Adweek’s Instant Reviews of the 2019 Super Bowl Ads: Second Half

Toyota “Wizard”
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Nice concept. Solid music choice with The Who’s “Pinball Wizard.” Could have been done more with the pinball visuals, but it’s a spirited way to reintroduce the Toyota Supra after 20 years off the lot.
???? pic.twitter.com/MgZb0Tx3Ui

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

ADT
Agency: Bear in the Hall
Straight up Main Street with this one. Jonathan and Drew Scott, hosts of HGTV's Property Brothers help, but not sure it hit the mark. Will be interesting to see where this goes since they teased more future content.
???? pic.twitter.com/h0twrCN9CY

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Kia “Give it Everything”
Agency: David&Goliath
Celebrating small-town America? Awesome. But Kia somehow managed to make its ad sound like a funeral dirge. They went for empowering and landed on depressing.
???? pic.twitter.com/XwYpRjerlU

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Bubly "It's Bubly"
Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners
The Tom Hanks of crooners. How can you not like Michael Bublé? (Don't @ us.) The pun is predictable, but sometimes, you've gotta go for what's right in front of you. A fun one and well done.
???? pic.twitter.com/jqjVNScO0e

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

T-Mobile “Here for You”
Another solid short ad. How many times have you misunderstood someone like this? (You don’t have to answer that.) Good Lyft tie in as well.

???? pic.twitter.com/ELBFgmObS1

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Wix featuring Karlie Kloss
Agency: In-house
Wix, you spent a lot of money on this. Might want to consider upping the ante a little bit next time.
???? pic.twitter.com/vkfVYZz0VD

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Michelob Ultra "Robots"
Agency: FCB Chicago
Clever McCleverton. No need for words when a solid 30-second narrative will do.
???? pic.twitter.com/Te6G4dW80J

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Devour "Food Porn"
Agency: David Miami
One long porn addiction joke may go over well with Devour's core demo, but it's unlikely to sit well with many viewers. This one feels old-school Super Bowl, and not necessarily in the good way.
???? pic.twitter.com/70tT9UE6rx

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Colgate "Close Talker"
Agency: Red Fuse Communications
Leave the Seinfeld references to Seinfeld, please.
???? pic.twitter.com/zB7gzvMl65

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Verizon “The Team That Wouldn’t Be Here”
Agency: McCann
Outstanding. An amazing concept, masterfully led by director Peter Berg. Powerful true stories. Makes you stop and appreciate our country’s true heroes.
???? pic.twitter.com/bHxW9CtyEX

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Google "Job Search for Veterans”
Agency: Google Creative Lab
Google are the masters at taking a concept and helping it along by not being loud about it. A powerful education about our country’s veterans. A clear message done well.
???? pic.twitter.com/CC9h9ZdR6M

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Amazon Prime Video "Hanna"
It's a trailer. But it's a good trailer for the Amazon Prime original.
???? pic.twitter.com/8OEzeEJQVX

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Skechers "Romo Mode"
Did you really think Skechers would do something GOOD for the Super Bowl? But we love Tony Romo.
???? pic.twitter.com/8HFad99Y5z

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Bud Light
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy New York
Making its point about no corn syrup in a medieval barber shop. Nothing but bowl cuts. And not really that great if we're honest. Our bar is the GoT X Bud Light ad earlier. And this wasn’t even close.
???? pic.twitter.com/NlYfMrhsav

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Microsoft “We All Win”
Agency: m:united//McCann
This is a great follow-up to the original ad about Microsoft’s adaptive controller last year. Loved learning more about Owen and his family and friends. A very good way to continue the story.
???? pic.twitter.com/XioFYxV3cg

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Burger King "#EatLikeAndy"
Agency: David Miami
In a 1982 art film, Andy Warhol ate a Whopper on camera for more than 4 minutes. Reviving this footage as a Super Bowl ad for BK? It's bold. It's risky. It's brilliant. #EatLikeAndy
???? pic.twitter.com/rEXoriBe6p

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Budweiser "Wind Never Felt Better"
Agency: David Miami
Dogs! Clydesdales! Dylan! Of course, people will love it, and we do, too — a nice tie-in to brand's use of wind power.
???? pic.twitter.com/fhQkcR1LFA

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

WeatherTech “Cup Phone”
We have a product. And we’d like you to buy it. Simple but, meh.
???? pic.twitter.com/qQRQBakfsI

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Bud Light “Trojan Horse Occupants”
Agency: Wieden + Kennedy New York
This isn’t much time to get the joke going. Much like the bowl cuts, a bit of a thud.
???? pic.twitter.com/s20A7U0OUu

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Amazon "Not Everything Makes the Cut"
Agency: Lucky Generals and Amazon in-house
A unanimous thumbs up from the Adweek team. Not as good as when Alexa lost her voice last year, but a really good effort.
???? pic.twitter.com/v0evK3Xbc3

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Verizon “The Team That Wouldn’t Be Here”
Agency: McCann
Though this ad doesn’t focus on just one story, this campaign is outstanding and the :30 a good way to drive people to see all 12 stories.
???? pic.twitter.com/LED8Ejg6C5

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Michelob Ultra "Pure Gold"
Agency: FCB Chicago
We love Zoë Kravitz. We dig ASMR. But Michelob Ultra's Pure Gold ad just feels too niche for a mainstream event like the Super Bowl.
???? pic.twitter.com/QGUZq9sKit

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

Girls Inc. PSA
Agency: In-house and CBS
It won't win a Cannes Lion, but we don't care, this is a perfect ad for a great cause.
???? pic.twitter.com/erFsW1i7ow

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

T-Mobile “Dad?!”
Finishing the night up with another good one. Might be a little predictable, but all four of T-Mobile’s ads managed to stand out.
???? pic.twitter.com/3gQFYmjpF3

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019

The Washington Post “Democracy Dies in Darkness”
Not quite as stirring or concise as similar ads we've seen from The New York Times, this was certainly still a timely reminder about the importance of truth and journalism. Tom Hanks narration is a big plus.???? pic.twitter.com/q8ACE4vycf

— Adweek (@Adweek) February 4, 2019