Super Bowl LX: The other 364 days

It’s 4:17 am. I’m hitting send. If I hadn’t agreed to write this, I’d still be watching. 

As a Bostonian in London, I was delighted the Patriots were back in the Super Bowl after seven years. Some habits die hard. Sleep is one of them.

Implicit in Super Bowl advertising is a strange industry confession.

As I think about it, implicit in Super Bowl advertising is a strange industry confession. When the stakes are their highest and the budgets are their biggest, brands suddenly decide entertainment matters. When the money’s really on the line, brand value quietly becomes entertainment value.

Which raises an awkward question… if this is what works on the biggest night of the year, what exactly are we doing the other 364 days?

Above: Jeff Goldblum et al gets a roar of approval from Green.

So, this year’s ads.

Xfinity’s Jurassic Park spot was the clearest example of how to handle pressure without panicking. The idea itself is simple, but the degree of difficulty is extreme. Universal. Spielberg. The original cast. One of the most sacred pieces of modern IP. An absolute minefield.

It feels like it barely broke a sweat.

It could have collapsed at any moment. And I’m sure it almost did. Instead, it feels like it barely broke a sweat. You can’t see any of the seams, and that’s an achievement. Audiences are smart. 'How did they pull that off?'-credit is a real thing, and this earned it.

Above: It's the pause that makes Claude's Super Bowl offereing, says Green. 

Claude [above] showed a different kind of confidence. You could feel the London sensibility in it; thoughtful, restrained, comfortable with silence. Yes, the pause. That pause. It makes it. It doesn’t feel like a Super Bowl ad l, it feels like a great ad that’s running during the Super Bowl. I love it for that. 

Rocket went straight for my emotional core. A simple human truth, the world is better when we’re better to each other, delivered cleanly. I’m not crying. You’re crying. Lady Gaga covering Mr. Rogers - perfect.

Peyton Manning and Post Malone weren’t there to be admired. They were there to be useful.

Bud Light [below] went in the opposite direction and landed for the opposite reason. Just a keg on the run and a chase that escalated exactly as you hoped it would. Simple. Stupid. Funny. Peyton Manning and Post Malone weren’t there to be admired. They were there to be useful. You could swap them out and the idea would still work

Above: Bud Light; simple, stupid, funny. 

Squarespace’s Emma Stone spot felt finished. Which sounds basic, but really isn’t. Great pacing. Stone wasn’t there to be 'big' - she’s one of us, which is a totally different vibe from how most celebs are used. State Farm’s Stop Livin’ on a Prayer also deserves credit. Danny McBride and Keegan-Michael Key as hopeless agents at a rival insurer is a simple, legible idea, even if it has some resemblance to Santander's Bank of Antandec. 

Fanatics’ Kendall Jenner ad showed how quickly self-awareness can turn into self-indulgence. 

Fanatics’ Kendall Jenner ad showed how quickly self-awareness can turn into self-indulgence. It wasn’t offensive, it was just awkward. It’s incredibly hard to land that tone; knowing without being obvious. In this one, all the gags hover, but never quite land.

Above: Instacart: To love or to hate; that is the question. 

I can’t tell if I love or hate the Instacart ad [above]. I love the endline. In the Super Bowl ad meter, I bet it sits at the absolute top or the absolute bottom.

The rest of the celebrity-heavy ads blurred together almost immediately. Famous people saying things. Doing things. Being recognisable. There was mostly nothing wrong with them. But nothing standout.

I can’t tell if I love or hate the Instacart ad.

The tech ads were impressive in the way demonstrations can be impressive. Athletes. Slow-motion. Capabilities clearly displayed. And completely joyless. On the one night people aren’t hostile to advertising, explanation is the best way to lose them.