Super Bowl 49 trades in beach babes for dear old dad

Advertisers took advantage of the captive audience with PSAs & messages of social good

When you think of cliché Super Bowl ads, what comes to mind? Bikini models, slapstick comedy and beer, to name a few. But this year’s Super Bowl took a turn for the serious with advertisers spreading messages about social issues. Some were more subtle than others, such as the importance of being a good dad in the Dove Men+Care “#RealStrength” spot, and some were more blatant, such as the NOMORE.org “No More” domestic violence PSA.

However, the ad that is taking the most heat is the Nationwide Insurance “Boy” spot about childhood deaths caused by preventable accidents. Yes, it was a bit of a downer in the middle of the game, but the spot was nicely done and has an important message. When else could Nationwide have run this spot that would have gotten as many people to pay attention to it? It’s not exactly ‘shareable’ so there’s a small chance it would have gone viral on social media, and running it on a regular TV buy just wouldn’t have made as big of an impact. It’s a depressing subject, but one worth discussing — and that’s exactly what it accomplished. People are talking about it.

Nationwide Insurance is one of many organizations to take advantage of the Super Bowl’s captive audience as a chance to start a meaningful conversation, rather than rely on sex and comedy. Below are ads from this year’s Super Bowl with a serious tone:

1. Always “#Likeagirl”

2. Coca-Cola “Make It Happy”

3. Dove Men+Care “#RealStrength”

4. McDonald’s “Pay With Lovin”

5. Microsoft “Braylon”

6. Nationwide Insurance “Boy”

7. Nissan “With Dad”

8. NOMORE.org “No More”

9. Toyota “My Bold Dad”

10. Weight Watchers “All You Can Eat”

What do you think? Is this a brilliant idea, or does it just not make sense?

Look out for our Super Bowl Ad Report Card with our agency’s ranking of the best ads from the big game.