Last year, I did not get around to writing up about the year's Super Bowl commercials. I just did not have time as I was in the middle of a tight-deadline project that zapped my energy. In the previous years, I published Review of SuperBowl 2011 Commercials and The Best SuperBowl Commercials of 2012 and decided that I would publish an entry for this year. I do not get to watch the game live as it is on far too late for me living in Greenwich Mean Time, and as it takes place on Sunday, I have work to contend with on the following day. I've included a few of the commercials broadcast during the 2014 Super Bowl below.
Seinfeld Reunion
The commercial is a reunion for the characters of 1990s television series "Seinfeld" and plugs their new show. I love the television show, and it is a timeless classic, so I enjoyed seeing Jerry, George, and Newman again and listening to their timeless Super Bowl-related banter.
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FhmpTxLhqzU
Budweiser 'Puppy Love'
A cute puppy and a horse share a special bond as the puppy escapes to be near the horse and the horse escapes to be near the puppy. It is a cute and "feel-good" commercial.
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uQB7QRyF4p4
Audi 'Doberhuahua'
A boyfriend and girlfriend cannot agree on which dog to get and learn how to compromise by creating a cross-bred dog, which becomes a monster. However, buying an Audi means that no one needs to make compromises.
Turbotax
A commercial criticises past experiences where viewers have been unlucky, such as watching someone they like dance with someone else at school. The ad encourages visitors to use its tax services so that they can get lucky and get a tax refund.
Radio Shack
The brand is trying to update their image; perhaps they felt that consumers viewed their shops as dated. The ad features several iconic 1980s themes and characters: Chuckie Doll, Alf, California Raisins, and several others.
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9ft9ruGTO1w
Coca Cola 'America the Beautiful'
This is probably the commercial that caused the most controversy and led to a backlash on Twitter and other social media websites with threatens to boycott the company. Actually, I do not understand the reasoning. Perhaps Coca Cola missed the mark here. Americans are extremely patriotic. The iconic song is sung in several langauges, including English. The citizens of America clearly identify more with America than where their ancestors have come from. The country started as a melting pot of cultures and has evolved with its own unique customs and adaptations of customs brought from a vast array of cultures. To me, the singing of this song and showing American scenery is for hope and to celebrate the range of people which make up America and bring the country together. It is living the American Dream. The corporation clearly lost its stamp on this one. Perhaps it tried too hard by picking a symbol or a song that many hold too close.
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=443Vy3I0gJs
Teaser for '24'
Actually, this was filmed a few blocks from where I work and a couple of blocks from where my partner works. He actually got video and photographs of them filming this and saw Keifer Suntherland. (One of the photographs is included below.) By the time I knew about it, I had already taken my lunch and was too busy to walk over to have a look for myself. They had installed a phone box and post box on scene and an over-turned London taxi covered with Union Jack stickers and set up a small, controlled fire on site. The massive blast that comes from the right and the smoke around the Gherkin is CGI. The commercial is a little too "over the top" for my liking; Hollywood tend to over-dramatise.
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fo4_r5RlBII
Budweiser: 'A Hero's Welcome'
This commercial tugs at your heart and is sure to win over those who are currently or have been in military service. A soldier comes home and gets a warm welcome. Touching.
SodaStream
There's some controversy over this commercial as well based on the company's location. In fact, Scarlet Johansson stepped down in Oxfam (charity) because she supported the company.
Doritos 'Time Machine'
I enjoyed some of the company's past commercials because they are witty. This one did not let me down.
Doritos: 'Cowboy Kid'
Doritos cranked out another witty commercial. This year, both commercials featured children.
Toyota: 'Muppets'
Toyota uses the Muppets to advertise their cars, and this involves a catchy song.
Cheerios: 'Gracie'
This is a cute commercial where the father uses pieces of the cereal to tell his young daughter that a baby is on the way.
Overall, 2014 was not a bad year for commercials. I am not sure if any of these particularly stand out, other than to create some probably-unintended controversy.
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