Even in a Divided America, Super Bowl Advertisers Seemed to Double Down on Politics

February 6, 2017

Some may have hoped that Super Bowl LI would provide a respite from a period of deep political division in America. But that was not the case on Sunday night.

Industry leaders like StrawberryFrog CEO Scott Goodson told Adweek that “lots of Americans were frustrated by the election” and simply wanted to be entertained, yet the Big Game’s most-discussed ads courted controversy with bold statements on immigration, equal pay and inclusiveness.

“Some brands like Wix did escapism,” said Kevin Jones, chief creative officer of Crispin Porter + Bogusky Los Angeles and veteran of seven Super Bowl campaigns. “But these are turbulent times, and I thought there would be more of that. I was kind of surprised, and actually a little impressed.”

Before the game even reached halftime, Coca-Cola and Airbnb had run spots focusing on diversity, with Coke’s ad (technically a pregame spot, and also a rebroadcast of the brand’s 2014 Super Bowl ad) prominently featuring a Muslim American woman in an hijab. Google also ran an ad including a gay pride flag, and Expedia ran its recent spot about global togetherness as a regional buy in several major markets.

In terms of generating buzz, this strategy appeared to work: Amobee Brand Intelligence found that Airbnb and Coke inspired more tweets than any other brand during the first quarter.

But the social and political messages certainly didn’t end there. Budweiser’s mini-biopic about immigrant founder Adolphus Busch had already generated an early wave of conservative backlash amid the national tug-of-war over Trump’s executive order barring immigration from several nations.

Pushback continued once the Budweiser ad officially aired, with variations of a #BoycottBudweiser hashtag (including, oddly enough, the misspelled #BoycottBudwiser) proving popular throughout the night.

Audi continued the conversation with its ad pushing equal pay for women, and retailer 84 Lumber sparked so much interest in its ad about Mexican immigrants that the brand’s site collapsed under the traffic as social media managers clarified on Facebook that the company does not support illegal immigration.

Hair care brand It’s a 10 went after President Trump even more directly, using its Super Bowl debut to snark about “Four years of bad hair.“

Whether you saw such ads as a good thing, of course, likely depends on your political leanings going into the game. Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, for example, was obviously a fan:

Great Super Bowl ads this yr. Shows the country is moving in the right direction: pro-women, pro-environment, pro-immigrant, pro-diversity.

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) February 6, 2017

Breitbart, on the other hand, named 84 Lumber, Audi, Airbnb, It’s a 10 and Budweiser among the game’s “most politicized” ads. But were these campaigns explicitly political, or have viewers’ perspectives simply been altered by recent events?

“It’s interesting and cool that these brands felt the need to celebrate a part of the American values system that they think is under siege or in question,” said 72andSunny co-founder and creative chairman Glenn Cole. “But I know that, in our industry, producing any one of those campaigns—getting it conceived, approved, made, tested, re-approved, edited—takes longer than the heat or emotional signature of recent events would suggest. So they’re not a reaction to what has happened over the last several weeks.”

@DKThomp I totally disagree – these ads were all made months ago. Trump has made previously universal values seem liberal.

— nilay patel (@reckless) February 6, 2017

Jones also argued that Trump’s election made previously neutral brand statements feel more pointed. “Even the Kia ad was politically charged this time around,” he said. “What car company doesn’t support lower emissions? But suddenly you say that and you think, is that making a statement?”

Maybe we’re all over-analyzing this dichotomy as Trump upends perceived political norms. “Having a spot on the Superbowl is advertising’s red carpet,” said Jason Elm, executive creative director at Kansas City agency Barkley. “A brand can choose to blend in with a simple Calvin Klein gown or go full GaGa meat dress. I’m glad some brands chose to stick a flag in the ground.”