Take a 30 second pause: it’s time for a commercial

Take a 30 second pause: its time for a commercial

Avae' Muir

By: Avae’ Muir –

The always popular Super Bowl was no different this year, with numerous get-togethers and with people either celebrating the win of the Philadelphia Eagles or partially mourning the loss of the New England Patriots. According to CBS, the Super Bowl had about 103.4 million views this year, but it has declined about 10% over the last few years. While the game is important to most,, the commercials are equally as important as the game itself to many, as well. Of the millions of those who watched the Super Bowl, 25 percent of the viewers surveyed considered commercials to be the most important part of the game according to ama.org.

But in order to reserve a spot in the commercial line up, companies have to shell out a pretty penny for a 30 second commercial. This year, a commercial during the Super Bowl cost five million dollars and prices have gone up 76% in the last decade according to Kantar Media.

The “Alexa Loses Her Voice” advertisement by Amazon, advertising their Amazon Echo, was ranked number one on USA Today’s Ad Meter. In the commercial, Alexa loses her voice causing Amazon Headquarters to try a new idea. Alexa is replaced by celebrities, including Chef Gordon Ramsay, “Bodak Yellow” singer Cardi B, “Pitch Perfect” actress Rebel Wilson and “Silence of the Lambs” actor Anthony Hopkins trying to answer questions that Alexa owners ask. The funny part of the advertisement is that the responses from the celebrities perfectly match their personality and confuse the person that asked the question to begin with. No one really knows what happened to Alexa in the end, but maybe it’s a sign that the famous Alexa will be getting a new voice. In general, I think that the commercial is really strong because it gets people’s attention, it has good humor and celebrities which are valued in American society. However, there is a part where Gordon Ramsay swears, as the chef is known to do, but, it is blurred and muted out. Even though it is censored, I think a small amount of people might be offended by this, especially if they have small children watching.

On the more emotional side of things, Verizon released an advertisement to thank our first responders. Natural disasters cost more than $306 billion in damage in 2017 according to Time and that’s the only side of the story we hear. We don’t always realize how much our first responders do for us and how much they can impact people’s lives. In the commercial, people share their experience of being rescued years later and are able to thank the first responders who helped them through a phone call. The advertisement also has various photos of incredible rescues. This is the best way for Verizon to show that its service doesn’t just work, but is reliable in all situations. Justin Timberlake is the narrator in their 10 second version of the advertisement and supports the idea of thanking our first responders. People were also able to empathize with it because tragedies are all things we face as humans. People also like happy endings and all the stories shared ended well and the families had only grown closer since the tragedy.

Tide’s series of ads, which were a favorite of many viewers, managed to  simultaneously  spoof beer, car, perfume, insurance, jewelry, Coke, and Amazon Echo/Google Home advertisements with the help of “Stranger Things” actor David Harbour. The commercial makes fun of these different kinds of commercials and their tropes, then brings it back to their product saying that “It’s a Tide advertisement,” because they’re all wearing clean clothes. Just as the commercial is coming to a close, it poses the question; is every Super Bowl advertisement a Tide advertisement because they’re wearing perfectly clean clothes? This is a good commercial because it keeps you guessing throughout the entire commercial what it’s actually trying to advertise and then ends with a question that makes you think. It keeps the audience engaged the entire duration because instead of being annoyed by a commercial from the start trying to sell you something you don’t want, you’re trying to figure out what’s actually being sold.

Overall, the 2018 Super Bowl did a good job of having a variety of commercials that captured people’s attention in many different ways. Some were hilarious, while others touched people’s hearts. No one is really sure what next year’s Super Bowls commercials will be like but make sure to not only pay attention the game but the advertisements as well!

 

Philadelphia Eagles’ Chris Long celebrates with his family after the NFL football NFC championship game against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018, in Philadelphia. The Eagles won 38-7 to advance to Super Bowl LII. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)