Sweet, Honey Nut Revenge

Last May, Cheerios came out with a surprisingly controversial commercial featuring an interracial family. Surprising in the sense that it was considered controversial at all. It stars Gracie, a cute little girl who just happens to have parents of different races. The ad, like many other Cheerios ads, focuses on heart health, but low and behold the internet did not see it that way. The commercial was put on youtube, where it was harshly criticized by a wave of users in the comments section. Countless racial slurs and explicit disapproval forced Cheerios to disable the comment option on the video.

Here is the commercial:

But this is where it starts to get good. In response to the backlash from the more ignorant folk of the nation, Cheerios decided to buy a time slot in this year's Superbowl, something they've never done before. Not only were they featured in the Superbowl, but their commercial brought back the same family from the first commercial. And instead of addressing the issue of race like some might've expected, they did something much, much better.

The Superbowl Commercial titled "Gracie":

Cheerios cleverly used this commercial to once again normalize the concept of family by sticking to a basic and sincere plot. By highlighting a completely ordinary situation that any family might have to go through, Cheerios reiterated how silly the controversy was in the first place. Camille Gibson, Cheerios' vice president of marketing, stated about the positive response of the second ad "At Cheerios, we know there are many kinds of families, and we celebrate them all." Simply put, Cheerios strikes with a "no big deal" attitude, which might be the best offense against those who wish to stir up unwanted and unwarranted issues.

Although I have no doubts that Cheerios saw this as a fantastic way to promote advertising and gain publicity, they still serve as a role model for other ad agencies. The world of commercials progresses much slower than that of television or film, and continuously shies away from diversity. Hopefully, this ad will start the ball rolling, or at least make everyone more aware of the racial problems that still very much exist in the media.

You can't not love the "Puppy Love"

I am not a huge football fan, and with the Broncos and Seahawks playing I personally had no preference. The Superbowl is a fun event where I sit, eat yummy food, watch parts of the game and focus on the commercials..and of course the half time show. This year disappointed me overall with the lack of creative commercials, but one out of a few stood out to  me and the rest of the Superbowl watchers. The Puppy Love commercial. Yes, I know I am one of the thousands of girls to fall in love with this commercial, however I gotta give credit when it is due. I thought this particular ad was smart and created a ton of hype.

This Budweiser commercial featured an adorable little puppy who chases after his love, a horse. Against all odds, they end up finding there way back to each other. Not only did I find this commercial heart warming and adorable, but I thought it was very well done. The editing was well done, the story was creative and it stood out to everyone. The soundtrack, "Let Her Go" by Passenger only made the commercial better. It was an intelligent choice to choose a popular song because it only increased the popularity of the ad and that song combined.

Creating a commercial is not an easy task. Although it only lasts around 60 seconds long, it still takes a lot of thought and hard work. Animal trainers spent a ton of time and effort training these animals and making sure they did everything on cue and perfectly in order to create this perfect commercial. It is important especially during the Superbowl to create commercials that are effective and memorable. With the game being basically a disaster, this commercial stole the show.

Intriguing Superbowl ADs

Although the game itself wasn't much, I really liked the new advertisements that aired during the Superbowl. One surprise was GoDaddy not going their usual racy and inappropriate approach to their ads. After last year's ad with Bar Rafaeli, I felt like GoDaddy would have tried to top it this year but they went a more cleaner route and I would say it was a pretty successful campaign.

Another surprise was the back-to-back Ford Fusion commercials.

This has never been done before in the history of aired commercials. Back to back commercials that are directly connected to each other. Ford has done something never done before and I thought it was a very good ad campaign.


There were other great commercials that aired like Budlight's and the new Maserati commercial. Also the sneak previews for the new Transformers and the return of 24 had me very riled up. More so than the game itself.

Seinfeld Superbowl Special Reunion

The All-American sitcom Seinfeld is rumored to have a reunion planned within the upcoming week. In front of the iconic "Toms Restaurant" stood Jason alexander, Larry David, and Jerry Seinfeld. The three were seen together, and could have possibly been filming a scene.The result of the spotting was a statement release, that the end product would be seen very soon.  Since then, rumors of a reunion, or "short-ish project" as Seinfeld says, could possibly contain some old characters like Jason Alexander's role as George Costanza. Other characters such as Elaine Benes played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Michael Richards' Kramer would be seen as well. 

Since Seinfeld, Louis-Dryfus has been seen in many roles like Christine Campbell in The New Adventures of Old Christine on CBS. She is also starring as Selina Meyer in Veep, now on its third season on HBO. 

Michael Anthony Richards was performing stand up comedy after the run of Seinfeld. He ended his career in 2007 after a scandal over racial slurs during a performance. Michael Anthony Richards plays Frank in the sitcom Kirstie, in which premiered on TV Land in 2013. 

Jason Alexander was not only on Seinfeld, he has appeared in many Broadway musicals including The Producers, where he won a Tony award as best leading actor. He also starred in Jerome Robbins' on Broadway in 1989. 

Jerry Seinfeld has since made a noticable appearance in the social media scene.As well as keeping up with his comedy career, Seinfeld  co-produced and co-wrote Bee Movie in 2008. Also, until 2011, Seinfeld directed Colin Quinn in Long Story Short on Broadway. 

Thought that the scene was something short, but longer then 60 seconds, leads to belief that this special project could possibly be a Super Bowl commercial.We can only hope and wait until the Superbowl to see if the rumors were true! 

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/30/seinfeld-reunion_n_4696506.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/business/media/signs-point-to-a-seinfeld-reunion-if-ever-so-brief.html?hpw&rref=television&_r=0