Super Bowl 50 was played on Sunday, February 7, 2016, ending with a 24-10 win of the Denver Broncos against the Carolina Panthers. With superstar Lady Gaga acing the National Anthem, and Coldplay, Bruno Mars, and Beyoncé rocking halftime, over 114.4 million people watched this historic game. While many watched the football game for the game itself, many others watched solely for headline-making, exclusive Super Bowl commercials. With many companies devoting millions of dollars for a thirty second ad, they are always sure to please.
Although this year there weren’t any heartwarming ads about lost puppies or puppy/clydesdale love, there was an ad featuring lots and lots of puppies. Heinz Ketchup’s Super Bowl commercial featured many Dachshunds, adults and puppies alike, dressed as hot dogs. These dogs proceeded to run towards a family of Heinz ketchup, mustard and other condiments, jumping on and licking them and having fun. Heinz celebrated this ad with the hashtag #MeettheKetchups.
Another favorite commercial of mine was the NFL’s “Super Bowl Babies” music video. The NFL isn’t a regular sponsor of the Super Bowl commercial-wise, but in honor of Super Bowl 50, it created a cute music video. It starts with Super Bowl Babies born in 2008 wearing New York Giants hats, scarves and coats and the words “Data suggests 9 months after a Super Bowl victory, winning cities see a rise in births. They’re called Super Bowl Babies.” The video proceeds to show Super Bowl Babies of an assortment of victory years and a few “Super Bowl Parents.” It was a cute little testament to past Super Bowls.
In my third favorite commercial, by Hyundai, actor Kevin Hart acted as a father whose teenage daughter was going on a date. He let her date take his car and tracked them all around town while they were on their date. He followed them to the movies and to the fair, even spying on them from a helicopter. The commercial made me and the entirety of my Super Bowl party attendants, a large portion of whom are parents, laugh very hard.
Coming in at a very close second, the Doritos “Ultrasound” commercial also made it on the list. In this commercial, a woman is going in for an ultrasound. Her husband stands by her side eating a bag of nacho cheese Doritos. On the monitor, we see the baby reaching for the husband’s Dorito. The husband moves the Dorito around, making the baby chase after it. The mother eventually takes the Dorito from her husband and throws it across the room. The baby proceeds to follow and everyone, the mother, father, and doctor begin to freak out.
My number one favorite commercial was the Mtn. Dew Kickstart commercial entitled “Puppy Monkey Baby.” It featured a hybrid puppy, monkey, and baby that crashes an apartment. All the hybrid says throughout the commercial is “Puppy Monkey Baby” and, at one point, licks the face of one of the men in the apartment between words. It’s a mix of terrifying, strange and cute; and in my opinion, is absolute perfection.
I adored the Super Bowl commercials this year, as I always have. They were a joy to watch and the game would not have been as fun or entertaining without them. From touching, to funny, to creepy, there was certainly a commercial for everyone.
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