Some thought the ad was a hit. "Kudos to them for making a strong statement," said O'Keefe. But others, such as Villanova University marketing professor Charles Taylor, thought it didn't have a clear enough link to the brand and risked coming off as a "purely political statement."
LIGHT HUMOR PLUS CELEBS
Budweiser drew some criticism for the immigration theme of its ad, including calls on Twitter to boycott the brewer. That fostered debate — and banter — online,
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As the New England Patriots edged out the Atlantic Falcons on the field in Houston, Airbnb touted inclusiveness with an ad showing faces of different ethnicities and the copy: "We all belong. The world is more beautiful the more you accept."
SURPRISES
"Brands used to worry about whether their ad could be interpreted as right or wrong," said Kelly O'Keefe, a marketing professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. "Now they have to worry about whether it will be interpreted as right or left."
Several ads aimed for just that. Tide, for instance, offered a humorous ad showing announcer Terry Bradshaw trying frantically to remedy a stain while his antics go "viral" online,
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Ads with light humor and stuffed with celebrities were popular. Honda's ad made a splash by animating the yearbook photos of nine celebrities ranging from Tina Fey to Viola Davis. They make fun of their photos — Jimmy Kimmel is dressed in a blue tux and holding a clarinet, for example — and talk about "The Power of Dreams," Honda's ad slogan.
Plenty of ads walked that line.
"The Super Bowl is shaping up as a counterpoint to the divisiveness in the United States," said Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University.
"Anxiety and politics just loom over this game, so anybody who gives us the blessed relief of entertaining with a real Super Bowl commercial wins," said Mark DiMassimo, CEO of the ad agency DiMassimo Goldstein.
Even a hair care brand dipped into politics: The "It's a 10" hair brand indirectly referenced President Donald Trump's famously unruly do in its Super Bowl spot.
"It was a really good message and it was entertaining," said Mirta Desir, a New Orleans native who works in education and was watching the game on Long Island.
"It went by so fast, I almost missed it,
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During the pre-game show, Coca-Cola ran "It's Beautiful," an ad featuring people around the country drinking the fizzy beverage and singing "America the Beautiful" in different languages.
Coca-Cola aired a previously run ad during the pregame show in which people sing "America the Beautiful" in different languages. And Budweiser ran a 60-second spot chronicling co-founder Adolphus Busch's migration from Germany to St. Louis in 1857,
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An NFL spot conveyed what all advertisers hope the Super Bowl becomes: a place where Americans can come together. "Inside these lines, we may have our differences, but recognize there's more that unites us," Forest Whitaker intoned in a voiceover as workers prepped a football field and gridiron scenes played.
"America, we're in for four years of awful hair, so it's up to you to do your part by making up for it with great hair," went a voiceover state as black-and-white photos of people with a wide array of hairstyles flashed by. "Do your part. ... Let's make sure these next four years are 'It's a 10.'"
It's tough to be a Super Bowl advertiser, period. But this year, a divisive political climate has roiled the nation since Trump took office in January, making it even tougher for advertisers. Advertisers who paid $5 million for 30 seconds had to walk the line with ads that appealed to everyone and didn't offend. Some were more successful than others.
Airbnb's ad was one of the more overtly political, showing a variety of different faces with the tagline "We accept."
Other advertisers took the safest route possible by re-airing ads they've used before — an unusual, though not unprecedented, move. Coca-Cola, Google and Fiji water all aired rerun ads.
The Tide ad with Terry Bradshaw was a hit with some viewers because of the way it tricked viewers into thinking it was part of the broadcast. "It made you think twice," said Pablo Rochat, watching in Atlanta. "There was funny dialogue and goo
