Super Bowl ads dodged politics and went for escapism in a presidential election year

Vox

In 2017, shortly after Trump became president, politics were everywhere in Super Bowl advertising, from Budweiser highlighting its immigrant roots to Toyota focusing on diversity. But in 2020, brands seemingly want to take a break from politics. "Celebrity cameos are nothing new for the year’s biggest advertising bonanza, but what’s notable about the 2020 Super Bowl commercials is that during arguably the most contentious election of the past two decades, brands decided to go escapist — literally, in at least three cases in which the dominant theme was “outer space,' says Rebecca Jennings. There were notable exceptions: President Trump and Mike Bloomberg both had campaign ads, with the latter devoting his airtime to a mother who had lost her son to gun violence. Kia’s ad was a letter from Oakland Raiders player Josh Jacobs to his younger self as a homeless child (while also presenting the somewhat flawed theory that the solution to prevent youth homelessness is to become very good at football). The most affecting politically tinged ad came from the NFL itself, whose spot centered on Corey Jones, the cousin of a retired NFL player, who was shot to death by a plainclothes police officer. For the most part, though, this year’s Super Bowl ads barely had anything to say. TurboTax tried to make a TikTok dance. Planters murdered Mr. Peanut. The rest of the brands mostly just relied on puns."

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• There were so many celebrities in so many unremarkable ads this year
• Celebrities consider a Super Bowl ad a (secret) assignment that's hard to turn down: “I feel like this is a moment, one of those boxes you tick off,” says Cobie Smulders who appeared in a Toyota ad
• Mr. Peanut’s death and Baby Peanut’s birth, explained
• Best and worst ads: Maisie Williams and Jason Momoa had among the best, Coca-Cola and Mountain Dew had among the worst ads
• Cheetos, Doritos, Google, Pringles and Snickers had the best ads in a very weak year
• Tom Brady trolled fans with his Hulu ad that came days after posting a cryptic photo to social media
• Bill Murray relived Groundhog Day thanks to Jeep