The “Yay!” and the “Yikes!” of 2017 Super Bowl Commercials

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Did anyone else watch the football game that opened and closed for the Lady Gaga concert? This year’s Super Bowl proved to have a mix of highs and lows, from the spectacular halftime show to the massive comeback led by the Patriots, resulting in an astonishing New England win. One of our personal favorite elements of this special day, though, is the abundance of commercials. Companies spend millions of dollars for 30 seconds of fame. Was it worth it? Let’s go through some of the best and worst of the ads from this year.


YAYS!

84 Lumber

This commercial follows a mother and daughter’s journey from Mexico to the U.S., only to find the wall, one of our current President’s tactics for immigration reform. The daughter pulls out an American flag that she’s been creating from scraps of cloth that she’s come across along their journey, and you can feel her mother’s heart break. Suddenly, when all hope seems lost, they discover a door in the wall. They push it open, and the commercial ends with the quote, “The will to succeed is always welcome here.” This commercial was the most emotionally striking one of them all. -CK

Stranger Things

Do I even need to explain? Stranger Things Season 2 will be one of the best things to happen in 2017. Probably should put the fact it doesn’t come out until Halloween in the “ugh” section, though. As April said, “What am I supposed to do until then? Graduate? Get a job?” -AK

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2

I’ll be honest; the first one didn’t grab my interest as much as I wanted it to. But, the sequel looks incredible, featuring a larger team, a cuter Groot, and a badass bassline from Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain.” You’ve got Gamora unloading a humongous gun at killer aliens, and Star-Lord displaying his humongous abs for the camera. There’s something for everybody. -MB

Kia Niro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dQ9a5EFZeI

When she’s not expertly portraying Sean Spicer, Melissa McCarthy is an eco-warrior narrowly avoiding eco-death. -EP

Honda “Year Books”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Csg1dWgHOFQ

Honda took an interesting spin on the idea of “moving forward.” They used old yearbook photos of big-name stars, including Amy Adams, Missy Elliot, Stan Lee, and *sigh* the brilliant Viola Davis, who says, “The point is, all dreams are within reach—all you have to do is keep moving towards them.” These are all celebrities, but a part of me loved being reminded that everyone starts somewhere, even if that means wearing a super extra suit and playing the clarinet (*ehem* Jimmy Kimmel). Good one, Honda; good one. -AJ


YIKES!

American Petroleum Institute

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EaUkZdrvvw

An ad that highlights things oil can do that other forms of energy can do just as well, if not better! And that completely overlooks the long term effects of oil production! Specifically targeted to play during an event that happened in Houston, Texas, the “energy capital of the world!” Actually incredible! You can’t drink oil! -AK

H&R Block

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UujLUcssIZU

What was this, why did they do it, and where did Jon Hamm come from? -CJ

Persil

(1) Bill Nye the Science Guy would know that cranberry juice and wine do not blow up when combined. Have some respect for SCIENCE.

(2) Far too many quiffs when that dude explodes into a million copies of himself. No one needs that level of quiff.

(3) Who uses Persil? What is Persil? Reminds me of Vagisil, which doesn’t increase the confidence and well-being of me or my lab coat. -EP

Wendy’s “Cold Storage”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfrmSVZXfuE

31 seconds of a man using a blow dryer to defrost frozen beef. Point-freaking-less. -AJ


KXSU Editorial Staff | Wishing my super bowl was full of cereal.

*Banner photo from Creative Commons 

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