ADWEEK | First Things First

Not coming through? Click here to view in browser

First Things First

February 9, 2021

By Jess Zafarris

These 4 Ad Campaigns Show Just How Perfectly Norway Responded to GM's Super Bowl Spot

In GM’s Super Bowl 55 spot touting its EV future—which proved to be one of the top-rated ads of the game—Will Ferrell rallies Kenan Thompson and Awkwafina to join him in an ill-fated quest to “punch Norway in the face” over the revelation that the country is far ahead of the U.S. in shifting to electric vehicles. But Norway didn’t take the threat lying down: Companies and organizations including Audi Norway and the country’s University of Adger have already released—not one, but four hilarious campaigns (and six total ads) in response.

Travel to Norway: Game of Thrones’ Tormund Giantsbane is deeply indignant and suggests a fishy slap-fight.

Super Bowl ICYMI Links: 10 Best Ads | Gallery of All the Ads | Watch Our Supercut of the Ads

A Few Brands Scored Big From Their Super Bowl 55 Spots—but Just a Few

We’ve now passed the initial enchantment and entered every ad nerd’s favorite phase of Super Bowl season: ruthless armchair critiques and analysis. In that spirit, Adweek’s Robert Klara delivers a smorgasbord of insights into the overall perception of the Big Game’s ad lineup (spoiler: it wasn’t great), as well as specific wins for brands like Mountain Dew, State Farm and Cadillac, and less-than-positive sentiment around Robinhood, Uber Eats and Oatly. Much like the star of Toyota’s ad, dive in—the analysis is fine.

More Victories and Flops from Super Bowl 55

WIN: Maybe it was the cheetle on Mila Kunis’ cheeks, or maybe it was Ashton Kutcher’s inability to carry a tune. Either way, the ad they starred in with Shaggy really made people want to buy some Cheetos. Explore more social listening secrets.

WIN: Among agencies whose work appeared in the Big Game, Wieden+Kennedy earned top marks, with ads for Anheuser-Busch’s portfolio and TurboTax capturing hearts. Watch the ads and learn which agency ranks second.

TOSS-UP: Eight of the spots in the Big Game were created by in-house teams, compared to three last year. These ads, including those for Bass Pro Shops, Oatly and DraftKings were far from the most popular, but the trend shows a willingness to eschew agency-dominated tradition. Adweek’s Minda Smiley explores.

FAIL: Jeep took a stab at encouraging unity in its two-minute ad “The Middle” with Bruce Springsteen, but post-game analysis shows it accomplished the opposite of what it set out to do.

TOSS-UP: In general, ads that aimed for a more serious tone didn’t hit the bullseye, but there were exceptions that resonated with viewers. Learn which ones and why they worked.

WIN: A survey from predictive marketing firm System1 highlighted Huggies, M&M’s and DoorDash as the most “emotional effective” ads of the game. And there’s actually some interesting science to it.

WIN: Rocket Mortgage was an unexpected hit during the Super Bowl, surprising and delighting viewers with two hilarious ads starring Tracy Morgan. The spots earned the top two places in USA Today Ad Meter’s rankings of audience favorites.

WIN: Wowing with its Halftime Show starring The Weeknd, Pepsi nabbed the MVP award in Twitter’s Brand Bowl for generating the most buzz on the platform during the game. See the other honorees.

FAIL: The biggest problem with the Super Bowl? No masks. “We watched ad after ad missing visual cues such as masks or social distancing—as if none of the past year happened and we are all living in an alternative universe,” writes Geoffrey Colon.

More of Today’s Top News and Highlights:

Why Reddit Spent Its Entire Marketing Budget on a 5-Second Super Bowl Ad

Were you one of the eagle-eyed few to catch Reddit's blink-and-miss-it #SuperBowl ad? As the ad claimed, the five-second spot composed of a single still image cost Reddit its entire marketing budget, which is still quite small because the company is relatively new to brand marketing. Learn why the brand pulled the trigger on the ad.