Over the years, the Super Bowl has become the entertainment event of the year, for a number of reasons – the game, the halftime show and of course, the commercials.
Companies like Budweiser, Volkswagen and Doritos have long shelled out big bucks for 30 second advertisements. With this year’s commercials costing just over $4 million for a 30-second spot and $8 million for a 60-second spot, this year’s crop of brands will do just about anything to make their product memorable.
What makes this year different is the fact that many companies have released their commercials early in an attempt — we assume — to raise the hype leading up to Super Bowl Sunday. The strategy seems to have worked beautifully as many spots have been over-night successes, literally gaining millions of hits in a matter of one-to-two days.
Here’s what’s blowing up the internet so far:
Let’s first start with the folks at Volkswagen. Several years back, the car company made a big splash with its Darth Vader commercial and this year it went a little weird with a spin on a famous line from the 1946 film It’s A Wonderful Life. It’s cute, it’s funny – but it won’t be the talk of the night.
Another perennial favorite, Budweiser, is up to their usual antics. The beer giant, which had perhaps the biggest commercial last season, always finds a way to tug on the heartfelt strings with its Clydesdales – and this year is no different. Puppies and horses mean that the ladies especially will love this one. This spot has almost shut down the internet, gaining more than 14 million views in just its second day at the time of this writing.
It’s not the only heartfelt ad that we’re privy to before Sunday’s big game. Another comes from the folks at Axe – yes, the spray deodorant company. The men’s company took a break from alluring women with strong scents to focusing on our military and the great work it does to keep us safe. It’s certainly a different direction but with the #KissforPeace campaign it could become popular.
But maybe, just maybe, 2014 could be the year of the yogurt, with two big companies throwing their cup in the ring. The first is the folks at Chobani and their bear commercial. At one minute long, the company paid a bundle to get their yogurt viewed in front of the masses and it didn’t do a bad job with this one. The ad features real bears – not CG, thank you very much – and is relatively funny.
The other yogurt company is Dannon, who is really beginning to play out its relationship with former Full House stars John Stamos, Bob Saget and Dave Coulier. This Oikos Greek Yougurt commercial hits the spot…to say the least. Enjoy a dose of 90s nostalgia and be prepared to discuss this one for the next week or two – until Buzzfeed overdoes it!
If it’s guest stars and former pop culture icons you enjoy, then you might enjoy what Kia has planned. At 1:30 long, those hamsters must’ve been working overtime to afford this one. A throwback to the 1999 film The Matrix, it features Laurence Fishbourne reprising his role as Morpheus, asking a couple to choose the red keys or the blue keys, while not just singing but wailing by the end. The idea wasn’t bad but we feel like Kia kind of missed the mark on this one – it’ll come and go, we think. The Matrix is so 1999.
