Chartwell Super Bowl Ads Takeaways and Favorites

It’s all about the Super Bowl ads! Some people watch the actual game, but for many of us in the marketing biz, the Super Bowl is, well, the Super Bowl of advertising. With big budgets and even bigger ideas, the world’s leading brands duke it out for their share of your advertising attention. Each year, the Chartwell Agency team dishes on trends, takeaways, and our favorites. So, huddle up for our takeaways and Super Bowl winners.

All About the 90s and 00s

This year’s batch of ads brought a healthy dose of nostalgia, which seemed aligned to the theme of the game. With Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Eminem on stage, the star-studded performance felt like the soundtrack of my junior year Homecoming dance, and the ads took me back as well.

If you missed them, here’s just a few that had me pulling out my platform sandals and cassette tapes.

MetaQuest 2’s Old Friends, New Fun had a real Chuck E. Cheese in the 90s vibe to it. And that animatronic pup gets a new lease on life when he discovers virtual reality, proof that old dogs can learn new tricks.

Flamin’ Hot Doritos and Cheetos got us with club favorite Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It,” and a quick-handed sloth.

Dr. Evil got a rebrand as Dr. EV-il, who is still totally going to take over the world, AFTER he fixes it by promoting electric vehicles.

It makes sense that advertisers wanted us to take a break from the woes of today by flashing back to the good ‘ole days. With COVID and divisive politics dominating headlines, throwback themes connected brands to positive memories – a time when things seemed simpler (and the music was better – see reference above about the halftime performance).

As we move through 2022, humor, lightheartedness, nostalgia, and connections will continue to be powerful themes with consumers.

Team Picks – Our favorite Super Bowl ads

Here are some ads that hit the mark with other Chartwellians.

Cassi’s and Liz’s pick: Another example of a good throwback, Cassi and Liz loved Rocket Homes and Rocket Mortgage “Dream House” because they used nostalgia to explain their messaging with characters like Better Offer Betty, House Flipper Skipper, and Cash Offer Carl. Anna Kendrick, as the spokesperson, explained why Barbie would probably get her Dream House in “a really competitive market” because of Rocket’s verified approval process. The message didn’t get lost in the cleverness, and a reference to Castle Grayskull never hurts, either.

Audrey’s pick: As a huge Sopranos fan, Audrey loved this choice for “a new generation” to promote Chevy’s new electric vehicle which featured Jamie-Lynn Sigler’s Meadow reuniting with Robert Iler’s A.J. Soprano. The commercial stood out from other car spots in its styling and was the proof we all needed that Meadow and AJ survived the fateful meal in the series finale.

Karli’s and Michael’s pick: If you didn’t take the bait and click the QR code dancing on screen during Coinbase’s Super Bowl commercial, you were in the minority. The flood of traffic (20M users scanned the QR code in the first minute) crashed their system and proved that curiosity is a powerful motivator. They loved this ad for its brilliant simplicity, and the fact that now smart digital retargeting can continue to serve ads well beyond the big game. (Not sure what retargeting is or how it works? Check out our digital media service line and we can help!)

Rebecca’s pick: Toyota Tundra had us “Keeping Up with the Joneses.” She loved the spot for its multi-generational appeal and broad product targeting. Plus, who doesn’t love a Tom Jones soundtrack?

While the Super Bowl is high-stakes advertising, the process to create a winning spot is the same. With just 30 seconds to tell your story, know your audience, what they need, and how to stand apart from the pack.

If you’re interested in winning ideas for your brand, we’d love to help. Contact us to learn more.