WRITING SAMPLES

WRITING SAMPLE: Services

TV ANALYSIS

Yunhee Kim

Professor Michelle Kurland

Comm 351

11/12/2019

Super Bowl Ad Analysis

In the 2019 Super Bowl LIII commercial, Coca Cola’s forever-rival company, Pepsi made a 30-second TV spot commercial and a 60-second online commercial in a humor style. The title was “More Than Ok,” and it featured a funny actor, Steve Carell, and hip-hop superstars, Cardi B and Lil Jon. There were seventy-five words in the commercial, and the ad aired during the game’s first quarter. The ad agency that produced the spot was Goodby Silverstein & Partners, which also created other big companies’ advertisements, such as BMW and HP.

In the advertisement, it used one universal truth. Usually when restaurant customers order a soda, “Is Pepsi OK?” is a repeated line in soda-serving venues. The ad agency, Goodby Silverstein & Partners were inspired by this question, and it emphasized how great Pepsi is and instructed Pepsi is way more than okay to viewers. It worked effectively and was easy to identify since Pepsi’s “More Than OK” conversation revived in many attractive ways across the social media.

The Pepsi ad ranked in the Top Ten Super Bowl commercials of 2019. After the ad was released, the combination of Steve Carell, hip-hop superstars Cardi B and Lil Jon and the humorous approach attracted the attention of thousands of people on social media. Many Twitter users praised the Pepsi ad, instead of having a negative behavior. Also, the Pepsi ad generated a high amount of positive conversation more than the rival company, Coca-Cola. I liked this advertisement. Today, the advertising is like a stumbling block to many people when they are watching a favorite sports games, drama, or show. Furthermore, especially in the commercial break, many people often turn their eyes to their smartphones or other things to do instead of focusing on advertising. However, the ad made me want to imitate the conversations, such as “Okrrrr” or “Is Pepsi okay?” These two phrases gave enjoyment rather than boredom of the ad with its humorous approach and famous actors and singers' appearance. Furthermore, I thought that Steve Carell’s skill to deliver the message and Cardi B and Lil Jon’s charisma helped to strongly highlight Pepsi’s “More Than Okay” conversation to viewers.