We love to watch Super Bowl advertisements because they are generally smart, funny, and catch us off guard. For years, the Super Bowl has been the place for comedic commercials, making any branded content video with a serious message a no-no. But this year was different. In 2016, the top three commercials that caught our attention had something in common: they were all branded content videos advocating for the greater good of humanity in a really witty ways.
Budweiser USA Commercial: #GiveADamn
This beautifully orchestrated branded content video relies heavily on the talent and charm of Hellen Mirren, and boy does she come through. Though much of the humor in the commercial comes from Mirren’s quick and punchy insults directed at drunk drivers, even more comes from the fact that we could see her coming up with these insults herself. Both the phrasing and weight of each insult fit her linguistic style and political drive in an incredibly honest way. Honesty is key in advertising, and nothing is more effective than the honest disapproval of a respectable, British lady.
Colgate Commercial: #EveryDropCounts
This branded content makes a sobering point about everyday water use in America. We’ve all been told at some point in our lives to turn off the water while we brush our teeth, wash dishes, etc. Though the argument has been presented to us many times, we rarely think about just how important water is. So Colgate decided to show us in their video.
In this Super Bowl advertisement, we watch a man start brushing his teeth (an endlessly relatable action for any American) and keep the water running. While the water pours down, a foreign hand enters the frame to wash a fruit under it, then more hands fill a bowl of water, and finally, a young girl fills her hands with water and drinks it. These visuals make viewers reflect on their own water wasting habits.
It’s amazing how much of an effect this ad can have in less time than it takes to brush your teeth.
PETA Commercial: Last Longer
This clever advertisement goes right after its target audience in more ways than one. The commerical starts by establishing a difference between two couples making love in a split screen: one eats meat, the other is a vegan. We watch as the carnivore runs out of energy before the vegan, visibly upsetting his unsatisfied partner. The vegan continues on (and on and on) while the carnivore deals with his partner’s frustration, puts on his clothes and starts the walk of shame. While the vegan couple are still going strong, the carnivore steps outside of the apartment building and is immediately killed by a falling air conditioning unit. This moment combines the viewer’s frustration that he is having such a bad day with the shock comedy that it’s his last. Finally, we are shown the slogan that pulls everything together for us: “Vegans last longer.”
The great thing about this commercial is that it combines two separate messages—one about meat’s tendency to cause erectile dysfunction, another about a vegan’s life expectancy being longer than that of a carnivore—with shock comedy to present facts in a much more memorable way. Though this commercial is incredibly effective, it’s no surprise that ABC didn’t allow it to air on during the Super Bowl. Whether you’re a vegan or a carnivore, you’ll have trouble turning away from this ad before it’s over.