The Super Bowl represents an event that is substantially acknowledged around the country; however, it is not only well-known for the game and halftime show performance. The commercials contribute a big part in the overall production of the event. Companies and manufacturers step up their “game” when it amounts to developing a Super Bowl-worthy commercial. A critical factor is what tone the content is based around. In years past, commercials were comprised of political based content to appeal to audiences. This year people have been more apt to enjoy a commercial with humor instead of drama. Kim Whitler, a marketing professor at the University of Virginia, commented, “People are in the mood for “political-free entertainment” in an interview with CBS. Furthermore, a poll taken at Bob Jones High School established 19 out of 34 students favored Super Bowl commercials that included humor this season.  

The seemingly best Super Bowl commercials this year include some well-known celebrities and lots of witticisms. These include Clio winner Tide’s creation of “It’s a Tide Ad Campaign,” commercial; however, fan favorites include“Doritos Blaze vs. Mountain Dew Ice,” and “Alexa Loses Her Voice.” All featuring comedy with renowned people such as David Harbour, Morgan Freeman, and Cardi B.

Each year companies present their best in hopes to not only win over the audience, but the people of Clio. Clio is an awards program to recognize exceptionally creative marketing and chooses to award their considered best Super Bowl Commercial. The company is known for their meticulous judging process analyzing the criteria. When asked what they focused on Clio responded with, “The Clio Awards asks our juries to keep originality and creativity in mind when viewing ads.” This year, Tide excelled enough for Clio to claim its winner announcing, “Tide Cleans Up At The Big Game.”

The Tide commercial focused on turning random commercials unrelated to Tide into a Tide ad. When asked her opinion Mrs. Brandy Panagos, an English and Business career tech teacher, commented, “Connecting a stranger things actor with so much positive buzz right now to the product and with the use of humor was a great way to make people forget about the tide pod challenge and I think that is pretty genius from a marketing perspective.” Gracie Poehlman, a senior, was also in agreement, claiming it was “brilliant to turn every commercial out there into a Tide ad.”

Doritos Blaze vs. Mountain Dew Ice also blew the audience away with originality. The commercial revolved around a rap battle between Peter Dinklage and Morgan Freeman with the help of Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliot. Peter Dinklage lip-synced to “Look at Me Now” for the Doritos Blaze side which is engulfed in flames. The promotion was to embody the spiciness of the chips. Likewise, Morgan Freeman lip syncs Missy Elliot’s “Get Your Freak On” for Mountain Dew Ice. This side promoted the freshness that followed along with the taste of the drink.

Finally, “Alexa Loses Her Voice” created lots of laughs among audiences. The commercial provided a world in which Alexa, Google’s home pod assistant, loses her voice. The Google team has set up Cardi B, Rebel Wilson, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Gordon Ramsey. Troy Patterson, a writer for The New York Times, expressed, “Each ad cheerfully channels an anxiety about the cruelty of talking machines.” The ad included scenes of Gordon Ramsey yelling at a man for not knowing how to make a grilled cheese sandwich, Cardi B rapping her new single “Bodak Yellow” when requested to play country music, Rebel Wilson setting a literal dirty scene rather than playing jazz music and Anthony Hopkins sitting in field with peacocks when responding to his request.  The commercial ending in Alexa gaining her voice back claiming “Thanks guys, but I will take it from here.” Brieanna Mikel, a freshman at Bob Jones commented, “It was funny and it had a lot of iconic people starring in it.”

In all, commercials have created a lot of talk and debate on what is viewed as the best along with being innovative in creativity. These three commercials prove to hold up to the standards of not only Clio Awards but the general public.