I only watch for the commercials...

Yes, I was one of the millions watching the Super Bowl last night.  But I wasn't watching because I wanted to watch the game.  I'm not really a pro football fan.  I don't have a team I follow all through the season and I don't own one article of spirit wear from an NFL team.  I do appreciate a well-made commercial, however, and the Super Bowl is the place to find those. 

Having watched several years of Super Bowl's, I know there will be Budweiser commercials that will pull at my heart strings (the puppy was adorable!), Doritos commercials that will make me laugh, and the usual soft drink feel-good ads.  I am used to seeing automobile commercials, too.

But this year I was surprised by the Dodge ad.  It was memorable in an unusual way.  It features real people who have reached their 100th birthday.  As these centenarians talk about life and how to live it, music starts to rev as the car theme begins to tie in to Dodge's own 100th anniversary.  I have found myself watching it over and over to see what pieces of advice they each had.  Brilliant concept, Dodge.  Brilliant. 

There were a few commercials which could be called disturbing by some.  The Nationwide Insurance commercial centered on preventable childhood accidents was not at all what I expected.  The scenes led me to believe that this was going to be another sweet commercial that might make me cry.  Instead, by the end, I felt confused by what I was seeing and somewhat upset.  Perhaps this is what Nationwide wanted.  Getting people to think is important and from tweets I saw after this aired, maybe they were successful in getting the dialogue started.  This is an uncomfortable subject.  My only thought was that maybe the Super Bowl wasn't the correct venue for this.  However, where can you find a larger audience?  Whatever your feelings about this, you have to give Nationwide kudos for having the foresight to change the usual commercials we see into a true message. 

Another commercial, which might have disturbed a few, was the 911 call that goes to a pizza place.  As the woman places an order, the 911 dispatcher realizes she is truly making a call for help.  We gather from the scenes we see that this is a domestic abuse situation.  Again, powerful stuff.  But, is the Super Bowl the place for this?  When so many families might be watching?  YES!  It isn't the typical commercial we expect.  But this ad reached so many from all age groups.  Like the Nationwide ad, it had the potential to start a conversation among those who were watching.  I predict if these types of commercials prove to be well-received by viewers, then we will see many more of this type during next year's Super Bowl.

And now, time for my FAVORITE of the game.  Drum roll, please...Loctite Glue.  What?  Never heard of it, you might say.  Well, by now, I bet you have.  Twitter went crazy with comments after it aired.  I have to say Ed and I laughed out loud at this one.  It's a commercial all of us can relate to not only for the fact that the ad featured people who look like everyday people but also because they're gluing things!  We all break things and need glue, right?  The absolute best was the last line with a wife sitting on her husband's lap and she says, "Loctite glue saved our marriage".  WINNER.

No matter why you watch the Super Bowl, you have to admit the commercials have become a phenomenon.  Some people talk about the commercials even more than the teams actually playing the game!  This year was definitely different than previous ones.  But I appreciate change and I appreciate progress.  Give me something I haven't seen before and I am more likely to remember your message or what you're trying to sell me.   Can't you just imagine the ad agencies today?  Bet they're all abuzz analyzing the feedback from last night.  Have no fear, work has already begun on next year's commercials.  Now, I think I'm going to see if Walmart carries Loctite.  It can save a marriage, you know.

It is what it is.

p