The world’s oldest adolescent white male held forth at halftime. But the target audience for several commercials seemed to be different demographics entirely. During Super Bowl Extra Large, two of the quietest commercials were the most provocative.
Beyond Mick Jagger, the ads are the reason many of us watch, and this year two spots actually broke ground. You could say these commercials scored forward-thinking first downs for American pop culture in the new millennium. Really.
Advertisers fielded a couple of unexpected players, namely Hispanics and girls. While we were minding the guacamole, the annual testosterone festival turned unexpectedly inclusive.
Not that we didn’t endure a slew of dumb pitches for beer, cars and cellphones. But the most notable commercials of the Seahawks-Steelers showdown were different – almost P.C.
The first bilingual ad to appear in a Super Bowl (there have been other bilingual ads, but never in so prominent a setting) arrived courtesy of Toyota.
The first Super Bowl ad targeting girls 8 to 17 years old (or more likely, their families), debuted thanks to Dove.
Not that car and soap-makers operate out of social consciousness or altruism. They see markets to be cracked.
Dove moved its “Real Beauty” campaign from billboards to TV, daring girls to seek a healthy self-image. The “True Colors” ads featured images of girls over captions like “Thinks she’s ugly,” “Wishes she were blonde” and “Afraid she’s fat.” The ad proclaims, “Every girl deserves to feel good about herself.”
Toyota’s ad for the hybrid Camry features a Hispanic father driving his young son, explaining how the car switches from gas to electric power. “Mira aqui,” (Look here), he says. The boy responds, “Like you with English and Spanish.” Buying a Camry won’t solve the social-political pressures confronting bicultural Hispanics, and washing with Dove won’t ensure better self-esteem, but they are nice sentiments.
Are these cynical, exploitative ploys to manipulate underserved audiences? Or are they legitimate nods to a changing American demographic? The answer is yes, both. Some 90 million viewers were exposed to a profound shift in what counts as “all-American” advertising on this most American high holiday.
Those were the ground-breakers. Now for the eye-poppers:
* Top honors to Diet Pepsi for its “Brown and Bubbly” spots, including one in which a “stunt double” Diet Coke can gets crushed.
* Second prize goes to a wonderfully over-the-top production number, starring Burger King’s Whopperettes, with kudos to the wardrobe department.
* Third place to Degree for men, the antiperspirant used in a stunning Stunt City.
* Collective memory honorable mention: GoDaddy.com’s spot making fun of a certain infamous Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction.
* Special achievement: ABC devised smart promotional spots for “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost.” Athletes and Hugh Hefner raved about “Housewives;” clever editing made the “Lost” islanders seem part of a rock video.
All in all, a play-it-safe telecast in which ABC’s five-second delay proved unnecessary.
TV critic Joanne Ostrow can be reached at 303-820-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com.
