Every company wants their ad to be known as one of the best Super Bowl commercials of all time, but not every advertiser is up to the task.
Far from being just a football game, the Super Bowl has evolved into a three-pronged entertainment event. Yes, there’s the matchup, but there’s equal interest in the halftime show. Because of these two draws, the event is the most expensive advertising bloc on television. This year, there were clear winners in each category. Football-wise, the Eagles demolished the Chiefs. At halftime, Kendrick Lamar (feat. Serena) doubled down on his post-Grammys victory over Drake. And as far the commercials, women-focused spots won for sure.
In case you forgot, Williams has her own longstanding beef with Drake.
The commercials are always a little wacky. Seal as a seal is certainly memorable. Adam Devine hawking a water bottle, a bit mystifying. There were two unrelated commercials about men’s facial hair flying off their faces and through the air (Eugene Levy’s eyebrows took flight after he tried a new Little Caesar’s product, while Nick Offerman’s mustache escaped thanks to Pringles), which was downright weird. Personally, I was not a fan of a winged baby telling me to go to the bathroom, even if Angel Soft makes perfectly good toilet paper. I didn’t hate Shane Gillis and Morgan Wallen rocket launching Bud Light across the suburbs, but then Tom Brady needed his batteries changed and it was like, what are we doing here?
Yet amid the glut of mid marketing, a few spots stood out as creative, effective and powerful. And they were all aimed squarely at women.
Dove’s plea to keep girls and women confident, showing a three-year-old racing down the street, was poignant if a little morose. Surely not all of us hate our legs! But if it keeps even one girl from quitting sports due to insecurity, its definitely worth the price of body wash.
Even better was the NFL’s own push to make girl’s flag football a varsity sport. (Click through to YouTube to watch the ad in full.) If you truly care about women in sports (looking at you, transphobes), then actually promote women’s sports…
Which Nike did with the second-best of the night, a black-and-white paean to our current top female athletes. I could watch Sha’Carri Richardson run all day. Caitlin Clark, look into my eyes so that I may absorb your power. Jordan Chiles, you will always be famous.
The best of the evening was by Novartis, featuring NFL WAG Hailee Steinfeld and double mastectomy survivor Wanda Sykes. Having seen on the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders documentary just how much emphasis they place on tying that knot to boost the boobies, we actually love the idea of taking the nation’s breast fixation (a certain Janet Jackson halftime moment comes to mind) and using it to save lives.
And while it may not be aimed squarely at women—we all eat chips—an honorable mention must go to Lay’s spot with the little girl who plants a potato. Would lowkey die for little potato girl.
So, what’s up with the quality discrepancy in Super Bowl commercials? Do advertisers think men are stupid and will only respond to cartoon nonsense or celebrity faces? I would never say that, what I’m saying is, are they saying that?
The post The 5 Best Super Bowl Commercials This Year Were Made For Women appeared first on Glamour.
