While I did not watch the Super Bowl this year, I have heard all about the game (poor Denver), the halftime show (yay Bruno Mars!), and of course the commercials. There were cute, heartwarming ones, like the Cheerios commercial with the interracial family. There were commercials that brought back some memories, like the Seinfeld reunion commercial. There were also controversial commercials, like the multi-cultural Coca-Cola commercial. No matter how you look at it, the Super Bowl commercials did exactly what they always set out to do: start conversations, make people think, take sides, and form opinions. No matter what you thought of each commercial, whether you thought it was boring, stupid, or pointless, or had positive things to say, you had something to say. Companies spend millions of dollars to make us talk, so here are a few of the most conversation worthy 2014 Super Bowl commercials.
Cheerios:
I am a huge fan of this commercial family, and I have been since before the game. The plot of the former commercial is that there is a little girl talking to her mother about Cheerios and how they help your heart. Then the commercial cuts to her father waking up on the couch with Cheerios on his chest. Very sweet, very cute. In the new commercial, the little girl, Gracie’s, dad is telling her that she is going to have a new brother. And her reaction is adorable. When Cheerios first introduced us to this family, many people took issue with it because Gracie is a biracial child. Her mother is white and her father is black. And for some reason, people thought that sent a bad message. Anyway, with the Super Bowl commercial there has not been as many harsh reactions. Possibly due to controversy from another high-profile commercial, and their unique take on race in America.
Coca-Cola
The commercial with what was probably the most controversial reactions from the viewers of the Super Bowl was Coke’s “America the Beautiful” commercial. People immediately took to social media to express their outrage about the commercial. As seen on Huffington Post and Buzzfeed, people were angry about Coke’s use of many languages to sing ‘America the Beautiful.’ There was ignorance and racism galore. People said that they are going to boycott the company and support rival Pepsi. On the other hand, many other people saw the commercial and saw the beauty and wonder in the commercial. America is diverse. It has developed into a land where everyone is (or should be) welcome. There is no reason for such hatred to be present over something so innocent and well-intentioned.
Seinfeld Reunion:
The reunion that everyone had always been anticipating: Seinfeld! There were tales of it happening weeks before, but when it came into fruition, people flipped! The commercial is a commercial “about nothing,” as Seinfeld was “a show about nothing.” We are reunited with Jerry, George, and Newman. The men are as entertaining as usual. And America reacted as such. We will always love Seinfeld. And to see more of Jerry Seinfeld beig himself, visit his website where he has a series with himself speaking with different comedians.
The Super Bowl commercials make us laugh, cry, and groan. We all have some kind of feeling about them. This year had greats and duds, and these were just a few of my favorites.