Entertainment

These are the Super Bowl 2018 adverts that got people talking

Forget touchdowns, passing yards and game analysis: there’s a whole load of big event adverts.
Forget touchdowns, passing yards and game analysis: there’s a whole load of big event adverts. Forget touchdowns, passing yards and game analysis: there’s a whole load of big event adverts.

The Philadelphia Eagles might have won their first ever Super Bowl in a night of historic records in Minnesota but for anyone more interested in the romance and razzmatazz of the occasion it was the commercial breaks that were the main attraction.

These coveted spots were sold for about $5 million (£3.5 million) for 30 seconds of airtime.

Here’s a run-through of ads that were making waves.

The NFL and that scene from Dirty Dancing

This is the one that’s been getting the most love on social media – an advert for the NFL itself. In case you don’t recognise the faces, it’s actual NFL players from the New York Giants in the ad. Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr double up as Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey to recreate the epic dance scene from Dirty Dancing – complete with lift.

Players Landon Collins, Brett Jones, John Jerry, Chad Wheeler, DJ Fluker and John Greco are also in the ad, as ‘Johnny’s’ backing dancers.

Morgan Freeman in a lip-sync battle against Peter Dinklage

Freeman lip-syncs a song by Missy Elliott while Dinklage opts for Busta Rhymes as they do a lip-sync battle as Doritos Blaze and Mountain Dew Ice, both from Pepsi Co.

They’re all Tide ads!

Given the excitement about the airing of the adverts, it’s a bit of a guessing game for viewers to work out what they are. Stranger Things actor David Harbour pops up in scenes that seem to be ads about different products: a car, an insurance company, jewellery, but he points out that they must be for detergent Tide because everyone’s outfits are super clean.

Amazon’s Alexa loses her voice

Brits Gordon Ramsay and Anthony Hopkins crop up in this commercial as Amazon’s talking assistant Alexa loses her voice and are called in as “replacements”. Ramsay berates a 32-year-old guy who can’t make a grilled cheese sandwich, not quite what we’ve come to expect from the assistant. Thankfully, Alexa is fit and well by the end.

Jurassic Park is back, kind of

Jeff Goldblum was chased through a forest by dinosaurs in one Super Bowl commercial break. But this wasn’t the next instalment of the Jurassic Park franchise but an advert for Jeep trucks.

Pepsi’s advertising mash-up

Pepsi dipped into its advertising archive for this retro feast which included snapshots of old ads referencing Britney Spears and Michael Jackson as well as “your father” and “his father”. Cindy Crawford, who was in a 1992 Pepsi ad, is shown with her actual son, model Presley Gerber.

Coca-Cola showcased variety

Coca-Cola spent 60 seconds on its message, there’s a Coke for all of us, with a big idea advert that whoever you are, wherever you are: there’s a Coke for you.

Matt Damon spreading the word about Water.org

Matt Damon was another Hollywood big-hitter brought in for the prime-time ad slot. He extolled the virtues of buying one Stella Artois glass in a link up to help Water.org give clean water to one million people for five years.

And more water

Budweiser showed how it can stop production of its beer to quickly can water which it can then dish out in disaster zones. This year that included Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and California. In fact, the company has provided more than 79 million cans of water to cities across the US since 1988. An ad to pull on the heartstrings.

Groupon

Comedian Tiffany Haddish was all about supporting local businesses through the use of Groupon, with a football-themed penalty for those who didn’t like to buy local.

Dodge

Meanwhile truck maker Dodge used parts of a Martin Luther King speech in its commercial for Ram Trucks. The King Centre later distanced itself from the advert.