Every time I have been asked to review Super Bowl commercials, I’ve always started with a top five and written my way down to my favorite. But this year I am compelled to start with my favorite, simply because it was by far and away the best one, IMHO.
The Michael Cera CeraVe commercial was so good on so many levels. First, the natural tie between the brand’s name and Cera’s had my attention right off. But Cera embracing and leaning into his own quirkiness made the spot simply fantastic. Odd things like giving himself a massage and his pronouncement that “human skin is my passion” were very funny.
Essentially it was as weird as any over-the-top perfume ad, but in a good way. And as a person that truly loves good copywriting, I am not sure there was a more memorable line in any spot than Cera saying, “Let my cream hydrate you.” (Well, maybe when Marvel superhero Deadpool told fanboy nerds to get out their “special sock” before watching the new movie’s trailer.) So yeah, CeraVe nailed it and, in my opinion, was the very best spot of the night.
Now for the rest.
I felt like this year was a mix of, “Okay, I didn’t see that coming” to “Why did they spend the money on that?” The Dunkin Affleck-Brady-Lopez-Damon spots were funny; I especially liked Damon’s performance.
Kawasaki doing drive-by mullets was funny and unexpected.
I also loved the Dove “Hard Knock Life” spot. Great message on a male-dominated sports program.
The Jesus “He Gets Us” spot was bold, but it did leave me thinking, “Why did they spend the money on this?” I get it, millions of people watching in a world where a unity message is so desperately needed. But it left me thinking that the money spent on that spot could have been better used by the organization behind it by living out its message rather than just projecting it. That said, it did stop me and everyone else in my watching group.
Another, “Wow, why did they spend so much money on that?” were the TEMU spots. First, I have no idea what TEMU is — a shopping app or something. But the company ran that same overly orange “Shop like a billionaire” spot three times. I mean, I don’t know how billionaires shop, but if I had to guess, I imagine they waste a lot of money because they have so much. So, in that regard, they nailed that message: “We are a brand you’ve never heard of and we have A LOT of money to burn, so here is A LOT of orange and far too many placements. Enjoy!”
All in all, not the worst Super Bowl for commercials, but not the best either. Again, in my opinion, the CeraVe spot is as good as any Super Bowl spot ever. Or maybe I just want to see a line of T-shirts that say, “Let my cream hydrate you.”
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