Budweiser (2002)
A few months after the 9/11 tragedy it was expected that companies would like to pay tribute to the people who lost their lives then. Much like the halftime performance from U2, Budweiser also wanted to commemorate the victims, but also aired the advert (titled Respect) only once, so they would not profit off the subject.
Despite their intention not to make money off it, the spot still attracts attention even years later, specifically on the anniversary of the horrible event, and it already has over 22 million views on Youtube. The advert is somber, appropriate for its theme, and it pictures a group of Budweiser’s Clydesdale horses paying a visit to the landmark at Ground Zero and kneeling in front of it. It may seem like a simple concept, but the company proved you do not need anything special in order to deliver an important message: Respect.
Snickers (2010)
We all know the chocolate bar’s iconic slogan as it has been in every Snickers campaign of the last decade, but did you know the campaign had its start in a Superbowl advert? “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” became iconic after 2010 when it was first aired on television. The spot starts like the rest of them do these days, with a football player that is underperforming. What is even more impressive is that it is also starring Betty White (who passed at the end of 2021), who eats the chocolate bar and then transforms into the football player who regained his forces.
The campaign had so much success it started being their headlining campaign, and the slogan “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” was cemented then as their catchphrase.
Always (2015)
The SuperBowl ads have not been used just to end up selling products, consolidate brand awareness, or commemorate tragic events. Sometimes they have been used as a way to challenge stereotypes and people’s ways of thinking. Internationally known pad and tampon brand Always enlisted the help of award winning documentary maker Lauren Greenfield for their spot in 2015 which was the start of their larger campaign “like a girl”.
The music may be cheesy but the point it makes is invaluable. Lauren proceeds to ask a series of boys, men, and adult women to demonstrate what it means to “fight like a girl” or “run like a girl”, all of them showing the now stereotyped image of “a girl” which encompasses the insulting nature of what the phrase ended up meaning. She follows by asking some young girls to demonstrate the same actions, which they do normally, then opens up the discussion of why the phrase ended up having a negative connotation just because a woman is doing it.
The ad still stands today as a powerful message that makes us rethink our prejudices and be more careful with our words.
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