I was fortunate to be invited to watch the Super Bowl this year with Craig Duncan and Yvette Corbarrubias aka The Duncans. They corralled a mighty group with a combined seven Superbowl spots from folks in their beautiful home.
First Place – JEEP, “Owners Manual”
I cannot say enough good things about the Jeep “Owner’s Manual” spot. I think it was the right balance that the country needed to hear right now. FREEDOM is such a strong message. I applaud the brand for taking such a risk. The delivery was comical and not heavy-handed. It was like getting a talking to from your grandfather with wisdom and gentleness.
It really hit the right balance of entertaining, brand positioning and celebrating what it means to be an American. And kudos to the production team as I can only imagine how many takes were needed to get those perfect tire tracks mark. For those of us who have worked on any car brands, we knew that was an uphill battle and the symbolism in the edit was a beautiful thought-provoking transition.
Runner Up – NFL, “Somebody”
The NFL’s “I Am Somebody It Takes All of US”! It says it all. I love that the spot was diversity-positive. I love that the adults represented you and me. Spot on with a positive message. I love that they ended it with a girl as well. Love love love!
Honorable Mention – Rocket, “Take Me Home”
Rocket Mortgage clearly is setting the tone for a brand redo with the Take Me Home Country Road. Although some of the shots in the piece felt like traditional vignettes, the song really drove the piece and those at home and those in the stadium were able to continue being a part of their experience because the song continued.
This idea was outside of the box. As a viewer, you were forced to remember this piece because of the use of traditional advertising meeting more of an experiential twist in the audience. Their new CMO is making a mark and switching things up.
Big Miss – Mountain Dew, “Kiss From a Lime”
Mountain Dew. Um, where were the DEI police and legal on this commercial? It’s in poor taste all around. It makes a mockery of black skin being the same as the skin of a seal. Why anyone of color would agree to do this is beyond me. I’m embarrassed for Seal that he agreed to do this piece.
I think back to the troupes of black folks being animals and no thank you. Wrong time. Wrong message. Wrong visuals.
Perhaps they needed the They Not Like Us halftime show before shooting this spot.
Speaking of which, let’s talk about Kendrick Lamar. I thought it was a masterful performance. It was a creative stance to talk to people that needed to be spoken to. We didn’t bend a knee but he made sure the sentiment of how and why America is was made clear.
The American Flag design over the back of black men and women…chills. The denial (Slavery, racism, bigotry) of what it took to get here brings us to this moment. I think Kendrick Lamar will go down in history as a great civil rights leader for his artistry.
I think our children’s children will be talking about this Super Bowl performance the same way we talk about Whitney Houston singing The Star Spangled Banner or the way we talk about Michael Jackson’s epic Super Bowl performance.
The culture has spoken and the culture was spoken to. If you didn’t get it, it is okay because honestly, the message was actually for you. It made you go back and look and dissect. Ultimately, you got the message from the culture for the culture.
Rising from a Production Assistant to Producer, Qadree Holmes is the Founder/Executive Producer of Quriosity Productions, a minority-owned creative diversity boutique specializing in video production, post-production and photography. He is currently a board member for AICP Midwest, Chicago Advertising Federation’s Diversity Thought Leadership Council, Chicago International Film Festival Black Perspectives Board, Shiny DEI Advisory, and Illinois Production Alliance.
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