Super Bowl XLVIII will go down in the history books, but not for a good reason.
From the opening snap that led to a safety for the first points of the game, to the final score 43-8 in favor of the Seattle Seahawks, it was a dismal game for the Broncos. Russell Wilson played well in his Super Bowl debut and led the Seahawks to their first franchise championship. He completed 18 of 25 passes with 206 yards and two touchdowns. Their defense forced four fumbles and had two interceptions.
I don’t want to say the Denver Broncos choked, but ugh, agh, egh — they kind of did. Their offense came out flat, starting with a safety and a three-and-out. They did not walk out looking like a contender for Super Bowl XLVIII. The game was lopsided from the beginning.
However, commercials between game play didn’t disappoint.
According to Paul Fahari of The Washington Post, commercial slots for Super Bowl XLVIII cost $3.5 million for a 30-second advertisement. That is a lot of money for one day, but when your commercial is better than the game itself, spending $3.5 million probably feels like the best decision you could have made.
Bleacher Report columnist Alex Kay said advertisers will want to cash in on this yearly spectacle.
“[It is] a rare event that nearly every viewer will watch live instead of using a recording device, catching it later and zipping right through commercials with the fast-forward button,” Kay said.
This is one of the few times people actually want to watch the commercials. I am an avid sports fan, so even if the commercials weren’t playing, I would watch the Super Bowl for the football. But many fans watch the big game for the even bigger commercials. With the Seahawks up 22-0 at halftime, the commercials became the most interesting part.
From the opera singing KIA commercials, a time traveling Doritos machine, and the beloved Budweiser Clydesdales, the commercials were not disappointing. Commercial producers spent a lot of time thinking about what they wanted to show in their 30-second slots. Sadly, the percentage of what is remembered is only 70 percent, according to a study done by Crossmedia.
One performance that will be remembered is Bruno Mars’ halftime show. He did a spectacular job, and he is one of the few pop stars who sounds good live. His video of members of the armed forces dedicating a song to members of their families was a nice, thoughtful touch.
Seahawks fans and Bruno Mars groupies are happy about the big game, but the rest of the population, myself included, would rather forget Super Bowl XLVIII.
