2014 Super Bowl ads will be less about shock-value and more about the actual product. Last year, the ads featured uncomfortably long kisses, bikini-clad women being rescued by a shirtless hunk and the popular Gangnam style dance.
According to the Christian Science Monitor, this year's ads will be more sophisticated and feature more well-known celebrities.
"We're seeing sophistication come to the Super Bowl," Kelly O'Keefe, a professor of brand strategy at Virginia Commonwealth University said, CSM reports. "Not long ago, almost everything seemed to be about beer or bros or boobs."
O'Keefe said that the companies that usually went for the shock-value in their 30-second Super Bowl ads will instead aim to leave a lasting impression on viewers. According to CSM, experts think many companies will use the ads to "build their image, rather than just grab attention."
"You can't really shock people visually anymore," ad critic and Mediapost columnist Barbara Lippert told the site. "So, this year people are being more creative."
For instance, Godaddy's ad last year was definitely hard to forget but for all the wrong reasons. It featured super model Bar Rafaeli tongue-kissing a computer geek. The kiss was long, uncomfortably long. This year, their ads focus on women being portrayed as "smart, successful small business owners, Barb Rechterman, Godaddy's chief marketing officer said, CSM reports.
In one ad, a real woman (fans have to wait until the big game to find out her identity) quits her job to follow her dream of being a business owner. In another, a group of muscular people - led by Danica Patrick - is seen running down the street towards a tanning shop owned by a woman. According to Superbowl-ads.com, it's an actual real business.
Last year, Axe Body Spray's Super Bowl ad featured bikini-clad women being rescued by a hot guy; this year the company is promoting their "Axe Peace." In the ad a bunch of different war and military scenes flash across the screen. Towards the end, the soldiers are reunited with their loved ones. The slogan for the ad: "Make love, not war."
Pistachio is also taking a different route this year. Last year, the ad featured Korean singer Psy and his wildly popular Gangnam style dance. While the ad was entertaining at the time Pistachio decided to try something different this year and enlisted the help of Stephen Colbert.
It's long been discussed that the Super Bowl is less about the actual game and more about the ads that run during the game. Pistachio plays on this theory and has Colbert offer another theory: the game is actually about him.
