While the 2015 Super Bowl proved to be an exciting competition between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, the Super Bowl commercials took part in their own competition too, vying to be the best in their coveted time-slots.
While some companies such as Esurance, Loctite and Snickers attempted to make people laugh, others companies such as Coca-Cola, Carnival and Proctor and Gamble’s Always brand used their millions of dollars to spark emotion in the audience. And Nationwide…well, they tried to do both. While Nationwide’s attempt to start a conversation about childhood deaths may have failed in the eyes of the public, there was a general sense of seriousness among the Super Bowl advertisements that has not previously existed. This especially applied to the emphasis on fathers. That’s right—the spotlight during the Super Bowl commercials was on dads. Dove highlighted the role that care plays in giving a man “real strength,” while Nissan and Toyota commercials discussed the important role that dads play in our lives, complete with teary-eyed older men and lots of hugging.
In light of the NFL’s controversial year, the types of commercials that aired do not come as a surprise. Although controversy is nothing new for the NFL, 2014 was especially clouded with the issue of domestic violence. During the Super Bowl, the league finally took some necessary steps to address these issues, through a commercial created by No More, an advocacy group dedicated to raising public awareness and ending domestic violence and sexual assault. The air-time and money necessary to create the ad was donated by the NFL.
Although the ad is chilling and certainly sparked an emotional response from viewers all over the country, it was a step in the right direction for the NFL, who has left much of the public angry over their mishandling of various domestic violence cases this past year. Only time will tell if the NFL is actually committed to improve upon their past, or if the commercial is simply a commercial and nothing further.
While the Seahawk’s disastrous pass at the end of the game made it clear that the Patriots would emerge victorious, it’s harder to definitively say who won the battle between the advertisements. The sentimental commercials may not have gone over too well for those who just wanted to have some light-hearted, beer-drinking, screaming-at-the-TV, football fun. But it seems like there is a concerted effort on the part of the NFL to make the commercials they feature more meaningful than ever before. Whether this new style of Super Bowl commercials appealed to you or not, there is one thing we can all agree on–Nationwide should have stopped while they were ahead.
You can watch all the commercials and pick your favorites here.
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