Guts, Glory, Ram
As millions of people across the world watched the 52nd Super Bowl in hopes that the Philadelphia Eagles would dethrown the New England Patriots, millions of others watched with hopes of being entertained by the famous commercials that aired throughout the game. For one of the first times in Canadian history, Canadian broadcasts of the game would also include the high sought out American based commercials, a huge bonus for many sports fans.
There were many commercials that stood out as the best of the best. David Habour of Stranger Things, confused everyone into thinking every commercial was a tide-commercial.
Morgan Freeman paired up with Missy Elliot to “freeze” the world with their collaboration for Mountain Dew.
And while most commercials left the audience laughing and carefree, the Ram Trucks commercial featuring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. left others confused and offended. Here is the commercial for you to see for yourself…
On the exact day of Martin Luther Kings famous dream speech, 50 years later Dodge Ram produced this controversial commercial to help sell their pick up trucks. And while the goal of any commercial is to spark a conversation and draw attention toward their brand, Dodge Ram did so in a negative way.
The commercial sparked mixed reactions around social media following the initial airing of the $5 million dollar ad during the Super Bowl. While some joked about the relevance between MLK and Ram Trucks, others criticized the company for using such an important political figure in the fight for equality and race to help sell their brand.
While this commercial was approved by the Martin Luther King Estate, it hit a little to close to home on a larger problem of inequality and race in the United States. I find it particularly interesting how this commercial was aired during one of the biggest sporting events in the world, in a sport that in it’s past, especially in the previous year, has had so much controversy surrounding race. How I see it, Rams Truck used a black man to help sell an automobile that has primarily been used by white people, much in the same way white NFL team owners use primarily black men to make money.
But, you can argue that Ram used this mechanism to spark a conversation and draw attention toward their product and brand over social media. By having a debatable storyline to their advertisement, Ram must of known that there would be outcry from the public about the use of MLK in the ad. By doing this they brought attention to themselves and possibly stood out as the most popular Super Bowl commercial.
One thing I found interesting was how differently big name brands used black men to help sell their product. Compare the Mountain Dew commercial featuring Morgan Freeman, one of the most successful trailblazers for black actors, to the Ram Trucks commercial featuring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most influential black politicians and leaders the world has ever seen. Both commercials display the men in positive light, but one does so in a laughing and jokingly way, while the other does so almost in a demeaning light.
The Super Bowl is a time for family and friends to gather and share an experience together. For one Sunday every year, friends unite for the sole purpose of spending time together watching a game and have a good time while doing so.
Mountain Dew’s commercial was lighthearted and funny, something many viewers appreciate and look for in a Super Bowl commercial. It showcased a black man and black women in a positive way and didn’t leave viewers questioning and thinking about the social implications of it. It led viewer to think “I want a Mountain Dew.” Social Media also reacted positively to this with many people enjoying the ad.
The Rams Truck commercial had underlying messages beneath the overhead idea of selling their product. It left viewers outraged and confused as to why they would use such an influential political figure with the sole purpose of selling their truck during an event for a sport that has underlying political implications. And as one can suspect, social media reacted negatively to them and did not like the use of black power.
At the end of the day though, it may not have been positive but the Ram Trucks commercial left an impression, engaged the audience and created a conversation, what every brand and advertisement sets out to do.
