Because we have to fight over everything these days, even the Super Bowl halftime show is a point of contention. Now, I remember the “wardrobe malfunction” that Justin Timberlake foisted on the nation. (No, I’m not linking that.) So it’s not like controversy is new for the Super Bowl.
But let’s set that aside for now. Let’s pretend that we’re not at each others’ throats politically and look at what people actually think is important. By that of course I mean let’s look at what companies are spending a sinful amount of money to put in front of our eyes. (Seriously: $8 million for a commercial? That is… [opens calculator app] 160x my first job’s salary spent in 30 seconds. Ugh. Again: sinful.)
So what are we seeing in Super Bowl commercials? Well, as with any block of 30-60 second commercials it’s hard to know what will stick with us. I don’t know what jingles I’ve heard tonight that will be in my head twenty years from now. (Though that Olympics ad featuring “Golden” from K-Pop Demon Hunters would seem to be a good contender–but that hardly counts.)
But it’s pretty obvious that the target audience for the most memorable of the ads is nostalgic millennials, x-ers, and boomers. The actors featured are almost universally established figures that this crowd is going to remember (that’s not a complaint, obviously! I love me some Kurt Russell and Sam Elliot):
Both of those ads appeal across a lot of demographics, and quite obviously intentionally so. The Star Wars one is especially spot-in since it understands the overlap between Westerns and Science Fiction that the original series leaned into. Michelob hits beer, sports (skiing is a sport, right?), and Jack Burton. So there’s broad appeal there too.
The Dunkin ad takes this nostalgic sentiment and hammers us over the head with it:
The OpenAI ad does a better job of channeling nostalgia without hammering us too much:
How many of us remember doing these things on paper? We are quickly approaching a world where only the most rigorous of homeschoolers will have had that experience. But for now, this hits the nostalgia points quite nicely.
The two that stand out most and that hit all the right notes without being overly ironic, without taking themselves either too unseriously or too seriously, and while conveying the right mood with simplicity and decency are the Pepsi and Redfin/Rocket Mortgage ads.
The Pepsi ad leaned in to humor, but in doing so captured some of the heart of the Coca-Cola ads it’s referencing:
This, by the way, isn’t the first time Pepsi has featured a choice in an ad:
The Redfin/Rocket Mortgage is the more serious of the two, with a heartfelt rendition of the Mr Rogers theme. (Apparently by Lady Gaga?)
Rocket Mortgage did the same thing last year with “Country Roads”, and even involved the game itself. So clearly they think this is a workable model. I don’t know anything about the mortgage world, but I think they’re probably right about what appeals at our particular moment. We do want to live in a world where we want good neighbors. And more and more that feels like a thing of the past. Nostalgia feels like the only place where we can live in Mr. Rogers neighborhood.
This is something churches need to be thinking carefully about. Are we being good neighbors to each other within the church as believers? Are we being good neighbors as Christians to the people who physically live next door to us? Are our churches as institutions being good neighbors in our communities?
These are all things we are called to do not in nostalgia (though the past can be a guide–certainly my parents and grandparents are models of how to love neighbors well) but right now. We as Christians are the redeemed, who have been purchased by the blood of the Lamb. Because of that we can live new lives that bless others as we strive love our neighbors as ourselves. It’s odd and sad to say that Rocket Mortgage seems to understand that better than some churches these days, but even Super Bowl commercials can remind us of the truth.
Or at least make us laugh. That’s important too:
Dr. Coyle Neal co-hosts the City of Man Podcast and is an Amazon Associate (which is linked in this blog). He teaches Political Science, Philosophy, and History in Southwest Missouri.
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