Corporate America Swings from Sobs to Silence in this year's Super Bowl

It was a sad Super Bowl. Sad, as only Trump can say it. Saaad. On the one hand, a fast-talking, cunning clown tried to sell me stuff as ad land usually does best. On the other, I felt emotionally mistreated by a sobbing stranger playing curling with my heart. Corporate America appears not to care at all, and if it did, it did too much, which was exactly what was wrong. Of 4 quarters of fast-paced commercials only around 10 aimed for something bigger than product plugging. What about some sense of purpose, or is it just products first?

Values first, America first, products first?

The value war from last year seemed to have run out of steam, or perhaps brands wanted to stick to safe ground and steer away from politics. The choice seemed simple: stand up for what you whole-heartedly believe in or stay silent. Most companies conveniently chose to stay quiet. In doing so, turning their back on the all-important conversations and topics that need support more than ever: diversity, immigration, climate, some of the biggest challenges of our time. As they say, “nobody ever got fired for choosing IBM!” The easy option is to turn your back on wrongdoings or injustice. And please don’t pull the non-partisan excuse, for me speaking up is not about politics, it’s about defending basic values and human rights! Toyota dared to speak up with a series of 3 commercials touting their mobility efforts, MobilityForAll.com, and the importance of inclusion and diversity. Good on you – I enjoyed at least one (The Woolstencroft) of the three executions.

What happened with the truly great Goodvertising work?

Staying silent is not my only (veggie) beef with Super Bowl this year. Why is it still so difficult for brands to get Goodvertising right? It’s like their only known trick is to play on our heartstrings, with their love ballads about as believable as a used car salesman’s smile. We’re here to watch an exciting game and have fun with friends – so why all the sobbing? T-mobile succeeded with their commercial #LittleOnes about equality and babies to make the message as heart-warming as scary serial killer doll from the horror movie Chucky. Who manages to mess up babies? Maybe they meant to label it #LittleScaryOnes? Normally recognised for its brilliant, emotive and well-written work, Stella Artois aims for complete compassion fatigue with a dreary cause marketing approach together with Water.org to provide drinking water for every ridiculous looking French beer glass sold (sorry read: chalice). Cheers to ingenuity. Another brand that went the cause marketing direction was Hyundai: their “Hope Detector” thanking its many customers for the proceeds gone to fund childhood cancer research. A great cause, but it felt like Hyundai was thanking itself on behalf of its drivers; thank me very much! I want to thank Hyundai for continuing its efforts from last year’s Super Bowl in supporting the troops, but aren’t we missing a big opportunity to make a difference with some truly great work?

Some other highlights

That said, I want to recognise Budweiser for its timely and well-executed message. Stand by you featured a fight for people in need. With beer cans that turned into containers of water, the end shot brought it home nicely. Verizon went a similarly supportive direction with allourthanks.com as a big thanks to all the first responders – hardly a message one can disagree with, regardless of political view. A new entrant this year was bargain site Groupon with “Who wouldn’t” claiming to support local businesses – always a popular message, and at least they tried a more humorous approach, but I can’t help wonder how sustainable the discount model is for the local businesses involved in the long term?

I care, sometimes

On a happy note, Coca-Cola continued its diversity efforts from last year with “The Wonder of Us”: applaudable, especially set against the silence of the others. If you want to make a difference in people’s lives that’s not a one-off. Many of last years Goodvertising trumpeting brands went silent. What happened with Kia’s fight for the climate? Or Airbnbs commitment to diversity? Or Expedia? Or Audi’s cry for empowering women? With this year’s Super Bowl, Corporate America had every chance to prove it wants to be part of the solution, and show their purpose goes further than the writing in green on the CEO’s coffee mug. Unlike the sudden blackout during the game, there is no technical excuse for not taking a stand. So, dear Corporate America, why so silent?