RJ Writing Ink

My Top Ten Favorite Ads for Super Bowl LIV

Another Super Bowl’s come and gone, and while I’m happy to see the Kansas City Chiefs win, I’m going to be honest. I never watch the Super Bowl for the game unless its my home team: it’s all about the ads. This year saw some really great ones, and some not so great ones (the nerve of Trump and Bloomberg). So, without further ado, here are my picks for favorite ads for Super Bowl LIV.

By the way, I absolutely loved Demi Lovato singing the National Anthem. I can’t believe how far she’s come from from Camp Rock and Sonny with a Chance.

Give the Earth a Snickers

There’s no denying that life on Earth could be a lot better. Climate Change has yet to be checked, violence abounds, and people seem to be doing so many stupid things. So, why not feed the world a Snickers Bar, because that’s just what happens in this hilarious commercial. The effects seem to be pretty fast, too.

Walmart Groceries

Given my love of pop culture, and the fact that this commercial is filled with appearances ranging from Flash Gordon to Bill from Bill and Ted, this one’s pretty self explanatory. Thank you, Super Bowl and Walmart!

Mountain Dew Zero and Bryan Cranston

Never in my life have I needed something so much and never known until I received it. In this parody of Stanley Kubrick’s version of The Shining, Bryan Cranston re-enacts the famous “here’s Johnny” scene in order to convince a woman that Mountain Dew Zero’s as good as the original. It’s gut-busting hilarious, and the real kicker is seeing Bryan dressed as those two creepy twins at the very end. That, and the elevator filled with Mountain Dew.

Tide, Later

This next pick wasn’t one commercial, but several commercials that ran throughout the Super Bowl. In the first one, after a man gets a stain on his shirt, he’s told to wait until “later” to use Tide to get rid of it. What would have been a good one-off ad became a running gag, though. The “Later” man kept showing up in other ads, until it was finally later. Too bad he got another stain in the end.

Rick and Morty Pringles

Ever since I saw this ad online a few days ago, I couldn’t stop obsessing over Pringles and how much I wanted them. So I had to go buy a bunch of Pringles packs for the Super Bowl. Rick and Morty is a great way to advertise products.

Jason Momoa and Rocket Morgtage

This almost didn’t make the list, mainly because I got a little weirded out by how Jason Momoa ended up. After thinking it over, though, I think it’s brilliant. I still prefer Jason more as his buff self, though: it’s how I know him as Aquaman and Khal Drogo.

Marvel Studios and Disney+

Okay, so the Marvel series on Netflix didn’t turn out so hot. However, I have a good feeling about the upcoming Marvel series on Disney+. I’m gonna try and review each of these shows when they come out!

Weather Tech and Scout the Lucky Dog

It was either this or Google’s in terms of the most tear-jerking commercial. Given the fact that I love dogs and hate cancer, though, Scout the Lucky Dog won out in the end. I’m so happy that Scout managed to beat cancer!

Baby Nut

A few weeks before the Super Bowl, Planters shocked the world when they chose to kill off their long time mascot, Mr. Peanut. He died saving the lives of two others after their car went off a cliff. Then, Planters brought back Mr. Peanut in their Super Bowl ad. At his funeral, Kool-Aid-Man’s tears somehow revive Mr. Peanut as a baby, with the now Baby Nut taking the Internet by storm. Now we have people debating over who’s cuter: Baby Nut or Baby Yoda?

Jeep, Bill Murray, and Groundhog Day

This commercial was an absolute stroke of genius. Not only was Februray 2nd Super Bowl LIV, it was also Groundhog Day. So, Jeep decide to seize the moment and recreate the famous Groundhog Day film. With Bill Murray reprising his role as Phil Connors, he redoes the events of his famous movie. That is, until he sees a Gladiator Jeep and takes it for a joyride with the groundhog. The commercial then shows the pair enjoying themselves in the time loop, which is both nostalgic and hilarious. By far, the best ad of the Super Bowl this year.

Agree with my picks? What was your favorite ad from the Super Bowl this year?

2019 Super Bowl’s Failed Halftime Show

I wanted to write this yesterday, but since the Super Bowl was still fresh in my mind, I decided I would get too emotional to do anything about it. So, I gave it an extra day to let myself cool off.

As many already know, in November, 2018, Stephen Hillenberg, the creator of the famous cartoon Spongebob Squarepants, died from ALS.

Shortly after his death, a petition began to go around the internet. With the Super Bowl coming up, one fan came up with an idea to create the perfect tribute to Hillenberg: have the song “Sweet Victory” play at the Super Bowl Halftime show.

Sweet Victory

Any fan of Spongebob has heard or seen “Sweet Victory”. At the climax of the Season Two episode “Band Geeks“, Spongebob helps Squidward lead the citizens of Bikini Bottom in playing the song at halftime for a spoof on the Super Bowl, the Bubble Bowl.

That performance and the final shot of Squidward leaping into the air in joyful triumph is legendary in cartoon lore. “Band Geeks” was critically acclaimed and is considered by most fans and critics to be the show’s best episode. I affectionately call it “Squidward’s finest hour.” So when that petition went up to play it at Super Bowl LIII, hundreds of thousands signed it as the ultimate tribute to the late Hillenberg.

In January, it looked like fans were going to get their wish:

Here’s what we got instead:

What. The heck. Was that? Just thinking about it makes me upset!

While some fans were happy that Spongebob got a cameo at the halftime, many were livid, myself included. So, we did what angry fans do: go to social media and spew our bile. Currently, the #1 trending video on YouTube, the Super Bowl LIII Halftime’s overwhelmingly disliked. It stands at 622k dislikes, last time I checked. And the comments are just as bad:

I don’t hate Sicko Mode, i actually think it’s an amazing song. But when you do Spongebob dirty like that, that’s when you’ve crossed the line

Lee Croc, YouTube

“Hey Patrick, what am I now? “”Uhh, stupid? “”No, I’m the NFL!” “What’s the difference!”

Hello, YouTube

We are disliking the video faster than nfl can remove it

Rocky Reyes, YouTube

I could go on! Everyone hated it!

We Got Ripped Off

I am aware that we were never outright promised that “Sweet Victory” would be played at the Super Bowl, but it was implied that it would be, given the footage of Spongebob in Maroon 5’s promo for the Halftime. I know that it can be argued that we should be lucky that we even got that cameo.

I don’t want to argue that, though. Because it felt like the cameo was an even bigger insult to the fans. The people who run the NFL and the Super Bowl thought that fans would be content with a brief cameo, but they underestimated us.

An Insult To the Fans

Having Spongebob reduced to a small cameo not only felt lazy, but disrespectful. Disrespectful to the fans who fought so hard for this, and disrespectful to Spongebob, Hillenberg, and the impact they’ve had on so many lives. Even if they didn’t have the cameo, the Halftime Show would have gotten a lot of hate. It was bland, forgettable, and honestly, it sucked.

At least there are people out there who have tried to do something to correct the NFL’s mistake. The morning after the Super Bowl, the Dallas Stars posted this video on their Twitter feed, giving us the halftime show fans deserve.

There’s no point in dwelling on the past any longer, though. All we can do is make sure the NFL learns their lesson and move on. Maybe someday, we can give Hillenberg the tribute he deserves, and get the sweet victory we deserve. As for Maroon 5, I hate them now. Plus side is, we have our first Dank Meme for 2019.

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