Super Bowl Ads

The Super Bowl this year disappointed from almost every angle possible. The game itself, between the Rams and the Patriots, was boring and the lowest scoring game in the history of the Super Bowl.

The halftime show was vomit-inducing, with an incredibly phony performance by

Maroon 5’s Adam Levine (and his questionable fashion choices), who was later joined by Travis Scott, a rapper in much need of some autotune. The biggest offense of all was when the popular “Sweet Victory” song from SpongeBob SquarePants got cut off right before Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode.” It was a huge letdown for the 1.5 million people who signed the petition supporting a live halftime show performance of “Sweet Victory” at the Super Bowl.

There was, however, one aspect of this game that wasn’t totally ruined: the ads.

Without further ado, let’s go over some standout advertisements from the 2019 Super Bowl.

Some People Move On

Coming early in the game, the “Avengers: Endgame” trailer started the grueling event off right, with a mysterious TV spot from 2019’s most anticipated movie. Though the trailer gives little indication on the Avengers’ plans to defeat Thanos after the cliffhanger from “Avengers: Infinity War,” it does feature cool shots of our heroes in an unusually melancholy tone for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though not action-packed, this trailer is just another step in the hype machine that is “Avengers: Endgame.”

Bubly/Bublé

Bubly might be the most disgusting carbonated beverage currently available in stores, but its commercial was pretty funny. Michael Bublé emerged from his cave, though not for Christmas, but rather for this ad where Bublé tries to convince onlookers that the brand Bubly is pronounced “Bublé,” to no avail. I felt bad enough for the singer that I almost wanted to actually drink a can of over-carbonated Bubly. Almost.

Is Pepsi Ok?

This Pepsi commercial, starring Steve Carell and Cardi B, among others, asks the audience the oft-dreaded question, “Is Pepsi OK?” The ad, while confusing in its narrative (there’s a lot of “what’s going on” moments), does get the brand’s intended message across: Pepsi is on par with Coca Cola. After seeing Carell unsuccessfully try to copy Cardi’s famous “Oh krrr!” I was thoroughly convinced that Pepsi is, in fact, as good as its rival.

Higher, Further, Faster

If you weren’t convinced before that Marvel Studios’ upcoming Captain Marvel movie will be a great one, the latest TV spot puts an end to all doubters. This trailer is everything a good trailer should be: inspirational, powerful, funny, and exciting. Unlike the “Avengers: Endgame” trailer, this one is much more inspiring and heartfelt. In the trailer’s mere 30 seconds, viewers are immediately immersed in Captain Marvel’s world, full of powerful beings and chaos in space, while seeing actress Brie Larson’s character go from badass Air Force pilot to otherworldly superhuman. All throughout, punches are being landed in time with a heavy, yet simple drumming while the Captain repeats “higher, further, faster.”

In this case, Marvel Studios literally soars to new heights as it establishes its legacy in an era full of characters from all genders, races, and backgrounds. Not only that, but Captain Marvel is just as badass, if not more, as she was in the comics.

First Class for Your Feet

In this advertisement, football legend Howie Long tries to sell me the product I fear the most: Skechers. The bias against these shoes is sky-high, so it is a bold move to try to get me to buy them during the big game, but the effort paid off, as a funny ad like this makes me reconsider everything I thought I knew about Skechers sneakers. According to semi-“reliable” sources, “It’s like first class for your feet.”

New Number, Who Dis?

There’s always that one ad. Or in this case, 164, as T-Mobile pushed for numerous generally unfunny and unoriginal ads about texting. One of the ads even blatantly ripped off a popular meme about Uber drivers. Admittedly, I am most likely not the target audience for this ad, but it was still frustrating to learn that a huge corporation like T-Mobile couldn’t even come up with original content. If each ad cost $5 million to create, then they should’ve used their $20 million to create a more enticing advertisement.

Alexa

When it comes to Super Bowl ads, Amazon doesn’t disappoint, and the company kept their reputation up another year with an ad poking fun at all of the “failed” Amazon artificial intelligence products, including an explosive hot tub and a regrettable dog-feeding machine. This ad was packed with stars, most notably Harrison Ford, who took a break from his movie fame to overfeed his dog.