The Super Bowl 54 commercials were kind of lacking of canines, which was disappointing, but they were still there..
The Super Bowl 54 commercials were very canine-deficient, which is a little irritating, especially so since the major theme of this year’s ads seemed to be “let’s stick a random celebrity in here somewhere whether it makes sense or not.”
But still, there were a handful (pawful?) of Super Bowl 54 commercials with dogs in them, though they were mostly relegated to the background. But that’s better than nothing, and provides a good excuse to think back over which ads from last night were our favorites.
One major problem was the total lack of Budweiser Clydesdales; what was up with that? And so there was a conspicuous absence of Budweiser Dalmatians, too.
But on the other hand, the first look at the Disney Plus Marvel Cinematic Universe shows looked very promising, and the Fast and Furious 9 teaser looked like totally bonkers fun. The ongoing Tide Stains ad was pretty clever, too. And there was the very appropriate continuation of Groundhog Day with Bill Murray to show off the Jeep Gladiator.
And while not as good as last year with Harrison Ford, this year’s Amazon Alexa ad was pretty funny as well.
So, overall, a decent year for commercials.
No. 7- Sabra hummus
First off, I don’t think dogs really like chickpeas, which is the main ingredient in hummus. Why they probably aren’t harmful and would work if you were feeding a natural diet, but sticking a random Pug alongside a bunch of other celebrities (none of whom seemed that recognizable) was a little odd.
Still, things got better from here.
What were the best doggy Super Bowl 54 commercials? Dog O’Day’s breakdown continues.
No. 6 – Genesis
This spot, which featured a luxury car company called Genesis and was titled “Young Luxury,” at least had some famous faces audiences recognized in the married couple of singer John Legend and supermodel Chrissy Tiegen.
One of the rich guests at the fancy party is holding a little accessory lapdog, which is apparently her only personality trait, in keeping with the rest of the guests, who also only have one obvious personality trait on display.
This spot is decent, although it’s a car company no one’s ever heard of, and really what pulls it together is the chemistry between Legend and Tiegen.
No. 5 – TurboTax
TurboTax had two ads run during the big game this year, and both included dogs in a small way. In the “All People are Tax People” spot, we see a quick shot of a dude who’s walking his Basset Hound using the treadmill in his apartment. We aren’t sure whether this is just lazy or actually kind of brilliant, though it does seem like it could be useful on days when the weather was bad.
The second ad, which features a dance party, begins at an arts and crafts show, where one of the initial characters is a pet artist, as there is a portrait of a Border Collie on display in the background.
The countdown continues through the canine-adjacent Super Bowl 54 commercials.
No. 4 – Reese’s Take5 candy bar
Take5 isn’t a candy bar for everyone; there’s A LOT going on – pretzels, peanuts, peanut butter, caramel and milk chocolate. At some point since its release in 2004 it was absorbed as a sub-brand of Reese’s, which is kind of a shame.
Anyway, this ad was set in an office and used a type of humor straight from Ameila Bedelia. The lady’s coworkers literally embody a variety of familiar cliches, from living under a rock to being raised by wolves to cluelessly watering a keyboard.
It doesn’t really have much at all to do with dogs, but it was clever wordplay and a creative concept.
No. 3 – Google
This commercial, called “Loretta,” which aired just before halftime, is possibly one of the saddest Super Bowl ads ever. An elderly widower is talking with his phone, reminding Cortana to remind him of all the wonderful things about Loretta and their life together, so she can keep him from forgetting Loretta’s memory.
There was something about the ad that was a bit alarming, seeing all the photos of them throughout the years had been saved digitally, but on the other hand, it was a sweet reminder of how technology can be used for good.
At the very end of the spot, the man reveals that one of Loretta’s wishes for him was to continue living his life and “get out of the dang house,” which seems to have been accomplished, at least partially though the presence of a very good dog who is about to go for his daily walk.
What were the best doggy Super Bowl 54 commercials?
No. 2 – Walmart
As a brand, Walmart isn’t that interesting. It’s always there, and you always know what to expect, both of which are helpful in daily life, but not so much so when it comes to marketing the company. So they pulled out all the stops from sci-fi and fantasy classics throughout pop culture in this ad for their pickup delivery service.
A partial list includes Bill Preston (Alex Winter) from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure (by the way, Ted Logan was played by dog lover Keanu Reeves, who will be back for the upcoming third movie), Doc Brown’s DeLorean from Back to the Future, the Guardians of the Galaxy are on their way in the Milano, and from Men in Black, Frank the Pug is there to pick up his treats.
We can only imagine how colossal the budget for this ad had to be to license all these characters… Kimberley has more on this ad here.
No. 1 – WeatherTech
Titled “Lucky Dog,” this ad from WeatherTech was from the point of view of company mascot Scout the Golden Retriever, who talked about surviving his battle with a nearly-impossible cancer last summer.
It was a great thank you to the staff at Wisconsin Vet Med for their care, and took notes from the movie version of The Art of Racing in the Rain, which make sense, as the company has a long history with sports car racing. Wesley has more on this ad here.
Which Super Bowl ads were your favorites this year?