After the Bronco's loss last night, we decided to distract ourselves by sharing the commercials that impressed us most. Did your favorite make our list?
- BRAD: I loved Newcastle Brown Ale's "Mega Huge Super Bowl" ad for its satire, creativity and resourcefulness. The company is getting a huge ride using earned and owned media at a fraction of the cost of a $4 million 30 second splash.
- TAMMY: I am a child of the 80's and seeing Alf, Hulk Hogan and my personal favorite – Mary Lou Retton – in Radio Shack’s “The Phone Call #InWithTheNew” spot made me smile and laugh. Not sure if Radio Shack can truly move into the future without a name change…but it was a fun spot regardless. Also – while none of the spots really stood out as the "best," I really, really did like the number of spots that focused on tributes to our troops, products that are made in America and giving back.
- MAGGIE: My favorite Super Bowl commercial was the Budweiser’s “A Hero’s Welcome”. I always get emotional over homecoming scenes with US military personnel, whether it's a commercial or a dad surprising his kids on the baseball field after being overseas. These men and women deserve so much from us for their service and the least we can do is honor their commitment to keeping our country safe. Congrats on getting a few tears out of me, Budweiser!
- JENN: My favorite was Budweiser’s “Puppy Love” ad. It reminded me of our yellow lab, Jake.
- RICHELLE: I really liked the 2015 Hyundai Genesis ad “Dad's Sixth Sense”. Though it wasn’t necessarily one of the most talked-about commercial, I thought that it was relatable, surprising, funny, and relevant. I think a lot of Super Bowl commercials deviate from what they’re actually advertising, so the fact that this focused on the product feature they wanted to highlight showed that it accomplished what a commercial is supposed to do: promote and inform.
- KELLY: Esurance ran a brilliant commercial last night but it technically wasn't during the Super Bowl. In the commercial John Krasinksi explains that Esurance saved $1.5 million – 30 percent of a normal Super Bowl commercial rate – by taking the first slot after the game. (By the way, 30 percent is the amount Esurance claims to save for customers.) They decided to give the money they saved to a random Twitter follower who uses the hashtag #esurancesave30 within 36 hours. The commercial got people talking about what Esurance does for its customers, upped its Twitter presence and made fans happy. Oh, and it involved John Krasinski. What's not to love about that?
- MICHELE: My favorite was the 2014 Volkswagen “Wings” commercial. It was cute and made me giggle.
- KRIS: My favorite ad was Radio Shack's “The Phone Call #InWithTheNew” spot — mostly for the awesome cameos of Mary Lou Retton, Alf, Hulk Hogan and others. Not only did it make me laugh — I'm a child of the 80s — but it was also self-deprecating. Radio Shack confronted its image problem (Who shops there these days?) and promised an update to bring them into modern times.
- GREG: I really like Chevrolet’s “Life” commercial featuring a cancer survivor.
Missed the game? You can catch all 2014 Super Bowl commercials here.