Super Bowl Commercials 2019 - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I must admit that the 2019 version of Super Bowl ads seemed to lack punch.  Is it because more firms can't justify $5.2MM for a :30 spot?  Especially in the age of social media, where reach can be dwarfed at a fraction of the cost if things even go a little viral?  Perhaps.

I also did appreciate that we were not forced to muddle through a lot of sanctimony.  Given what Gillette just produced, I feared this would be the "woke" Super Bowl, and that is clearly what we did not have, with the exception of the Washington Post ad (yuck).

With that, here's this year's Super Bowl commercial instalment of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly:

The Good

Hyundai Elevator
Probably the winner of the night.  Did a great job of playing off human emotion associated with buying a car and offering a solution.  Funny, memorable, on brand:



Audi Cashew
A lot like the Hyundai ad, just not as effective.  Still, very well done:



Bud Light - Game of Thrones
This one is the hands down winner in terms of buzz generated.  Bud needed to do something with the dilly dilly arc, and for them to take it where they did is remarkable.  I'm not sure I've seen two brands pull off something this aligned, especially two such divergent brands.  This will make for a fantastic business case:



The Bad

Kia Telluride
I have absolutely no idea what they were trying to pull off with this ad.  From the weird voice over to the shots of nondescript citizens, does it make you want to buy a car?  I think not.  Not sure what their agency was doing with this:



Burger King - Eat Like Andy
1) Does anyone that traditionally eats fast food know who Andy Warhol is?  2) Will this sell any incremental Whoppers?  The answer to both is "NO":




The Ugly

Mint Mobile - Chunky Milk
Disgusting, especially considering that most of your audience is eating at the time.  Terrible ad that uses a gross-out factor to try and drive brand preference.  Really

Olay - Slasher
This one is disturbing as well.  I'm not sure how this production is going to lead to a lot more incremental sales.  How does something like this get green lit for a cosmetic?