Super Bowl LVI Commercials Don’t Impress Suffolk Crowd

With companies shelling out a record average of $6.5 million for a 30-second ad spot during Super Bowl LVI, up 16 percent from last year, did viewers get anything extra for the experience?

RTV professor Carl Coulanges, founder and executive producer of The Sports Hit List, which houses nine different sports shows four days a week on Facebook, Twitch and YouTube, said he thought this year’s ads “were pretty generic. Nothing really stood out like years past. The commercials I did like had nothing to do with the ads but more so the production quality of the ad.” 

Automotive, tech and beer industry ads dominated, along with travel, health and snacks, such as the Lay’s “Golden Memories” ad with Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd.

Jacob Yonkers, a sophomore business major, said no specific ad catered to him, but that he takes “a liking to when the ads are for a new product or company.”

A major theme of last year’s ads was Covid relief as the world reel from the worst of the pandemic. The pandemic was barely addressed this year. Instead, the ads were designed to offer inspiration about the future and find comfort in the past, including one Chevrolet did for their upcoming electric truck. It featured grown-up stars of the early 2000s hit drama “The Sopranos.” 

Chevy hit it out of the park in this sense as fans of the show would also immediately recognize the music and the route she took as it was the opening for the show. They show the future of transportation but keep cues that would hit home for fans.

Ray Matuza, a freshman liberal arts major, said “it would be ideal if companies had a social responsibility. But if it cuts into profits and doesn’t make money, I’m sure investors would view it as superfluous and a waste of money or profits.” 

He added: “Companies should try to do both in every marketing decision, they need to make money but they should donate portions to help if they can.