The 2021 Super Bowl commercial ads were a little different this year, meaning many critics were disappointed in the outcome. There were very many mixed reviews on these ads, and were not afraid to let it be known. It is very easy to find their opinions through online magazines, articles, newspapers, and more. Here’s more information on what the critics had to say.

“What they made was boring. If you’re boring, you’re done” (Schwartz, the executive of ad agency TBWA\Chiat\Day). It was clear that the critics paid close attention to these commercials, so there was a lot to say about them. They were not very impressed with the outcome of these advertisements at all. There were many other critics who believed that the “fail” of most of these commercials was because of the circumstances of the pandemic. Also, these commercials may have had to be done virtually and that could affect the quality of them. Many viewers thought that the commercials seemed overused. “The Super Bowl ads, despite the attention paid them, run a qualitative gamut; even some star-studded spots just leave you feeling, “Eh, that happened” with no memory of what they were selling.” (Lloyd, a television critic). It was evident that the advertisements did not play a huge role in the overall outcome of the Super Bowl show.

There were also viewers who thought that the money spent on the 30- second time slot was a waste and could have been spent on something more important and meaningful, and there were others who agreed. Even with all of the mixed reviews, there were also some critics that enjoyed the Super Bowl commercials. “Dozens of Super Bowl advertisers ignored the Coronavirus pandemic that grips the nation, and looked instead to the better times they hope will arrive in weeks to come” (Steinberg). It was easy to tell that the creators of the commercials tried to look past the circumstances of the global pandemic and help the audience focus on the good. 

Every Super Bowl commercial was different, so some were much better than others. Many agreed that it was harder to create an advertisement that was as good as the past Super Bowl commercials because of the hard times right now. Whether they got good reviews or not, the people in the advertising community still found a way to make these commercials happen during the Super Bowl, “In every case it took a lot of courage and persistence, and a certain amount of blind faith, to proceed from rough concept to final cut” (Dumenco). Overall, these commercials still deserve credit for producing an advertisement for the Super Bowl.