Super Bowl Shmooper Bowl - give me reality!

Sunday's Super Bowl ads for me are a brief memory of 'made in America-isms' and trying to redefine or keep on defining what America stands for. I know, it kind of sounds like the same thing. I was amazed at the lack of story telling in most of the ads. There was a lack of real values sharing, it was literally all about the thing. The ad that came closest to tapping values was the Axe ad, amazingly. According to the Chicago Trib article reviewing the SB ads this year, it also trivialized war (Johnson, 2014).

It's not a secret that I'm working on becoming a sustainability professional. As you can expect, I get a little tired of seeing those pricey ads for single owner cars that America is so very proud to make - while "Asia makes your phone" as the Dylan-Chrysler ad awkwardly put it. And then the spray tans in the Go-Daddy ad; beer beer beer. Coke and Axe made sure that their products had surface feel while trying to address a deeper issue of what apparently makes us all the same - love, and smelling good, and that everyone loves sugar. Sadly, quite surface.

I know the Super Bowl is about having fun, I really do - cultural traditions are amazing things! My point is that I hope that one day America is known for more than beer, Coke and trucks. These types of ads feel very "old-gaurd" to me, keeping a particular groups' version of the country alive while the rest of the world is apparently moving on. Even Volkswagen's German engineers were highlighted in a fun way (at 100,000 miles, a German engineer gets their wings), while the US makers of floor mats were apologizing for everyone else who outsourced their products.

Something I hadn't thought of immediately about but that makes perfect sense, is that ads now have to stand alone on the Internet to survive/have staying power. The Chicago Tribune's Steve Johnson suggested the abundance of "weird -mostly good- weird" ads from the Super Bowl had this quality, specifically the Doritos finger cleaner (yes, WEIRD) and the frightening but funny "Dober-huahua"mix (chicagotribune.com).

I personally feel that the most forward thinking ad was the Cheerios cute-kid spot with the interracial couple, though I read even a similar ad from a year or so ago caused tension for viewers (Murray). Argh! There needs to be a balance between ads that are played at the Super Bowl that paint a picture of what we were, and where we aim to go.

The following video is not an ad directly asking anything of us or targeting sustainability issues outright, but I wanted to share it as a potential example of where we can go with ads that are easily Super Bowl material, and WAY more fun to watch that what was dished up Sunday. It's an ad to get people to watch a David Attenborough special using a song many people know and love...and some amazing footage. It doesn't use kitschy material or make fun of current trends in our society, it's just compelling beauty. Maybe I'm just wildly idealistic with my idea of sustainability communications, but come on! Who wouldn't want to see this stuff?! The attributes being sold here are nothing less than what's real in the world, and lasting - if we are wise.

Sources
Johnson, Steve. (2014). Super Bowl Ads: Hails and Fails. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://live.chicagotribune.com/Event/Entertainment_Super_Bowl_Ads_2014

Murray, Rheana. (2013).
Cheerios ad featuring interracial couple sparks racist backlash. Daily News. Retrieved from:http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/cheerios-ad-sparks-racial-backlash-article-1.1359690

CopterVideo. (2011, December 7).
David Attenborough - Wonderful World - BBC. [video file] Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8WHKRzkCOY