Super Bowl ads have become an American staple; with millions of viewers, advertisers often create fun and creative spots that become pop-culture touchstones for years. This year, in between the tense game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, which saw the Seahawks come out on top, advertisers fell flat in the eyes of many viewers. This year’s slate of ads included several commercials that either featured artificial intelligence (AI) or promoted it. The inclusion of AI, along with uncomfortable messages about obesity, has caused many viewers to speak out against the ads, noting a clear shift in tone from previous years.
Super Bowl Commercials
Super Bowl LX took place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. This year’s big game featured the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots advancing through the playoffs to compete for the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Seahawks came out victorious, avenging their 2015 loss to the Patriots, with a score of 29 to 13. The Super Bowl, and its halftime show, are massive events in the U.S., drawing in over 120 million viewers. This high viewer count means that a slot during commercial breaks is one of the most sought-after by advertisers.
Due to high demand, Super Bowl ads are reserved for the largest brands in America. These brands dedicate large budgets to producing advertisements that are entertaining and memorable for the millions of Americans who see them. Notable Super Bowl ads that have become staples in pop culture include Mountain Dew’s puppy monkey baby, Apple’s 1984 commercial, and Budweiser’s “Whassup”.
This year saw a shift in the types of brands featured. Instead of established and popular food and drink brands like Coca-Cola and Snickers, this year’s lineup featured many names from the emerging markets of AI, cryptocurrency, and online betting. This year saw ads from Coinbase, a crypto trading platform, DraftKings, one of the largest online sports betting platforms, and OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT.
AI and Sports Betting
Both online betting and AI have been the subject of criticism over the past few years, as people feel that they do more harm than good. Online sports betting and prediction markets have been growing industries; however, the morality of giving people, especially young adults, constant and easy access to gambling has contributed to a rise in gambling addictions. Artificial intelligence, however, has drawn criticism both for its negative impact on the environment and its ability to replace human jobs, particularly in creative fields.
Many ads included artificial intelligence to generate video, such as Svedka’s robot ad, but many others promoted new AI software, such as Ring video doorbell. Ring promoted their new AI search party feature, which allows users to upload photos of missing dogs, and nearby cameras will use AI to detect a match and locate the lost dog. Viewers are criticizing this commercial heavily, with viewers stating that including AI detection capabilities in all cameras will be used for surveillance. These viewers have called the new feature dystopian as they are fearful of how Ring will use this feature and who will have access to it.
Mike Tyson’s MAHA Commercial
Also featured during the game was an ad from the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Center, featuring Mike Tyson. This black-and-white ad had Tyson speak about his experiences with obesity. In the ad, Tyson refers to his obese self as “fat and nasty” and says that he once wanted to kill himself. He goes on to call obese Americans “fudgy” before taking a bite of an apple, and the ad ends with the message to eat real food.
Many see this ad as uncomfortable and insulting. This ad comes from an official government source yet places the blame for obesity on individual viewers. Many have spoken out against the ad’s message, questioning whether government agencies should communicate this way and stating that it could demoralize people struggling with obesity. The ad also makes no real attempt at a solution, simply stating to stop eating processed foods. However, processed foods dominate what Americans eat, and not all processed foods are linked to concerning health conditions.
While there was a large change in tone from previous years, many ads still retained the lighthearted tone and exceptional quality. While these ads have reminded us of what Super Bowl commercials are meant to do, this year’s set of commercials marked a shift that viewers around the country have noticed and that has concerned many looking ahead.
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