Final Review: MediaVillage Team Coverage of Super Bowl Sunday

By The Media Ecologist Archives
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A Note from Jack Myers: The editorial team at MediaVillage this year brought a fresh perspective to our annual coverage of the Super Bowl telecast. Last week, veteran media columnist Stuart Elliott sized up the competition between long-time Super Bowl advertisers and newcomers, while Charlotte Lipman revealed how fantasy football has given young women a new appreciation of the sport -- especially the Super Bowl. This week, Stuart offered his signature distinctive commentary about the commercials, while Charlotte reported on the Super Bowl from an entirely new perspective, focusing on ads that ran during competing programs on other networks. Meanwhile, Connor Zickgraf explained how the depiction of gender roles in commercials changed from Super Bowl XLIX to SBL; Kristi Faulkner exposed the absence of brand stories in most Super Bowl commercials, and Ed Martin weighed in on the telecast’s biggest surprise: CBS’ official announcement that this would be the last season for its long-running blue-chip drama “The Good Wife,” which made almost as much news as the commercials themselves. Scroll down for links that will take you directly to all of the columns mentioned here.

Together, the columns below serve as a fine example of how the editors and writers at MediaVillage bring distinctive points of view to all content across all of our platforms, including MediaBizBloggers, WomenAdvancing, TheFutureofMen and 1stFive. We’ll be bringing that same teamwork to our annual coverage of Upfront and NewFront season, which gets underway later this month. Stay tuned and thank you for your support.      

Stuart Elliott: What the "L" Happened to Super Bowl 50 Advertising?

The commercials that ran Sunday on CBS during Super Bowl 50 were, for the most part, as forgettable as the game was.  Though it's the biggest feel-good day of the year, Madison Avenue tried hard to bring viewers down -- not only with those commercials, but also with spots with strange, off-putting and downright weird characters and premises.

Kristi Faulkner: Super Bowl 50: Where Were the Brand Stories?

Super Bowl 50 was overrun with 30-second bits of confusing, celebrity-laden, idea-missing, frenetic hype and hyperbole, most of which lacked any memorable brand story whatsoever. To paraphrase John Wanamaker, half of all advertising dollars are wasted but no one knows which half.  Watching Sunday night’s extravaganza made it ridiculously clear which advertising dollars were wasted.

Charlotte Lipman: The Top Five Ads That Did Not Appear During Super Bowl 50

At $5 million a pop, there is little wonder why audiences expect premium ad creative during the Super Bowl. But what if we approached all advertising with the same sort of attention we give to Super Bowl advertisers? Our intrepid reporter watched some of Super Bowl Sunday’s most anticipated programming that did not air on CBS to take stock of the creative currently out in market. Read about the winners

Connor Zickgraf: A New Era in Super Bowl Messaging -- Gender News Weekly

If Super Bowl XLIX was “The Super Bowl That Cared” (as named by Jack Myers), then this year wasn’t quite up to snuff. It lacked the strong, meaningful and positive messaging that was demonstrated by a wide range of brands in last year’s commercials. Instead, brands returned to humor (or, at least, attempted it) and an over-reliance on celebrities (some worked, some didn’t).

Ed Martin: CBS' Super Bowl Stunner: Goodbye to “The Good Wife”

The outstanding moments of Super Bowl 50 for me had nothing to do with the game or with the commercials, which as usual offered approximately a half-dozen great ads and dozens more that collectively represented a titanic waste of money and reflected the overall lack of originality these days among creatives in the advertising community. They were, in order, the fun and family friendly half-time show, Lady Gaga’s triumphant performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" (she has now dominated TV’s two biggest events of the year -- the Academy Awards and the Super Bowl) and the surprise announcement by CBS that this would be the final season for “The Good Wife,” which has a mere nine episodes to go before it ends.

Stuart Elliott: Super Bowl Ad Vets vs. Rookies -- Who Will Win?

The big story on Sunday in Super Bowl 50 is likely to be the faceoff between the veterans and the eager rookies. There also are different levels of experience among the football players.

Charlotte Lipman: This Millennial Non-Fan Gets Excited About the Super Bowl for the First Time Ever

I have never been excited about the Super Bowl. I’m not a football fan. I neither enjoy nor understand it. The ads, which I do enjoy, are either released before the game or available immediately afterwards. I do not like beer, buffalo wings, plain potato chips or really most go-to Super Bowl party refreshments. Lest anyone rescind my invitation to their Super Bowl party, I am pleased to say that this year I am extremely excited about the big game. Why? Two words: Fantasy football.

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