Tag: 84 Lumber

Whether it was a spot from Budweiser reminding viewers about the company’s own immigrant roots or an emotional 90-second ad from 84 Lumber depicting an immigrant family’s journey to a border wall, brands rushed to the national stage with political purpose in the wake of President Donald Trump’s election in 2017. Two years later, corporations have largely backed away from political messages that might be interpreted as divisive, instead opting for the tried-and-true tactics of humor or uplifting messages with a broad appeal. “Historically, Super Bowl ads have been mostly focused on the sophomoric guy appeal—fast cars, pretty girls, drinking beers with your buds,” Lehmann said. When you look at this year, it mostly feels like they are coalescing back somewhere in the middle.” That’s not to say all of the brands in this year’s Super Bowl broadcast shied away from politics entirely. Hulu, for instance, made reference to the iconic Ronald Reagan re-election ad “Morning in America” to promote the third season of its dystopian thriller The Handmaid’s Tale. Another ad from the Washington Post paid tribute to slain reporters and promoted the importance of a free press. Steve McMahon, the co-founder of the political consultancy Purple Strategies, said brands are already taking a risk by advertising in the Super Bowl, which has become more political itself as players have taken a knee during the national anthem to protest racial injustice and as conservative lawmakers and even President Trump himself have objected to the protests. Other brands, though, have kept a wide berth. “For that reason alone, you have brands that are much more thoughtful and deliberate about whether that venue is as safe as it was some time ago.” That may be one reason why some of the most memorable ads from the Super Bowl this year were focused on trying to make viewers laugh, said John Gatti, Purple Strategies’ managing partners. “People like to come together on a platform that might already have a moderately shaky foundation to it, and use the platform to laugh and smile,” Gatti said.