Last Sunday, a majority of America watched the New England Patriots win the Superbowl, in what was, one of the most entertaining games recently. A last-second interception at the 1-yard line crushed the hopes of Seatle Seahawks fans, seeing the Patriots win their fourth Super Bowl.
Although the game itself was a great source of entertainment, one of the most entertaining aspects of the event seems to be the same every year; the commercials. This year, the Super Bowl commercials aired a more negative and serious tone, rather than the usual funny interludes.
One of the most memorable, yet saddening, commercials was the anti-heroin piece. This commercial conveyed a young boy overdosing on his mother’s pills. Despite the sad storyline, the most memorable aspect of the commercial was the song playing in the background.
The tune had a cheerful, almost uplifting beat, which leads the viewer to believing there will be some comedic twist at some point. However, the twist never occurs; instead, the commercial becomes a perfect example of situational irony. Such irony leads viewers to not only remember the commercial, but the message as well.
Apparently, the commercial, and subsequently the message, was aired mainly to St.louis due to the high numbers of heroin and other drug use in the city as opposed to the rest of the country. Although that particular commercial set an uneasy and dreary tone, there was still an ample amount of the usual, laughable commercials to counteract that feeling.
One of particular hilarity was the Clash of Clans commercial. In order to fully understand it, one needs to know the way the mobile game is played; each player builds his or her own “clan” and allies or battles with other players.
The twist however, was that Liam Neeson was playing the game. Liam Neeson acted in the movie Taken as a former FBI agent who hunts down and defeats a set of villains who kidnap his daughter. Thus, in the commercial, he played the tough and masculine role of his character in the movie. As another player defeats him in a battle within the game, he becomes angry and swears upon revenge.
Although there were many other notable commercials during the Superbowl, these two stood out as the most memorable. The contrast between the two commercials shows how Superbowl entertainment has diversified through the years, and have thus improved.