In the weeks leading up to Super Bowl 49, pundits and fans said the Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots game could be the best Super Bowl in years. Indeed, when the dust settled we had all been treated to one of the most whipsawing, entertaining and competitive NFL championship games in years.
The networks all ran their promotions about Tom Brady vs Russell Wilson, Rob Gronkowski vs Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” secondary, and even Bill Belichick vs Pete Carroll. Those storylines were all warranted. Each of those was a great matchup, even if Gronk didn’t play as significant a role as anyone had expected. Truly, who predicted Julian Edelman to come on that strong?
Now that the 2015 Super Bowl is in the rear-view, it’s worth looking back at the best promos during the game. This isn’t a list to find the best sports promotions of William hill; rather, it’s a recap of the best in-game and post-game promotions from the Seahawks vs Patriots Super Bowl.
If the Super Bowl ads had an unofficial theme this year, it would be “most expensive Public Service Announcements” ever. Normally the Super Bowl viewership is through the roof not because of the game itself, but because of the creativity and fun people expect from the ads. This year’s ads were arguably a disappointment in that regard, but the social commentaries each of them offered turned them more into social-worth promos than traditional advertisements. In that sense, they were the best overall promos, even if they weren’t all related to sports (blade running aside).
The second-best promo was Bob Costas’ halftime monologue about the importance of place kickers. At that point in the game, Costas’ focus on kickers seemed forced at best, and entirely out of place at worst. In that sense, it wasn’t the best in terms of meaningfulness, but in terms of sheer comedic value. The Super Bowl final score would seem to indicate that the kickers were in fact a key part of the game, when in fact just one field goal was scored. The halftime package was planned and recorded well in advance, a necessary evil when there’s so much to cover during Super Bowl week. It still seemed odd, and for that reason continues to be one of the best promos in terms of giving us all a laugh.
Our final top promo from Super Bowl 49 also occurred at halftime, and also for comedic results. This one happened on the field rather than off, and it’s turned into a social media and meme sensation: the Left Shark. Katy Perry anchored the halftime show with complementary performances by Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott. However, the dancing shark just over her right shoulder has generate more interest and promotional talk than any other element. After tripping on a palm tree, the shark proceeded to struggle remembering the choreographed dance moves, and his place behind Perry ensured all 100-million-plus viewers noticed.
Yes, there was a good football game this year. Yes, there were a handful of good Super Bowl ads. And yes, there was a good halftime performance by Katy Perry. But some of the sidebar elements have had better promotional value, at least where internet aficionados and stand-up comics are concerned.