the Rams, but we’re all about the ads! Read about some of our favorite spots featured during Super Bowl LIII below.
Olay – #KillerSkin
Calling all horror movie enthusiasts! Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar made an appearance in Olay’s #KillerSkin spot. Gellar and her co-star are chased upstairs by a masked maniac – a familiar scene to those who have seen the 1997 horror film “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” While trying to unlock her phone to call for help, her facial recognition repeatedly fails due to her “totally transformed” skin since using Olay.
The ad, with the tagline ‘What would you sacrifice for killer skin?’, was certainly unexpected for a skincare company. Its goal? To embrace the female NFL fans tuning in to the event. Few Super Bowl ads feature women, as the majority of ads are created with the male viewer in mind. However, the NFL estimated that nearly 45 percent of football fans are female, according to a 2017 Forbes article.
We’re all about this refreshing and humorous take on a skincare ad. Fun fact: the actor behind the mask was actually Freddie Prinze Jr., Gellar’s husband of over 16 years!
T-Mobile – #TMobileTuesdays
For T-Mobile, this year’s Super Bowl ads were all about giving back to their customers. The brand announced various free offers for customers, our favorite being #TMobileTuesdays. Partnering with Taco Bell to make it happen, T-Mobile announced that customers simply need to download the app to receive free tacos on Tuesdays, beginning on Feb. 5.
In addition to rewarding customer loyalty, we love that these ads are fun and relatable. They depict text message conversations between friends and family that everyone can find humor in, one of which being a couple deciding what to get for dinner. We watch the individual on “our” end of the conversation repeatedly type out and delete their entire thought process before replying, “Whatever you want bae.”
T-Mobile aired another ad in the same format, showing a conversation between a man and his Lyft driver. After the driver lets him know he has arrived, the customer misunderstands and gets personal. The ad’s clever tagline? ‘T-Mobile is here for you.’ The company is also partnering with Lyft to offer T-Mobile customers a one-time-only $10 off their ride.
Hyundai – The Elevator
Who doesn’t love Jason Bateman? Hyundai features the actor, director and comedian in their ad for their Shopper Assurance program.
The spot depicts Bateman manning a Hell-evator of sorts. When a couple joins the group on the elevator and tells him they are car shopping, he tells them they are headed “down, way down.” This humorous ad compares car shopping to other dreaded activities such as a root canal, jury duty or even a vegan dinner party. When they finally reach their floor, they inform Bateman that they used Hyundai’s Shopper Assurance program and are taken back up.
Instead of spotlighting a specific make or model (though they did so subtly), this ad promotes a program that really distinguishes them from the competition. It demonstrates a focus on listening to their customers and improving the car-buying experience, and we love the relatable nature of this ad!
Pepsi – More Than OK(urrrr)
If you think Pepsi’s decision to run this ad this year was coincidental, think again! Pepsi leveraged this year’s Super Bowl location (Atlanta, Georgia) to take shots at Coca-Cola, which is headquartered in “The A.”
This spot features several famous faces, including Lil Jon, Cardi B and Steve Carrell. Set in a diner, a customer orders a coke and the waiter replies, “Is Pepsi OK?” We’ve all probably heard this phrase at some point, which demonstrates the common belief that Coke is the preferred soda for most consumers. Carrell immediately defends the brand and receives help from Lil Jon and Cardi B, both musicians with unique voices and signature “OKs.”
We love that the ad plays on a perceived weakness to convey Pepsi’s confidence and strength. And a bit of humor never hurts.
It’s the one time each year that we view commercials as entertaining rather than annoying. The cost of a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl LIII is about $5.25 million, and these witty and iconic commercials never fail to impress. We’re already looking forward to next year!
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