Super Bowl ads tend to be almost too creative, and knowing the pressures of Super Bowl 50, would advertisers give us some quality food-related Super Bowl commercials for Super Bowl 50?
We got a new Col. Sanders to promote the new Nashville hot chicken.
Jim Gaffigan replaces Norm Macdonald in the role. While we are partial to Macdonald, despite the unorthodox approach to the character, Gaffigan almost seems perfect for the role.
Gaffigan loves food, especially fast food. He's from Indiana, a state that borders Kentucky. He is a bit pudgy for the role, but then again, Col. Harlan Sanders lived in a time where high-fructose corn syrup didn't exist, and people weren't nearly as fat as they are now.
The voice in the voiceover, which we are assuming is Gaffigan, is as close as anyone has come to the actual Col. Sanders voice. Though this was before even I was born, but my parents used to visit his restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky before there was a Kentucky Fried Chicken. You can find his actual voice in ads on YouTube from decades ago.
The end of the ad implies we might not have seen the last of MacDonald in the role, but am intrigued for what Gaffigan will do as the "Colonel."
Avocados from Mexico takes us into space showing us relics from Earth's past, such as the Rubik's Cube and Scott Baio. However, avocados from Mexico are available year-round. Clever, even if the comparison isn't clear at all. Unlike most food and food-related ads, this ad tells us about the product. Not nearly as good as last year's the first draft ever spot but that one would have been tough to top.
"Without You" by Nilsson is 45 years old, yet is the perfect song as dachshunds in hot dog costumes run toward people in ketchup bottles. Those of us who appreciate that you can't actually put ketchup on a hot dog (hello, Chicago) like the fact that mustard is in the group of ketchups. Especially love the close-up on Simply Heinz, which does not have high-fructose corn syrup. Funny, memorable, and relevant.
The latest Snickers ad features Willem Dafoe as Marilyn Monroe, where the celebrity is out of place. The ad recalls the famous subway grate scene. Eugene Levy gives us a nice cameo at the end of the spot. Not in the range of the Marcia Brady spot, but not too bad.
The Taco Bell Quesalupa will be #biggerthaneverything, though in reality, it's a taco with cheese in the shell. A lovely beautiful commercial that even finds time to compare football to real football (soccer). An outstanding ad that if you base it on the product, you'll be disappointed. But that was fun to watch.
The Coke Mini ad has many positive and negative points, and often they are the same thing. Using the Incredible Hulk and Ant-Man was a great use of size extremes, but you're also using super heroes to promote sugar water. The Coke Mini is only 7.5 oz., which is more than half of the regular 12 oz. and about 1/3 of the 20 oz. bottles the kids are really drinking.
So the Coke Mini is small, but 6 oz. might be even better. But, of course, that would be a version without high-fructose corn syrup.
An entertaining ad that gives some relevance to the product. And definitely menorable.
Here are the highlights from food and food-related Super Bowl ads from Super Bowl 50:
- Doritos ultrasound paints a picture where a fetus can't resist Doritos so the fetus exits the womb at sonic speed. Doritos ads haven't been good lately and this one was the worst. The 2nd half spot with the dogs is the best in recent memory, though the bar is really low.
- Butterfinger on a cow jumping from a plane. A typical Super Bowl ad: flashy but not memorable beyond the 48-hour incubation period. If this ad runs for the next month, it might improve in your mind.
- Skittles is technically food. Steven Tyler confronts a self-portrait in the Skittles candy. Decent spot, even if Tyler is old enough to be the grandfather of the target Skittles demo.
- Mountain Dew Kickstart found its target demo ultimate in puppy monkey baby. The trio is supposed to reflect Dew juice caffeine, though Dew has caffeine. If you love puppy monkey baby, there is no correlation to the product. If you don't love puppy monkey baby, you are probably at least 30.
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