Super Bowl Commercials

I watched many commercials tonight during the Super Bowl. One which held my attention was a commercial for T-Mobile. This company was advertising its cell phones and its Fave-5 plan. The ad had Charles Barkley and Dwayne Wade, two famous basketball players, in the commercial to endorse the product and give it more appeal. T-Mobile used these famous athletes in their ad because they are widely recognized by millions of people and, as such, more consumers will want to buy the product just because these celebrities are using it. T-Mobile shows Barkley and Wade talking to each other nonstop on their cell phones whether it is in the shower, in bed, or right after a basketball game. T-Mobile’s ad is making the point that their service is available everywhere and that if someone is on your Fave-5 plan, then you can talk to them at any time of the day for as long you want and it does not cost extra. The reasoning behind this ad is since famous athletes use this mobile telephone plan shouldn’t you?

Another commercial I watched was an advertisement for Vitamin Water. This commercial also relied on using a basketball celebrity, Shaquille O’Neal, to appeal to the audience. This ad opens with a thoroughbred horse race in progress and an announcer talking very fast and excitedly. The announcer mentions that Shaq had tried Vitamin Water and decided to saddle up for the race, although he is dead last in the race. The camera then zooms onto the very large Shaq, who looks awkward perched on top of a small horse. This creates quite a comical effect. As the race continues, and supposedly as the invigorating Vitamin Water kicks in, Shaq and his horse start passing all the other mounts. It’s a close race but Shaq pulls through with a photo finish victory. He celebrates his triumph by drinking Vitamin Water. This commercial implied that if someone drank Vitamin Water, then they would have success in tough competition.