Super Bowl, More than a Sports Event

If I mention NFL teams, such as the New England Patriots or Atlanta Falcons, they will surely not ring a bell. . But if I mention the Super Bowl, you might remember it as the sports event of the year with the best halftime show.

Nowadays, halftime is for the presentation of the most popular artist, as well as for commercials of the top brands that are ready to be aired for the first time. That advertising space can cost around US $5 million, according to Fortune magazine .

A great commercial aired in the Super Bowl may generate brand awareness in an audience of approximately 111.3 million in the world, and it may go down in history as one of the best commercials in the Super Bowl.

Equality in the Super Bowl

However, companies don’t just focus on branding. This year, the controversy and debate deriving from the immigration policies issued by the President of the USA, Donald Trump, sparked an opportunity for companies such as Audi and AirBnb to use their time on air to convey equality messages.

Budweiser:

The German beer company with highest sales in USA, recreated the story of its founder Adolphus Bush, a German immigrant who came to USA. The commercial reflected on the rejection he experienced from Americans upon his arrival to the country, nonetheless and despite adversities, he managed to create the best beer companies.

AirBnB

This online short-term lodging rental company has been criticized for not being inclusive enough, however, in this year’s commercial called “We Accept” it highlighted the diversity of families in USA, based on race, religion and sexuality.

Audi

This commercial, called Daughter, portrays the story of an eight-year old competing in a race with other children, while his father wonders if she is being scored in the same way as the other competitors. The German automobile company used the concept of family to commit with equal pay among its employees, regardless of their gender.

84 Lumber

Without a doubt, this was the most controversial commercial, it was even censored by FOX. But, why? Its content was considered “very controversial”, it showed the story of a Latin mother and daughter trying to cross the border, only to come face to face with Donald Trump’s promised wall. The commercial being in Spanish and the Latin characters were enough to stop it from being aired entirely.

Hollywood in the Super Bowl

But not all commercials focused on equality, some brands hired A-listers such as McCarthy, John Malkovich and Gal Gadot for a Hollywood-style ad, some even had a second part.

Wix.com

The famous cloud-based web development platform recreated an action movie starring Jason Statham and Gal Gadot, the commercial was so attractive, that they decided to have a second part

First part

Second part

Suqarespace

It features a not-so-serious John Malkovich trying to create his own domain name, but surprisingly, his name has already been taken as domain name. The commercial has more than 4.4 million YouTube views.

Kia

Following Donald Trump’s inauguration as President of the USA, the Women’s March took place. In Kia’s funny commercial, Melissa McCarthy plays an activist that is trying to save the planet.