World reacts to hot and cold Super Bowl LII ads

A $5 MILLION broadcast blunder blew every other “horrendous” Super Bowl ad out of the water in a year where commercials are falling flat.

AMERICAN Super Bowl broadcaster NBC’s technical blunder has stolen the headlines away from a field of slammed Super Bowl ads.

In a year where many of the most expensive commercials on the planet fell flat with viewers, a 30-second “dead air” blunder became the big talking point of Super Bowl 2018 ads.

With each commercial running during the local American Super Bowl broadcast on NBC costing $5 million per 30-second slot, viewers were left stunned in the second quarter when an ad failed to play leaving television screens black without any audio during the 30-second block.

According to reports, the technical blunder was witnessed across the United States.

The ad block was supposed to be a moment where local stations on the NBC network showed area-specific ads.

Instead, viewers got 29 seconds of dead air.

NBC black screen of Super Bowl ad slot was for 29 seconds. Happened in many markets where local spot was supposed to be inserted. Here’s what it looked like (H/T @ApexMGAnalytics) pic.twitter.com/ItDQzZ5sbt

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 5, 2018

Welp... Somebody's going to be requesting a $5million refund for that skipped ad. #blackout #SuperBowl #superbowlcommercials

— Rob Murat (@robmurat) February 5, 2018

Buying a Super Bowl ad that’s just 15 seconds of a black screen followed by your company’s logo would be pretty smart. Everyone looks up when nothing is happening https://t.co/d8nTSXd5Kk

— Eric Scott Johnson (@HeyHeyESJ) February 5, 2018

Best Super Bowl ad yet! #Itsablankad #useyourimagination #SuperBowlLll pic.twitter.com/i7Ksydy8F0

— Rusty McCranie (@RMcCranieWFTV) February 5, 2018

Super Bowl blacked out. Was that $30m in lost ad revenues?

— Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang) February 5, 2018

Are we not going to talk about the company that just lost millions of dollars on a blank ad spot? #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/bwcfxWh2Jb

— The Tylt (@TheTylt) February 5, 2018

Many commentators believe it was simply a broadcasting mistake.

Other, more cynical fans, believed the black screen was going to be used as the first instalment of a Super Bowl ad series.

At half time, NBC reportedly provided an explanation, claiming no commercial time was missed — the dead air witnessed by millions of Americans appears to conflict with that statement.

.@NBCSports statement: ‘We had a brief equipment failure that we quickly resolved. No game action or commercial time were missed.’

— Brian Steinberg (@bristei) February 5, 2018

Many of the advertisers would have been grateful for the distraction to the poor reception their own ads received.

Super Bowl ads in 2018 attracted scorn from NFL commentators, labelling the commercials at Super Bowl LII one of the worst years for the normally-celebrated advertising showpiece.

Among the ads slammed by commentators this year was a Diet Coke dancing jiggle, Pepsi’s Cindy Crawford flashback and Ram’s Vikings-ute ad.

Is it me or does this Super Bowl so far seem like the Trailer Bowl? We are seeing movie previews not only from the film studios but also from the SVODs. And we know there's one from Amazon on the way...

— Brian Steinberg (@bristei) February 5, 2018

@DiannaMcD during the @DietCoke ad: "Everyone remember this cost over $5 million?" #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/0KjT2BXxNO

— kristina monllos (@kristinamonllos) February 5, 2018

The Super Bowl commercials get worse and worse each year.

Advertising agencies not holding up on the grand stage.

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 5, 2018

Good #SBLII so far but horrendous commercials.

— Dan Rafael (@danrafaelespn) February 5, 2018

Pepsi:
Kendall Jenner helped us make the wokest ad in advertising history! (The kids call it "woke," right?)

Dodge:
Dilly Dilly! Hold my beer! #SuperBowl

— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) February 5, 2018

If I see another Super Bowl ad by a money-grubbing corporate giant sponging off the heroics of selfless citizens, I’m gonna puke.

— Mike McIntire (@mmcintire) February 5, 2018

The Church of scientology also made an appearance during the half time show.

If you have to pay $5 million for a an ad for #Scientology to prove it isn’t a cult, it’s probably a cult. #SuperBowl

— julie marie Ⓥ (@jmcappiello) February 5, 2018

Fortunately, Tourism Australia’s Crocodile Dundee ad was received better than most.

The ad, featuring Hollywood stars Chris Hemsworth and Danny McBride, showed of Australia’s fine shores in an ad that light-heartedly tried to present itself as a trailer for a Crocodile Dundee sequel.

The wait is over. Watch the full official DUNDEE trailer right here. It's the surprise no one saw coming (unless you've been on the Internet during the past two weeks). Visit https://t.co/kadAyLFwZh for more. #SeeAustralia #DundeeTourismAd pic.twitter.com/kxmGItY8tV

— Australia (@Australia) February 5, 2018

The Aussie production headlined the list of ads which actually got people giggling.

Doritos’ shared ad with Mountain Dew, which featured Morgan Freeman and Game of Thrones’ star Peter Dinklage rapping, was declared by some to be the early victor in the so-called Ad Bowl.

Laundry detergent Tide’s early offering was also widely praised for its creative approach of borrowing moments from previous Super Bowl ads.

Is every ad a Tide ad?
If it’s clean, It’s a #TideAd #SB52 #SBLII pic.twitter.com/6xbkCGeZ0c

— Tide (@tide) February 5, 2018

So far @tide is crushing the advertisment game. Every ad includes clean clothes! #ParadigmShift #SuperBowl

— jeffhunt (@jeffhunt) February 5, 2018

Best ad ever with Peter Dinklage & Morgan Freeman rapping! #SuperBowl #SuperBowlLII

— Natalie Micale (@NatalieMicale) February 5, 2018

The Tide ad >>>> #superbowl

— Brandon Pope TV (@BpopeTV) February 5, 2018

Super Bowl advertisers had been expected to use a conservative game plan this year — and for the most part they stayed away from politics, sex and drugs during the first half.

Amid a politically charged environment, the advertising extravaganza accompanying the biggest US sporting event was always expected to stick to traditional marketing themes, according to analysts.

The American football championship matchup between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles offers a rare chance to reach more than 100 million viewers at a steep cost of some $US5 million for a 30-second spot.

Although the NFL and broadcasters discourage politically tinged ads for the event, last year’s Super Bowl showed some spots offering subtle digs at President Donald Trump or his policies on immigration.

One showed what appeared to be a family shut out by a large border wall.

“For the most part, those ads didn’t perform very well,” Villanova University professor of marketing Charles Taylor said.

Many pre-released ads showed familiar products and themes: celebrities such as actors Morgan Freeman and Danny DeVito pushing products like Mountain Dew soda and M&Ms, pitches for cars, Tide detergent and Pringles chips.

— with AFP

Originally published as World reacts to hot and cold Super Bowl LII ads