Regardless of which team you wanted to win the Super Bowl, the ads remain the topic of discussion around water coolers, over cubicle walls, and certainly in schools where classes haven’t been cancelled because of snow.
“What did we miss?” our kids woke up and asked having gone to bed after the half time show. After giving them the rundown of the game action they really wanted to know wanted the ads. Breakfast conversation revolved around favorite ads from the first half of the game (Doritos time machine!) and past favorites like the M&Ms ad featuring a peanut version of the candy dancing to LMFAO’s “I’m Sexy and I Know It.” (I know. I’m a little embarrassed about that last one too but they thought the dancing peanut M&M was hysterical.)
I have to admit that I look forward to the ads as much as I look forward to the game itself. Each year I come to expect certain brilliance from companies that have produced well done spots in the past and flops from others. I missed VW doing a Star Wars themed ad this year but loved Toyota’s integration of the Muppets in their 2014 Highlander ad. I was pleased to see GoDaddy making strides away from their image of the past, enjoyed the 80s nostalgia Radio Shack evoked in #InWiththeNew, and wondered when the Budweiser Puppy Love spot featuring the Clydesdales would air.
As our kids learn about the game of football and the culture surrounding the Super Bowl, they’re also keen observers of the ads. Their comments about them shows me they’re savvy consumers who are thoughtful about what they’re seeing and how they may sway someone to feel a certain way about a product that results in a purchase. They’re also brutally honest. They’re first ones to say that an ad was cool, that they just didn’t get it, or declare it downright stupid. Ouch.
Since it’s not a snow day in the DC Metro area today, I sent my kids off to school where they’ll sit down with their friends at the lunch table and discuss last night’s Super Bowl ads. While I’m curious about what the general consensus among second and fourth graders will be about what aired last night, I’m glad to have had last night to sit down as a family and create conversations about all things related to the Super Bowl.
If you’re looking for resources to talk to your kids about continuing the conversation about ads after the Super Bowl, I linked up to some resources in my most recent Babble piece called Digital Bar: Newest Way Technology Helps Monitor Underage Drinking?
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