Super Bowl ads get political or go escapist, sometimes both
NEW YORK — For advertisers on Super Bowl Sunday, it was time to get political — or provide some escapist humour.
On advertising’s biggest night, marketers took different tactics to appeal to the largest live TV-watching audience there is. They pay dearly for the opportunity — $5 million for 30 seconds to capture more than 110 million expected viewers — so it’s crucial to connect.
Some like Airbnb, Coca-Cola and the NFL introduced messages of the power of American diversity and inclusion. Others like Tide and T-Mobile stuck with trying to get laughs. Haircare brand “It’s a 10” tried to do both at once.
As the New England Patriots edged out the Atlantic Falcons on the field in Houston, Airbnb touted inclusiveness with an ad showing faces of different ethnicities and the copy: “We all belong. The world is more beautiful the more you accept.” Coca-Cola aired a previously run ad in the pregame in which people sing “America the Beautiful” in different languages. Even a hair care brand dipped into politics: The “It’s a 10” hair brand indirectly referenced President Donald Trump’s famously unruly do in its Super Bowl spot.