February Campaigns of the Month – Super Bowl Special.

Welcome to another Campaigns of the Month blog, where we showcase our favourite campaigns and basically just talk about how great advertising is. As last month saw 113 million people tune in to Super Bowl LVII, we thought it would be interesting to look at some of the best ads that appeared in the run-up to the game and, of course, during the breaks. Because let’s face it, the Super Bowl is almost as famous for the ads as it is for the half-time show and the football. So without further ado, here’s a rundown of our favourites. Hut. 

M&Ms: Chocolate Clam Bites 

Late in January, M&M’s created a bit of a stir with a fake announcement that actress Maya Rudolph would be taking the place of the brand’s famous spokescandy mascots. Rudolph plays it up as though it’s true in the Super Bowl ad, revealing that she’ll be switching out the chocolate sweets for chocolate-dipped clam bites of all things. It’s a great ad and a campaign that obviously has more legs left in it. 

Budweiser: Six Degrees of Bud

This one was probably quite strange for UK viewers as we know Kevin Bacon as the voice of EE. But once you get past that, Budweiser’s ad is a real beauty. Revamping the brand’s famous slogan, “this bud’s for you”, it shows a six-pack of bottles being passed around a group of friends, playing on the six degrees of Kevin Bacon idea. From the voiceover to the music and the way it’s shot and edited, it’s one to remember.   

T-Mobile: New Neighbour 

John Travolta, the Hollywood actor that’s done so much more than Grease, joins comedy duo Zach Braff and Donald Faison in a – you guessed it – Grease-inspired musical piece celebrating T-Mobile’s 5G home internet service. It’s probably not a brilliant ad but I was a huge Scrubs fan so I had to put this one in. Plus, you can’t really go wrong with a catchy jingle and some funny celebs. 

Tubi: Rabbit Hole   

Free streaming service Tubi stole the show in my opinion with its super weird ad, “Rabbit Hole”. The commercial shows giant bunnies hunting down ordinary citizens, dragging them away and dropping them into literal “rabbit holes” of video discovery, all set to a haunting operatic score. The ad was given a Super Clio award as the best commercial of the Super Bowl. Hard to argue really. 

Pepsi: Great Acting or Great Taste? 

When you’re a brand as big as Pepsi, you can kind of do what you want. This year it put out two separate Super Bowl ads as part of its “Great Acting or Great Taste?” campaign. Hollywood legends Ben Stiller and Steve Martin feature and deliver with comedic panache as you’d quite rightly expect them to. The extended ads are definitely worth watching and bonus points if you can spot the Zoolander cameo.  

Tubi: Interface Interruption  

One ad wasn’t enough for Tubi either with this cheeky little commercial that would have caught plenty of viewers out at home. Only 15 seconds long, it fooled sports fans into thinking someone in their living room had taken (or possibly even sat on) the TV remote and switched from the game to Tubi’s listing guide. Very clever. 

Finally, the Serena Williams show… 

Not content with letting Rihanna take all the limelight during her half-time show, tennis legend Serena Williams had her fair share of air time by appearing in two Super Bowl ads. The first was an inspirational ad for cognac brand Remy Martin, with the second a lighter affair in which beer brand Michelob ULTRA pitted her against acting supremo Brian Cox in a golf match to end all golf matches.

There were so many great Super Bowl ads this year that it was really difficult to choose our favourites. Did you have a particular favourite that didn’t make the cut? Let us know in the comments wherever you saw this blog.