Game ads highlight inclusion

Google Home spot features mezuza

On the field, the New England Patriots and Tom Brady won the game 34-28 in overtime.

During the breaks in the game, humor won the evening, but there were still plenty of attempts at demonstrating inclusion and embracing traditional values.

The Super Bowl often reflects the American zeitgeist. What are we to make of this year’s ads?

Apparently, we all need to get along with each other and laugh.

Social media exploded with delight over an ad for Airbnb, and #weaccept began trending immediately. But there was also social media outrage as Coke and Budweiser dared to run sports that advocated inclusion. Calls to boycott both companies were trending by the end of the first half.

An ad for Google Home – the voice-activated system that controls your house – featured not just a gay pride flag on one home but also a prominent mezuza affixed to another home’s doorpost.

In the second-half, an Anheuser-Busch ad portrayed immigrant Adolphus Busch’s journey from Germany to St. Louis. Its presentation of xenophobia and hostility toward immigrants contrasted with Budweiser’s reputation as the all-American beer.

The spot was touching, among the evening’s best. But Anheuser-Busch is owned by a Belgian consortium. Anheuser-Busch historian William Knoedelseder, the author of Bitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America’s Kings of Beer, called the commercial “fanciful” in an interview with Slate. The dichotomy seems particularly appropriate for 2017.

And then the first ad after the dramatic conclusion to the game showed US military service people overseas. They were able to watch the game “with” their families via a Skype setup. It didn’t play for cheap feelings. It simply showed a series of proud and dignified moments.

It’s pretty apparent to those families who won the day Sunday. (TNS)