NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Messages about America, inclusiveness \u2014 and, yes, even \u201cfour years of awful hair\u201d \u2014 kept bubbling up in Super Bowl 51 ads from Airbnb, the NFL and a line of personal care products. But there was still plenty of escapism and light humor for those who weren\u2019t into the politics.
As the New England Patriots edged out the Atlantic Falcons on the field in Houston, Airbnb touted inclusiveness with an ad showing faces of different ethnicities and the copy: \u201cWe all belong. The world is more beautiful the more you accept.\u201d Coca-Cola aired a previously run ad during the pregame show in which people sing \u201cAmerica the Beautiful\u201d in different languages. Even a hair care brand dipped into politics: The \u201cIt\u2019s a 10\u2033 hair brand indirectly referenced President Donald Trump\u2019s famously unruly do in its Super Bowl spot.
It\u2019s tough to be a Super Bowl advertiser, period. But this year, a divisive political climate has roiled the nation since Trump took office in January, making it even tougher for advertisers.
Advertisers who paid $5 million for 30 seconds had to walk the line with ads that appealed to everyone and didn\u2019t offend. Some were more successful than others.
\u201cAnxiety and politics just loom over this game, so anybody who gives us the blessed relief of entertaining with a real Super Bowl commercial wins,\u201d said Mark DiMassimo, CEO of the ad agency DiMassimo Goldstein.
Several ads aimed for just that. Tide, for instance, offered a humorous ad showing announcer Terry Bradshaw trying frantically to remedy a stain while his antics go \u201cviral\u201d online, with the help of New England Patriot Rob Gronkowski and actor Jeffrey Tambor.
WALKING THE POLITICAL LINE
\u201cBrands used to worry about whether their ad could be interpreted as right or wrong,\u201d said Kelly O\u2019Keefe, a marketing professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. \u201cNow they have to worry about whether it will be interpreted as right or left.\u201d
Plenty of ads walked that line.
An NFL spot conveyed what all advertisers hope the Super Bowl becomes: a place where Americans can come together. \u201cInside these lines, we may have our differences, but recognize there\u2019s more that unites us,\u201d Forest Whitaker intoned in a voiceover as workers prepped a football field and gridiron scenes played.
\u201cThe Super Bowl is shaping up as a counterpoint to the divisiveness in the United States,\u201d said Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University.
Airbnb\u2019s ad was one of the more overtly political, showing a variety of different faces with the tagline \u201cWe accept.\u201d
Some thought the ad was a hit. \u201cKudos to them for making a strong statement,\u201d said O\u2019Keefe. But others, such as Villanova University marketing professor Charles Taylor, thought it didn\u2019t have a clear enough link to the brand and risked coming off as a \u201cpurely political statement.\u201d
Some advertisers took the safest route possible by re-airing ads they\u2019ve used before \u2014 an unusual, though not unprecedented, move. Coca-Cola, Google and Fiji water all aired rerun ads.
During the pre-game show, Coca-Cola ran \u201cIt\u2019s Beautiful,\u201d an ad featuring people around the country drinking the fizzy beverage and singing \u201cAmerica the Beautiful\u201d in different languages.
SURPRISES
A debut Super Bowl spot by the \u201cIt\u2019s a 10\u2033 hair care brand introduced its line of men\u2019s products by joking about Donald Trump\u2019s hair.
\u201cAmerica, we\u2019re in for four years of awful hair, so it\u2019s up to you to do your part by making up for it with great hair,\u201d went a voiceover state as black-and-white photos of people with a wide array of hairstyles flashed by. \u201cDo your part. \u2026 Let\u2019s make sure these next four years are \u2018It\u2019s a 10.’\u201d
Snickers got press by airing a live ad In the third quarter. On a Wild West set, actor Adam Driver seemed not to know the ad was live \u2014 and then the set fell apart (on purpose). \u201cYou ruin live Super Bowl commercials when you\u2019re hungry,\u201d the ad\u2019s tagline read.
\u201cIt went by so fast, I almost missed it,\u201d DiMassimo said. \u201cNot sure it was worth the trouble of doing it live.\u201d
LIGHT HUMOR PLUS CELEBS
Ads with light humor and stuffed with celebrities were popular. Honda\u2019s ad made a splash by animating the yearbook photos of nine celebrities ranging from Tina Fey to Viola Davis. They make fun of their photos \u2014 Jimmy Kimmel is dressed in a blue tux and holding a clarinet, for example \u2014 and talk about \u201cThe Power of Dreams,\u201d Honda\u2019s ad slogan.
\u201cIt was a really good message and it was entertaining,\u201d said Mirta Desir, a New Orleans native who works in education and was watching the game on Long Island.
The Tide ad with Terry Bradshaw was a hit with some viewers because of the way it tricked viewers into thinking it was part of the broadcast. \u201cIt made you think twice,\u201d said Pablo Rochat, watching in Atlanta. \u201cThere was funny dialogue and good storytelling.\u201d
T-Mobile\u2019s spots \u2014 which featured Justin Bieber and Rob Gronkowski dancing , Kristen Schaal in a \u201c50 Shades of Grey\u201d parody and Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg mixing talk about T-Mobile\u2019s unlimited data plan with innuendo about Snoop\u2019s marijuana habit, won raves from some \u2014 as did an ad from antioxidant drink maker Bai featuring Justin Timberlake and Christopher Walken.
___
This story has been corrected to note that a T-Mobile spot featured Justin Bieber, not Justin Timberlake.
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