Super Bowl LIII, also known as the lowest scoring Super Bowl in history was dull, to say the least. The people of the internet had plenty to say about the game (or lack thereof) and let’s not forget all the posts about shirtless Adam Levine, and SpongeBob introducing Travis Scott.
So, where does that leave the 2019 commercials? Much like The Rams’ offense, I thought most brands played it pretty safe on the commercial front. A few themes that did catch my attention were the growing number of spots mentioning competitors by name (Bud Light, Sprint and Pepsi), the abundance of paid celebrities and the heavy use of technology/robots in the commercials.
In no particular order, here are my top Super Bowl 2019 commercials:
- “The Coach Who Wouldn’t Be Here” by Verizon: To me, this was the most emotional commercial. I thought it was impressive that Verizon was able to reunite Anthony Lynn with the first responders that saved his life and evoke genuine emotions for all involved and for those who watched it unfold during the commercial. “First responders answer the call. Our job is to make sure they can get it” is a creative and powerful tagline that tied the spot together well.
- “More Than OK” by Pepsi: There is nothing I love more than self-awareness, so to me, Pepsi hit the nail on the head doing an ad around the popular question “Is Pepsi okay?” Not to mention, I thought it was creative to use the two celebrities who are known for their unique catchphrase versions of “Okay” to add some humor to the mix. Plus, you can’t go wrong with Steve Carell.
- “The 100-Year Game” by The NFL: Anyone who works in marketing can tell you it is no easy feat to organize a video shoot or any kind of shoot for that matter. So, I’m pretty impressed the NFL was able to get 40+ NFL legends to shoot something like this (not to mention they are athletes and not professional actors). Beyond the coordination, the creativity of the spot was on point. For me, it was good to see the NFL laugh at itself for a change too.
