There are people who watch the Super Bowl for some football game, and those who watch it for the movie trailers and the commercials. We have talked about the trailers. So let’s talk about a few of the commercials. I will not be ranking them, just talking about the ones I appreciated most.
Rocket Mortgage: Home
This ad featured Jason Momoa, the star of Aquaman. In the spot, the muscled action star drives past a pack of paparazzi on his way home. “What does home mean to me?” Momoa says. “It’s my sanctuary,” the one place on earth where he can truly be himself. What does that mean? It means that the real Jason Momoa, is a balding, skinny man who wears a wig, elevator shoes, fake arms, and a prosthetic torso out in public. The ads narration continues: “Home is where you feel the most comfortable. And Rocket Mortgage helps you feel comfortable financing that home.” While this is going on, the now scrawny, balding Momoa strums out a tune on a Hawaiian lap steel guitar. It ends as the less beefed up Momoa struggles at the bench press lifting the empty bar. This is while his wife Lisa Bonet spots him, holding the bar with one arm and encouraging his efforts. For one brief moment, I am bigger than Jason Momoa. Though the skinny one would still kick my ass.
Doritos: Old Town Road
The last few years, the advertising folks at Doritos have made make some clever spots (like front yard time machine). This ad is no exception. In this year’s Doritos spot, “Old Town Road” rapper Lil Nas X rides into a dust-caked Western town—named “Cool Ranch.” Why? to compete in a high noon–style dance-off with … Sam Elliott. That alone was worth the price of admission. In the end, Lil Nas X wins, mainly because his horse is much more talented that Elliott’s horse. It’s nice to see a horse knows his limits. So what was Lil Nas X’s prize? A bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. What else would be the prize in a town called “Cool Ranch.”
Google: Loretta
This ad had a few different meanings but I took it in a personal context. My wife’s mother lives with us and is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s. She doesn’t really remember who anyone is these days so this spot struck home. It features a man who uses Google Assistant to reminisce about his late wife, Loretta. He does so by searching for photos, places visited, their favorite movie and more so as not to forget. It’s inspired by a true story — the grandfather of a Google employee. And it did it’s job in a big way…for me.
Jeep: Groundhog’s Day
One of my favorite Bill Murray films was Groundhog’s Day. Jeep’s spot offers a clever homage to the 1993 film. It opens on Bill Murray in bed, woken by the sound of Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You, Babe” blaring from an ancient clock radio. “Oh, no,” Murray moans. Yep, it’s the Groundhog Day time loop once again. Many of our favorites are there , Ned Ryerson is there, as is Brian Doyle-Murray and of course, the groundhog. There’s also a bright orange Jeep Gladiator parked on the street. Of course there is. This IS a Jeep commercial after all. “Oh, that’s different,” says Murray, and he grabs the groundhog and drives off in the car. Morning after morning he leaps out of bed, makes his way downtown to borrow the groundhog and that cool Jeep again, and again. The spot ends with the tag line: “No day is the same in a Jeep Gladiator.” Although, this commercial might prove otherwise. Clever Spot.
Hyundai Sonata: Smaht Pahk
This spot for the Hyundai Sonata introduces the car’s new “smart park” feature. However, being natives of Massachusetts — Rachel Dratch, Chris Evans, and John Krasinski adopt their exaggerated Boston accents to demonstrate its “smaht pahk” feature. Click a button and the car parks itself. (I would be lying if I didn’t admit that the way I park that would come in handy). I took turns being amused by Dratch, Evans, and Kasinski and marveling at the self parking car.
There were other ads of note, i.e. the Mountain Dew spoof of the Shining starring Bryan Cranston, and the Tom Brady Hulu ad teasing his future plans.
Which were your favorite commercials? Share your advertising acumen with us at GeekVibesNation.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
