Despite its later failures, Super Bowl LIII began on a positive note, quite literally, with Gladys Knight’s performance of the national anthem. The so-called “Empress of Soul,” clad in a beautiful white dress, delivered a passionate rendition of the anthem. Knight maintained the integral tradition of the ballad, yet added a nice personal flair.
Unfortunately, her eloquent and spirited showing could not compensate for the lifeless commercials that followed. Many of the ads sought to entice the audience with a star-studded cast, yet failed to utilize these artists and musicians to their full comedic potential.
The Stella Artois commercial, for example, starred Sarah Jessica Parker from “Sex and the City” and Jeff Bridges from “The Big Lebowski.”
The two actors, infamous for their characters’ drink choices, decided to mix it up and order a Stella, to the bars’ lively surprise. The commercial, while mildly clever, failed to elicit any major laughs. Similar was Tony Romo’s Sketchers commercial. The only thing worse than the former Cowboys quarterback wearing slip-on sneakers, was his effort to make them look fashionable.
Added to the list of bad commercials was a vaguely uncomfortable Devour “food porn” ad and Amazon’s “Not Everything Makes the Cut,” which portrayed Alexa infiltrating everything from dog collars to tooth brushes. While the failed prototypes were supposed to be funny, they left me paranoid about technology recording my conversations and the future of Amazon’s monopoly.
The Doritos Flamin’ Hot Nachos commercial provided some much needed relief with an original rap from Chance The Rapper and a catchy collaboration with The Backstreet Boys. While I probably won’t buy the chips, “I Want It That Way” is going to be stuck in my head for at least the next week. The best commercial was Pepsi’s, which starred Steve Carrell and Cardi B. Need I say more?
These commercials, while the most creative and entertaining of the bunch, were not successful enough to make up for the array of bad ads and the cringe-fest that was the Super Bowl halftime show. Adam Levine gyrated awkwardly on stage between voice cracks as he donated the majority of his outfit to the audience.
There was some excitement at the prospect of SpongeBob SquarePants’ “Sweet Victory” performance, but this was sadly cut short by Travis Scott’s breathless and un-autotuned rendition of “Sicko Mode.”
Big Boi made a grand entrance to the stage wearing the entire Bronx Zoo as a jacket and side-stepped next to Adam Levine for a couple of minutes. I’m still not really sure who he is.
It’s safe to say New England won the 2019 Super Bowl, and just about everybody else lost.
By Rachel Gow
Tags: Adam Levine, Half time show, New England Patriots, nfl, Rachel Gow, super-bowl
If you want a picture to show with your comment, go get a gravatar.
Name (required)
Email Address (required)
Speak your mind
Enter your email address below to receive our weekly email updates.
Culture
“Breslin and Hamill” Evokes Nostalgia for Old style Journalism
Culture
Winning in Fashion and Football
Culture
Full Moon Pizzeria: Go Wild, Youngblood
Culture
Dance to Health at Manhattan’s Broadway Bodies
Culture
Godard’s “The Image Book” Challenges Viewers
Culture
Federal Government Drops Diss Track on 6ix9ine
Culture
Generational Differences in Mental Health
Culture
Senior Exhibits Adventurous Spirit
Culture
Dining Hacks: Surviving Plant Based Diets at Fordham
Culture
Gender Roles and Mental Health
The Fordham Ram
Fordham University’s Journal of Record Since 1918
The Fordham Ram • © 2019 • Privacy Policy • FLEX WordPress Theme by SNO • Log in
