Okay, I am sitting in my favorite armchair (not really, but you get the point) and ready to dish out my hot takes regarding Super Bowl LX. For the TENTH time I am back to offer my unsolicited and annoying commentary on the game action, national anthem, halftime show, and commercials from football’s grandest night. Without further ado, let’s get started with this year’s analysis…

The Game: From a personal perspective, the game couldn’t have been better. As a lifelong Seattle fan, watching the Seahawks capture their second Super Bowl was sweet. From an objective standpoint? To paraphrase one of this year’s commercials, it was meh. Although the Seahawks did turn in a dominant defensive performance, the Patriots played sloppy as they made many errors that had nothing to do with Seattle’s “D.” Watching the two teams play nearly to the half with no penalties was nice but this definitely wasn’t a hard-hitting defensive battle played by two equally-matched squads. The Seahawks were in total control the whole time.

I was ecstatic that the Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl LX but the game itself from an objective standpoint was very average.

The Anthem: I thought Charlie Puth did a decent job. He performed the song a little on the slow side but he did it with honor. The background vocals and band complemented Charlie at the beginning but then drowned him out a bit in the middle. By the time he arrived at the last quarter of the national anthem, Puth managed to bring it together and delivered a solid finale. Definitely won’t go down in the books as an especially memorable rendition but he did avoid any gaffes.

I thought Charlie Puth did a solid job performing the national anthem at Super Bowl LX.

The Commercials: Besides the overload of AI spots, I thought the rest of the commercial crop was pretty balanced with a good mix of funny and emotional spots. If there is one thing that stood out to me, it is how much a spot can be enhanced with well-placed and powerful music. From Michelob using “Eye of the Tiger” during the Kurt Russell ski training montage to Enya’s “Only Time” in the NFL prostate cancer PSA to the Backstreet Boys T-Mobile commercial, using familiar and critically-acclaimed music at the perfect time can increase the likability and recall of advertising. Advertisers might have to pay a whole bunch of money in licensing fees but I am sure the ROI is worth it 😉.

The Michelob Super Bowl LX ad with Kurt Russell used the familiarity of “Eye of the Tiger” to make it stand out.

When it comes to last night’s most impactful commercials, I always like to recognize the spots that either did something super creative or extended their brand beyond the allotted 30 seconds. I thought the Lay’s “freshest bag” QR stunt was genius. A giveaway CTA with a bold promise will always engage an audience (and win you lots of data). I was amused by Coinbase’s spot that simply played “Everybody” by the Backstreet Boys while the lyrics appeared on a blue screen. I smiled as those around me had “WTF” reactions as the lyrics were displayed. No doubt, when the advertiser was revealed at the end, everyone was talking about Coinbase. And then the Liquid I.V. commercial with the singing toilets also received an “attaboy” from me. After an original concept of commodes performing in unison, the screen flashed with “TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR PEE | YELLOW?” There is no doubt in my mind that everyone was silently assessing the current color of their urine.

The Lay’s commercial was successful because it had an engaging call to action that viewers could complete in their living rooms.

My personal favorite commercials from Super Bowl LX? Well it was our Eastern Washington University spot of course! But when it comes to national placements, I have three: The Pepsi polar bear commercial was great. It was the ultimate flex at Coca-Cola, it included a major viral moment from the summer, and it also incorporated music in an impactful way (“I Want to Break Free” by Queen). The Rocket Mortgage commercial was the spot that resonated with me the most. As a family that has moved to several new homes and neighborhoods over the past 10 years, the kindness of new neighbors can mean so much. And finally the NFL “belief is a superpower” commercial was so inspirational and so cute that it was the one spot that truly captured my heart. I give the Super Bowl LX commercials an A.

The Pepsi commercial with the polar bears was my favorite spot of Super Bowl LX.

The Halftime Show: I have said this in past reviews and I will say it again regarding this year’s Bad Bunny halftime show: the bookers and organizers must have done something right because I didn’t like it. The stage sets were cool and the energy seemed to be there but the musical content, crotch grabbing, and booty shaking just didn’t do it for me. Not being able to sing along to anything that was performed nor feeling the least bit of inspiration also contributed to my lackluster reaction. I do feel this particular show will age well because the colors were vibrant and it looked fantastic on TV but even the cameos by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin couldn’t make me feel connected and impressed by the show.

The Bad Bunny Super Bowl LX halftime performance won’t go down as my favorite.

——–

To be completely honest, I write this annual blog post just so I will have my talking points straight when I chat with my EWU colleagues about the game this morning 😂. Nah, I also do this yearly entry because it is fun to write about…especially the marketing aspects. Congrats on your NFL title, Seahawks! Don’t Blink.

Past Super Bowl Commentary
Super Bowl LIX
Super Bowl LVIII
Super Bowl LVII
Super Bowl LVI
Super Bowl LV
Super Bowl LII
Super Bowl LI
Super Bowl 50
Super Bowl XLIX