By: Joe Waters, Guest Contributor, Selfish Giving
I bet if you asked different members of the For Momentum team if Super Bowl 51 was a great game you’d get a range of reactions.
Most of the staff is based in Atlanta and was rooting for the Falcons (who had a 25-point lead late in the third quarter). But a couple of team members, including myself (a humble freelance blogger for the cause marketing agency) and Vice President Rich Maiore, hail from the Boston area and were rooting for the Patriots, who stormed back to win the game in the fourth quarter.
I know I also speak for Rich when I say that Super Bowl 51 was a GREAT GAME. But I’m not sure For Momentum president Mollye Rhea would agree.
No worries.
We were all rooting for great cause-related commercials during the Super Bowl and in that regard we were all winners!
My favorite ad of the game was Budweiser’s Born the Hard Way, which tells the story of founder Adolphus Busch’s immigration to America. Like most newcomers he endured hardships and nationalist shouts to “Go back home.”
Nonetheless, Busch persevered.
Budweiser took a bold stand on what they believe the “American Dream” means. And the backlash was swift as critics launched #BoycottBudweiser. Still, I predict Bud’s strong support for immigration will be good for its global business in the long-term.
As the great-grandson of German immigrants – and avid beer drinkers – I’m rooting for Budweiser’s version of the American Dream.
Other cause-related commercials included Airbnb’s #WeAccept, Coca Cola’s #TogetherisBeautiful, 84 Lumber’s Journey 84, Kia’s Hero’s Journey and Audi’s #DriveProgress.
You can watch all the Super Bowl ads here.
The second commercial I want to highlight from the Super Bowl didn’t run during the game. Instead, it ran in the days and weeks leading up to Super Bowl Sunday.
For their tenth year, Southern California Honda Dealers held a Helpful Bowl to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs in Southern California. The dealers donated money whenever an advertising cliche appeared in a Super Bowl commercial.
In addition to a live tallying of donations that Honda employees and BGC supporters attended, viewers could help find the cliches with their own online scorecard.
SoCal Honda Dealers donated $294,000!
So regardless of the outcome of the Super Bowl game, cause marketing was the undisputed champion of the day. It’s a win we can all savor.
Amen. Although I watched the game I missed the budweiser commercial. WOW so good and it was moving for me to see. Great work and what a wonderful message of inspiration and hope. Hard work and determination pays off. Don’t ever give up on your dreams.
Keep up the great work team for momentum!