Commercials that won the Super Bowl

In case you missed it, football’s biggest night happened on Sunday. While the game was an epic win for the Eagles, and everyone was left wondering if Justin Timberlake looked in the mirror before leaving his dressing room, we are still buzzing about our favorite commercials. As much as it was football’s biggest night, it was also one of the biggest nights for advertising, with companies paying upwards of $5 million for a 30-second spot. This year, the ads mostly focused on entertaining the audience, compared to last year when many took an active political stance. Here are the commercials we think took the top spots.

Doritos Blaze vs. Mountain Dew Ice

This commercial features an epic lip sync battle between “Game of Thrones” star Peter Dinklage and Morgan Freeman. They flawlessly pretend to spit rhymes by Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes while promoting two products from PepsiCo. Utilizing Dinklage was a smart move since “Game of Thrones” has recently been called the world’s most popular TV show, and let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to see Morgan Freeman rap to Missy Elliot’s, “Get Your Freak On.” It made us want to grab some Doritos and a cold Mountain Dew.

Alexa Loses Her Voice

Jeff Bezos himself makes a cameo in this ad, where everyone’s beloved Alexa loses her voice. Cue A-list celebrities to the rescue. Gordon Ramsey, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Cardi B and Rebel Wilson all make a cameo in this commercial as they ‘replace’ Alexa and it will leave you laughing.

Touchdown Celebrations to Come

How many times have you tried to re-create that famous Dirty Dancing scene from the end of the movie? Be honest, you’ve tried at least once. Well, Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. blew us all out of the water with this commercial where they flawlessly (if not a bit awkwardly) perform the dance, including the famous flying lift. Need we say more? This was downright entertaining and set the bar pretty high for touchdown celebrations next season.

It’s a Tide Ad

With one commercial during every quarter of the game, Tide went big this year and left you questioning if every ad you were watching was indeed a Tide ad. They brilliantly spoofed a variety of typical Super Bowl commercials using “Stranger Things” actor David Harbour. The series of ads did an excellent job of using humor to make you believe that if you saw clean clothes, Tide was likely involved. Bravo.

This is Getting Old

This commercial from E*Trade was both entertaining and sobering at the same time. While it was meant to draw laughs, featuring elderly lifeguards, firefighters, and D.J’s singing, “I’m 85 and I want to go home,” there was nothing funny about the statistic at the end of the commercial. Over one-third of Americans have no retirement or savings. This commercial did a great job of tackling a serious subject in a humorous manner, and if you were watching and were a part of that one third, chances are you are making a phone call to open a retirement account today. Mission accomplished, E*Trade.

Businesses with a cause

A theme we noticed across multiple advertisements was highlighting causes instead of products. Businesses have been going this route more often as research has shown that more consumers are choosing a brand who supports a cause they care about. More than ever, a brand’s social responsibility matters when people are making a choice, so it seems like a no-brainer that companies are highlighting their philanthropic endeavors. Companies like Budweiser, Hyundai, and Verizon all took this route and left us with all the feels.

-Rachel Dilling, Director of Public Relations

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June 26, 2017

SNL: The Show That Wouldn’t Die

In recent months Nielsen (the Godfather of TV ratings) has declared Saturday Night Live to be among the season’s top-ten regularly scheduled entertainment series, for adults 18-50. A lofty approval rating never before awarded to a non-prime time show. Viewership for this NBC’s sketch comedy series soared by more than 30 percent, compared to last season, reaching levels it hasn’t seen since the Clinton era. Who can forget the infamous Monica Lewinsky sketch played by John Goodman?

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This 42^nd Season of SNL has been loaded with spot on sketches, most provided by actors and actresses who ‘guest appeared’ or ‘hosted’ the show. Alec Baldwin as President Trump has been touted ‘perfection’ by the public and those who reside in tinsel town. Baldwin’s antics as President hopeful Donald Trump were done to such a delicious degree, rumors spread throughout TV land that Baldwin should be awarded the Best Actor Emmy Award for his portrayal. And who can forget the ‘surprise’ visit by Trump’s Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, overzealously played by an almost unrecognizable Melissa McCarthy? The video of McCarthy throwing back gum and yelling at the press corps went viral almost immediately and will go down in history as one of the funniest SNL sketches of all time.

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Saturday Night Live has been on NBC since October 11, 1975. This mark of longevity for a TV show is not only incredible but truly unbelievable. It concluded its forty-second season on May 20, 2017, earning it the prestige of being one of the longest-running network television programs in the United States. Throughout the years there have been many ups and downs and at times the show was considered ‘lackluster’ and lacking the appeal to keep it on the air. Throughout the marginal years where executives discussed cancelling the show and letting it have a sudden death, the ratings have also dived and dipped. So what has happened to ‘revive’ this show, this icon? Was it just the political hot button that all of America seemed to have their hand on? Or was it something more, something not political at all, but entertaining?

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SNL’s improved numbers cannot be linked solely to the loyal fan base or the quality it delivers. It would be ludicrous to ignore the fact that America was waking up each morning to political news that was ripe with anger and hatred, a fight among us. Trump with his outspoken, unrehearsed (at times) comments that caused a stir in his own party. Hillary Clinton, the first woman to run for the presidency, already polished and poised from years of living with Bill in the White House, yet steeped in scandal over a private email account. Their antics being rebroadcasted every Saturday night on SNL by Baldwin as Trump and Hillary Clinton, expertly portrayed by SNL regular, Kate McKinnon. Yet, was that the deciding factor for such a huge sweep in the ratings? Perhaps a strong push, yes, but we must also consider it’s the only LIVE Variety/Sketch Comedy Show on TV. Having no competition is always a good thing for any TV show. One factor that the industry would be certain to point out is the fact that the series was able to add 3+ million viewers each week simply through delayed viewing. Set the DVR and go to sleep, you’ll get to see the show in the morning or that evening after work. This allowed all those viewers who are just too old to stay awake to watch SNL on Saturday night, to see it the next day. This aided in SNL’s biggest demographic gains this season: kids 2 to 11 (+54 percent) and adults over 65 (+50).

So will SNL continue its reign and hold onto its large share of the Nielsen pie next season? If you’re the betting type you’d wager yes. The next four years are going to be abundant with political satire perfect for the SNL stage. SNL: four decades and still going strong.

As one favorite and beloved SNL comedian said so famously:

“Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell, no!” John Belushi in “Animal House.”