One of the main reasons to watch the Super Bowl is to see what commercials will be aired. That, and to see the halftime show. (Katy Perry and her dancing sharks? Um, YES, please.)
Even if you weren't rooting for either team last night, and even if you couldn't care less about Tom Brady, there was still enjoyment to be had from tuning in to the game.
Luckily, there's a commercial break literally every two minutes during the Super Bowl. You could even view the game as your "break" time, and the commercials as mandatory viewing.
Last night's ads boasted a wide range of themes. There were plenty of LOL-worthy commercials (Katie Couric and Bryant Gumbel talking about twerking, for one) as well as lots of poignant material (Microsoft was throwing some heavy hitters last night).
Here's a quick breakdown of the highs and lows from last night's commercials:
The Good
Walter White, "Say My Name" (Esurance)
For anyone who longs for the glory days of "Breaking Bad" (everyone in the world, of course), this commercial was perfection.
The only thing that could have made it better would have been if Jesse popped up from behind the counter alongside Walter.
Did anyone else think that woman looked a lot like Skyler?
The Brady Bunch (Snickers)
This ad was already amazing, as Snickers continued to play on its tried and true slogan, and then threw in Steve-freaking-Buscemi.
There was a collective, "OMG, literally dying," heard from around the world during this commercial. Insert crying laughing face emoji here.
#LikeAGirl (Always)
Can I get a "yaaaaassssss" on this one?
Anything that involves empowering young girls is a home run (or touchdown) in my book. This commercial is similar to CoverGirl's #GirlsCan campaign, which was also hugely successful for the same reason.
It's important to teach young girls they can do anything they want to, and their gender doesn't limit them, but only makes them stronger.
Best Buds (Budweiser)
To be honest, I wrestled with putting this on the "bad" list, just because it made me ugly-cry and ruin my mascara. But, at the end of the day, that puppy was just too cute.
I'm not sure what this commercial has to do with beer, and it certainly didn't make me want to drink a Bud, but I like an adorable chubby puppy as much as the next warm-blooded girl.
That said, I do kind of miss the "waazzzaaap" commercials of the good ole days.
The Bad
With Dad (Nissan)
I'm a little torn on this one. I mean, on the one hand, it's sort of touching, and it's hard not to feel a little moved, especially with their choice of a soundtrack.
But, after the commercial was over, I had to take a step back and think, wait a second, what did I just watch?
It sort of seemed like this racer dad was pretty MIA throughout the entire trajectory of the commercial's story. And then he shows up with a car and his son is like, "Cool." Not sure about that one, Nissan. Absentee dads aren't exactly a selling point.
#MakeItHappy (Coca-Cola)
It's clear the intention behind this ad is a good one: "The world is what we make of it." But, this commercial completely trivializes some serious problems in our society. Bullying -- cyberbullying, specifically -- is a huge issue that affects nearly half of all teens.
If only it were as simple as this ad makes it seem; let's all drink some soda and get along. Unfortunately, that's not the case, and it's going to take a lot more than a sugary drink to combat bullying-induced depression in teenagers.
The Ugly
"I Won't Get to Grow Up" (Nationwide)
Because this ad is super vague, it's hard to discern what the message is. A lot of people are understandably interpreting the commercial to mean, "Buy our insurance and your kid won't die!"
I think Nationwide is trying to advocate for supervision and protection of kids, but its intention is lost in the darkness of the ad.
Ultimately, it appears as though the company is exploiting the horrible accidents that happen to children for the purposes of its own advertisement. Fail.
The Middle Seat (Doritos)
Great, another reason for parents to feel guilty about bringing their babies on a flight.
There are a lot of things worse than crying babies on airplanes; I think we could all agree we'd rather sit next to a young mom and her baby than a smelly, rude, farting dude with no respect for personal space (for example).
A lot of people found this ad to be funny, but it's pretty offensive and just perpetuates the common trend of parents feeling obligated to apologize for their children's mere presence. Not cool, Doritos. Not cool.
