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From a strange creature called "Puppymonkeybaby" to a tear-inducing Audi ad, Super Bowl ads ran the gamut this year from offbeat humor to heartfelt messages.


On advertising's biggest night, Chrysler celebrated Jeep with an ad 

featuring black-and-white portraits of veterans, kids and pop icons.

 In Audi's spot, a depressed aging astronaut 

 by driving an Audi sports car with his son. And in a quirky Doritos ad, a fetus in a sonogram appears to rocket out of the womb to chase a bag of chips the mother angrily tossed away.

In Super Bowl commercial spotlight: Dads and daughters


The goal for advertisers: to stand out and win over the 114 million-plus people watching the big game on Super Bowl Sunday, much the way the 

Denver Broncos triumphed over the Carolina Panthers.

 With ads costing a record $5 million for 30 seconds this year, the stakes are high to stand out from the 40-plus advertisers and be remembered.


In general, advertisers played it safe with universally liked celebrities such as Anthony Hopkins (TurboTax) and 


"It's been a pretty safe night," said David Berkowitz, chief marketing officer at advertising agency MRY. "There's relatively little going over the top."


Offbeat humor reigned with a creature called "Puppymonkeybaby" — pretty much exactly what it sounds like — in an ad for Mountain Dew's Kickstart. The ad sought to show that three great things go together, since Kickstart combines Mountain Dew, juice and caffeine.

Mtn Dew Kickstart: Puppymonkeybaby | Super Bowl Spot


"It's on my list of the weirdest ad of the night, but it's very catchy and people will be talking about it," said Kelly O'Keefe, a marketing professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.


Heartfelt messages were in abundance too. 

SunTrust's ad urged people to take a breath

 and feel better about their financial health. 

BMW's Mini urged people to "defy labels."


Most ads managed to avoid the somber tone struck last year, when an ad for Nationwide about preventable household accidents bummed out many in the audience.


There were a couple of misfires. Two pharmaceutical ads highlighted unappealing digestive conditions. One promoted an anti-diarrhea medication Xifaxan with a small-intestines mascot taking a seat at the Super Bowl. Another sought to raise awareness about 


"This just isn't a topic that people want to hear about during a Super Bowl," said Villanova University marketing professor Charles Taylor.

Mountain Dew's ad might have been the weirdest ad of the night, but Doritos' ad also seemed likely to divide viewers. The spot showed a couple during a sonogram. When the mother throws away a bag of Doritos, the fetus seems to zoom after it, to the consternation of all present.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko7GuDOv4BM


"It caught you a little off guard, but it fit the brand," said O'Keefe.


Some Super Bowl watchers agreed. Brian Kearney, from Morris County, N.J., was watching the game with about 15 people and said the ad was a hit with his friends.


"I thought it was hysterical, we all cracked up," Kearney said.

Bud Light featured Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen

 traveling around America promoting "The Bud Light Party." A 

Shock Top ad showed actor T.J. Miller trading insults

 with the brewery's talking orange wedge mascot. And the outdoor goods-and-clothing company 

Marmot showed a man palling around with an actual marmot

 he appears to be falling for, all to illustrate falling in love with the outdoors.


Eight years after the financial meltdown, financial companies are feeling more comfortable promoting their products and services. Six advertised in the big game, including including SunTrust Banks, PayPal, Quicken Loans, Intuit brand and Intuit's TurboTax and Social Finance Inc.


Most promoted optimistic messages about money. TurboTax, for instance, 

 to get out the message that you can file your taxes for free with TurboTax. PayPal's music-video style ad asked people to embrace "New Money."

PayPal 2016 Big Game Commercial - “There’s a New Money in Town”


"We're officially over the mourning of 2008 (financial crisis)," said Mediapost columnist Barbara Lippert.

 with a 90-second ad depicting bank robbers who use a Prius 4 to escape from police. 

 in a futuristic spot showing off LG's new OLED 4K TV. 

 echoed "The Revenant," showing people escaping grizzly bears by using Hyundai's remote start feature.


"Super Bowl advertisers are sticking with light themes," said Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management. "Last year we had serious ads about fathers and mortality. This year the ads are funny and creative."

Arts and Culture

The Associated Press

Author

From a strange creature called "Puppymonkeybaby" to a tear-inducing Audi ad, Super Bowl ads ran the gamut this year from offbeat humor to heartfelt messages.


Offbeat humor, upbeat messages dominate Super Bowl 50 ads

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