Super Bowl 51: The adverts that trolled Donald Trump, from Budweiser to Airbnb
'We believe no matter who you are, we all belong'
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Your support makes all the difference.America is going through a turbulent political patch, mainly thanks to Donald Trump’s presidency and his numerous executive orders.
As expected, numerous adverts played during the Super Bowl made political statements that seemingly trolled Trump, particularly his views on immigration.
Notably, Budweiser aired their pro-immigration advert, which was released earlier in the week, just one day after Trump’s so-called Muslim Ban was announced.
Titled “Born the Hard Way,” the incredibly lavish 60-second clip focusses on co-founder Adolphus Busch’s travels to America.
Soon after the advert was released, numerous Trump supporters called for a Budweiser boycott, believing the company was purposely digging at their President. The clip, of course, would have been made months ago, before the ‘Muslim Ban’ was announced. The hashtag #BoycottBudweiser began to trend during the Super Bowl.
Another pro-immigration advert came from Airbnb. Over numerous images of human beings, of all creeds and colours, words about acceptance were placed over the top.
It reads: “We believe no matter who you are, where you’re from, who you love, or who you worship, we all belong. The world is more beautiful the more you accept.”
Coca-Cola made a particularly interesting with their advert, reviving their 2014 advert that featured a multilingual version of “America the Beautiful.”
With the current political climate, the advert rook on a completely different tone compared to when originally aired, something noted by social media users as a dig at Trump.
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The most on-the-nose statement came from 84 Lumber, whose advert portrayed a Spanish-speaking Mexican family attempting to move to America but being met by Trump’s Wall.
Because of the overt statement, Fox and the N.F.L. decided the entire advert could not be broadcast, instead showing a minor part before directing people to the internet to continue watching.
Finally, there was also Audi, whose clip advocating for equal pay went viral online before airing. A father narrates the minute-long clip, asking “Do I tell [my daughter] that despite her education, her drive, her skills, her intelligence, she will automatically be valued as less than every man she ever meets?”
The advert was met with mixed response: while some enjoyed the message, others were annoyed that “EVERY FREAKING THING is politicized”. Hmmm…
Meanwhile, Lady Gaga’s astounding halftime performance was - despite being an apparent ritual for Satan - relatively politics-free. Of course, playing “Born This Way” to Trump and Mike Pense was always going to be somewhat a statement.
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