Super Bowl ads dialed up fun as an antidote to politics

NEW YORK (AP) — In the real world, political primaries are looming, impeachment is ongoing and heavy news never seems to stop. But during commercial breaks in the Super Bowl, advertisers did their best to serve up an antidote heavily spiked with fun.

True, political ads did invade the game, with President Trump and Michael Bloomberg, one of his Democratic challengers, both running spots. But mostly advertisers struck back with millions spent on celebrities, humor and even some weirdness.

“Just let us have fun,” said Stacey Wykoski, an administrative assistant.in Grand Rapids, Michigan who watched the game at a Super Bowl Party with around a dozen people. “We’re going to be so deluged with political ads over the next nine months.”

For the most part, Super Bowl advertisers tried to oblige. They stayed away from social-cause messages and focused on lighthearted ads, stuffing them with popular celebrities, hit songs, funny dances and other gambits to appeal to Americans.

“This year it’s all about a return to Super Bowl basics,” said Kelly O’Keefe, managing partner of consultancy Brand Federation. “This is a year of pure escapism at a time when we all crave a little escape.”

DELIVERING ON FUN

Since the Super Bowl falls on Groundhog’s Day this year, it was nearly inevitable that there would be a nod to the classic 1993 movie. Jeep took the ball and ran with it, painstakingly recreating the town square and other locations from the film and casting original actors Bill Murray, Brian Doyle Murray and Stephen Tobolowsky. The twist: instead of a Chevrolet truck, Murray uses a Jeep Gladiator truck for his daily exploits.

Cheetos capitalized on nostalgia by using the 30-year old MC Hammer classic “U Can’t Touch This.” The snack-food ad featured a man with bright orange Cheetos dust on his hands who can’t stop to help move furniture or take care of office tasks. Hammer himself — “Hammer pants” and all — also kept popping up to utter his iconic catchphrase.

If ads starred one celebrity, they often had more. Coke launched Coke Energy with an ad showing actor Jonah Hill rallying to meet Martin Scorsese at a party by drinking Coke’s new energy drink.

But stuffing celebrities in ads didn’t always work. Hard Rock International enlisted Michael Bay for a frenetic commercial showing a frenzied heist caper involving Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez DJ Khaled, Pitbull, and Steven Van Zandt.

Charles Taylor, marketing professor at Villanova University, said many ads were “busy” with a lot going on. “They’re going by quickly and it is hard to pick everything up.”