PuppyMonkeyBaby and other good and bad SB50 ads

The state of corporate marketing was on display once again for Super Bowl 50, and this year the advertisements were arguably more predictable than ever. With a growing digital audience seeking out commercials days before Super Bowl Sunday, the advertisers seemed to try a little less hard in 2016 - probably because extra effort is no longer a necessity. A Doritos spot that featured a chip-craving ultrasound fetus launching itself into the world was controversial enough to get people riled up on social media, and clever enough to get a spirited defense from viewers who thought it was funny. “Burn it with fire,” more than one critic quipped on Twitter, upon seeing the intentionally creepy puppy/monkey/baby hybrid. Speaking of puppies, monkeys and babies … the Heinz commercial with dachshunds dressed in hot dog costumes running in slow-motion toward people dressed in ketchup-bottle costumes arguably won the cuteness derby. The NFL commercial featuring singing children in choir robes, born nine months after their city’s Super Bowl victory, drew fewer praises. A commercial for Opioid-Induced Constipation did little to promote awareness for a serious medical problem effecting a lot of people. A Rocket Mortgage commercial, touting a future where homes are purchased with one touch of a smart phone, looked like a sequel to “The Big Short.” Marketers spent up to $5 million for 30 seconds of airtime in 2016, an all-time high boosted not by staggering Super Bowl viewership, but the viral boost the ads receive online and on social media in the days before the game.