By: Carley Thieret | The Duquesne Duke
There is no event that brings people together quite like the Super Bowl.
Although the Super Bowl is considered a spectacle for sports fans, it encompasses components that make it an enjoyable source of entertainment for the viewer who doesn’t know the difference between a field goal and touchdown. Friends, food and of course the anticipation of the halftime show always make for great Super Bowl entertainment, but the commercials are always a major source of hype surrounding the big game.
Many eyes turned to the companies that shelled out a whopping $4 million according to The Washington Post article “The rules of the Super Bowl ad game.” Each commercial runs for their 30 seconds and companies hope their commercial stood out to the 111.5 million viewers.
Radio Shack nabbed the title of best commercial according to the Today Show Countdown with their flashback advertisement. I have not shopped at Radio Shack in years, and honestly forgot the store even existed. Their commercial featured famous stars from the ‘80s, such as Hulk Hogan, Dee Snider, Teen Wolf and others, showing that they were taking the old out of Radio Shack and turning it into a new and modernized technology hot spot. Radio Shack brought back their brand image while getting positive feedback about their commercial as well.
A local Pittsburgh company took the plunge in producing a commercial for the Super Bowl for the first time, and broadcasted all across the nation, it was a hit. Heinz Ketchup featured a family humming the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It” while using their famous Ketchup bottle as the instrumental background. And of course, they end it with the farting sound that an empty bottle makes.
The Budweiser Clydesdales are always Super Bowl commercial fan favorites and this year was no exception. They added a new furry friend in 2014. The theme of this commercial was not letting go of the one you love, and the Clydesdales added a new member to their bunch in the form of a puppy dog that they couldn’t let go. With the hashtag #Bestbuds and a scampering puppy, Budweiser was once again a hit to animal lovers everywhere.
Esurance had the first commercial after the Superbowl and John Krasinski (The Office) announced on it that one Twitter user who used the hashtag #EsuranceSave30 would win $1.5 million, the amount Esurance allegedly saved by airing their commercial after the game. What a prize for one tweet.
Car commercials were also on the decline this year. Both Chevy and Chrysler negative feedback according to Yahoo News. I am not sure what was worse, Bob Dylan pushing American values or two bulls romancing to the song, “You Sexy Thing.”
We have the good and also the bad. But what about the controversial?
Coca Cola made some noise with their “America the Beautiful” commercial featuring the song being sung in many different languages. Coke received both positive and negative feedback for this ad, especially through social media sites like Twitter. Tweets such as, “Coke lost a lot of drinkers on that one. This is America d—–. We speak English” and “Dear people offended by the multilingual Coke commercial: Please research how America was founded. #nationofimmigrants.” Coke took a major risk taking the patriotic approach to their advertisement, and it will be interesting to see if their sales are impacted.
The Super Bowl had the largest amount of viewers in television history, which put Seahawks, Broncos and advertisers at the center of attention Sunday night.