Why love and laughter score more touchdowns in Super Bowl ads

For this week’s AdMiration feature, I’m taking a break from our regular celebration of individual ads for more Super Bowl coverage.

This week, I’d like to explore the power of strong emotion in Super Bowl ads. While being distinctive in a sea of ads crying for attention is key — it’s the emotional aspect of these ads that truly holds the audience's attention and makes the ads stick with them long after they air. 

Here’s some of my favorite past Super Bowl ads that brands executed extremely well by either pulling at the heartstrings of viewers or making them roar with laughter. 

Starting with love (and one of my absolute favorite ads!) Alway’s “Like A Girl” is a documentary-style spot from 2015 that dives into the negative connotations that surround the phrase of “doing things like a girl,” at first asking young boys and a mix of male and female teenagers to act out motions like running or fighting “like a girl.” This sadly results in various flailing motions that place the negativity front and center, and certainly stirs up an emotional reaction.    

However, when these same questions are asked to young girls, there is a drastically different response. A swell of empowerment and hope rises inside as viewers watch these girls punch hard, run like the wind and throw with strength. 

This emotionally charged ad resulted in an incredible Sales Impact score of 99 which was fueled by the emotional journey Always took viewers on, and the brand’s clear stance to make doing things #LikeAGirl an incredible thing — truly demonstrating the power of emotion in advertising.

"In my work as a documentarian, I have witnessed the confidence crisis among girls and the negative impact of stereotypes first-hand. When the words 'like a girl' are used to mean something bad, it is profoundly disempowering. I am proud to partner with Always to shed light on how this simple phrase can have a significant and long-lasting impact on girls and women. I am excited to be a part of the movement to redefine 'like a girl' into a positive affirmation."

- Lauren Greenfield, Director of #LikeAGirl

Anheuser-Busch is another great example, building on the emotional power of human connection in their “Let’s grab a beer” ad from 2021. 

The ad shows several instances of people showing up for each other with the simple phrase “let’s grab a beer,” whether it be to bond over a delayed flight, console someone who just lost a job or make up after a fight.

Anheuser-Busch did a fantastic job at leveraging a specific insight about being there for each other and the emotions involved in just “grabbing a beer” with someone — which is why the ad landed such a high Overall Emotion score (65 vs. norm of 56) and Sales Impact score, demonstrating the strong connection between a high emotions play and stellar sales impact.

For all the pet lovers out there, this 2023 ad from Farmer’s Dog absolutely ripped at the heartstrings! 

Shown from both the dog’s and girl’s perspective, the ad follows the duo on their journey of life together, filled with touching moments of the two bonding and ending with the girl (now a grown woman) singing the lyrics “I’m going to love you forever” to her now grey-furred friend. 

The ad reminds us of the irreplaceable role of our pets in our daily lives and why it's important to care for them like a member of your family, so it’s no surprise the ad had more than double the Love reactions than average!

Here’s what some people had to say about the ad: 

• "The story, visuals, settings, the personality and adventure of the young girl. I like how they age as the commercial goes on. This was a relatable and peaceful expression of how a loving and cherishing bond between owners and pets can become."

• "I like how it tries to hit you with the feels to get you to connect with the brand. So you can say wow this ad understands me."

• "Great story reminds you how special a dog is."

This 2020 ad for Cheetos features a series of vignettes of a man unable to touch anything because of the Cheetos dust on his fingers, with a play on MC Hammer’s "Can't Touch This” hit song playing throughout the ad spot.

Viewers absolutely loved this combination of humor and the brand’s positive twist on the insight that Cheetos dust really sticks on your fingers! This unsurprisingly resulted in a higher than average Laughter reaction (27% versus a norm of 9%) and ultimately Sales Impact score of 84.

Here’s what some people had to say: 

• “I liked the inclusion of ‘can’t touch this’ when it comes to having Cheeto dust on your fingers. It’s very self-aware and humorously self-depricating.” 

• “I thought it was great. I actually always love the Cheetos ads. They are so funny and inventive. I loved the mc hammer play on and you can't touch things or people when your hands are orange from eating them-which is actually true.”

• “I like that there is so much cheese involved that it gets all over your hands. More cheese is always a good thing.”

Doritos’ “Time Machine” ad was part of Doritos’ 2014 Crash the Super Bowl competition (which they brought back this year) where the brand invites fans to create their own Super Bowl ad that consumers can vote on to be featured as the brand’s ad spot for the big game. 

“Time Machine” created by Ryan Thomas Andersen was a smash hit, showing a man with his bag of Doritos stopping by a cardboard time machine created by a neighborhood kid named Jimmy. The kid requests Doritos as a form of payment to power up the machine, making sounds and shaking the box from the outside, causing the true homeowner of the house to step outside, kicking Jimmy off his lawn and grabbing the bag of Doritos. When the man comes out of the ‘time machine’, he sees an old man holding the bag and grabs his face thinking it’s young Jimmy of the future — resulting in a lot of laughter from viewers! 

A simple, fun creation, the ad received a high emotion score from viewers (62 vs 56 norm) and subsequent Sales Impact score of 92 — an incredible win for an ad created by a brand fan!  

Snicker’s original “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” ad launched during the Super Bowl in 2010 and took viewers by a storm of laughter. 

The ad features everyone’s favorite grandma, Betty White, playing a competitive game of American football with friends (who are all shockingly younger than her). It’s only when one of the friends makes a comment about her “Playing like Betty White out there” that it becomes clear it isn’t really Betty White on the field. Hence, the “You’re Not You When You're Hungry” hit was introduced, with “Betty” changing to her real self (a young man) after taking a big bite of a Snicker’s bar.

Due to its huge success, Snickers used the ad to form a long-term campaign, returning in 2016 with an ad featuring Willem Dafoe as a hangry Marilyn Monroe on set. Unsurprisingly, this return was a huge success with consumers, with high scores on Sales Impact (92) and Overall Emotion (61 vs norm of 56).

What do you think we’ll see from brands at this year’s Super Bowl? Will there be a whole lot of love or more laughs in this year's lineup of ads? Let us know by interacting with our coverage on LinkedIn.

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