One of the most anticipated aspects of the Super Bowl is the commercials. The companies with the “best” Super Bowl commercials tend to be Doritos, E*TRADE, Budweiser or Bud Light. Very few people look forward to a laundry detergent commercial.
However, this year’s Tide ad, featuring David Harbour took place every quarter of the game making the viewers look forward to what the next Tide ad may be. Even if you weren’t looking for a Tide ad, you were watching one, or at least that was the idea behind the advertisement itself.
The first quarter Tide ad set the viewers up to realize that if you are watching an advertisement and the actors in it are wearing clean clothes, it could be a Tide ad. In each of the following quarters, Harbour appears in a scene that is almost identical to another company’s brand and he states “This is a Tide ad.” In one example, a family is standing around what appears to be an Amazon Alexa and “Alexa” says “this is a Tide ad,” once again reinforcing the Tide brand.
In a way, Tide took over the Super Bowl because of these advertisements. Even if the viewers weren’t watching an actual Tide ad, they would then watch another ad (Alexa for example) and think about the Tide commercial that they just watched. Procter & Gamble (Tide’s parent company) even got some free ad time for their other brands, Mr. Clean and Old Spice. This was very clever on their part because they got the audience to recognize their other brands with aspects from a Mr. Clean or Old Spice commercial while still advertising for Tide.
Overall, Tide may take the trophy for the most effective advertisement in the 2018 Super Bowl. Even as I write this blog post I realize….
This is a Tide ad.
– Logan Prochaska
IMC Hawks Blog 
I thought the Tide Ads were the best in the Super Bowl this year! So funny and clever, and using a widely known celebrity such as David Harbour was genius. Tide did a great job of creating content that would stick with the viewer. Now when the viewer sees anything related to these commercials like Alexa or Old Spice, they will think of Tide. They also did a good job of making their product seem necessary for any situation. Clothing is a BIG requirement for every day use, and you don’t want it to be dirty! Very effective advertisement!
This is a very interesting way of advertising because it essentially parodies all of the other cliché Super Bowl ads. It is surprising to me that the other companies that are obviously being made fun of wouldn’t be angry about it and sue Tide somehow, especially since it says “Alexa” and also uses the Old Spice jingle. I think this ad was very effective in stirring attention to Tide as a company because of its creative and memorable advertising methods. It also obviously tried to create an association with clean and stain-free shirts with Tide. I’m guessing that if a person saw that ad every time it came on during the Super Bowl that they might start thinking that at the beginning of any commercial it could turn into a Tide commercial.
I remembered watching this commercial on the super bowl. I couldn’t figure out what it was at first, but it became clear when he said that it was a tide ad… I just thought about it after rewatching the video, everyones shirt is soo clean, especially the mechanic’s white shirt. It was a very effective commercial considring what they are trying to sell. Not a lot of people wan’ts to watch a commercial about cleaning when they are watching a big football game. But Tide made the commercial amusing to watch. The goal of a commercial is to leave the viewer with some kind of desire to buy their product. The next time I need to buy washing detergent, I know where I am buying it from.
Honestly, the Tide ads were my favorite commercials during the Super Bowl game. The idea of this commercial was just so unique but also very simple. You honestly had no idea what was coming next. Like stated above, one of the commercials focused on the Amazon Alexa and Alexa stated that it was a Tide ad. It was just funny because they used so many things to make it a “Tide Ad”. It caught everyone’s attention and I believe it was pretty effective! Good job Tide.
I loved this advertisement! Using David Harbour from the popular TV series Stranger Things (which I love), was a good utilization of celebrity endorsement and application to age demographic. Also using other popular advertisements as a way to advertise their own brand was an excellent strategy and comedic approach!
This is some genius advertising in my opinion. Tide was able to make every Superbowl viewer think about Tide in every commercial. Viewers were waiting for Harbour to step out in each ad that was aired. I think Tide did a great job with this commercial, especially after receiving such negative publicity from the Tide pod Challenge. They could have gone a much different route and talked about the safety issues surrounding their product but instead they targeted humor and I think they made the right choice. They also did a good job selecting their spokesperson. Many viewers will recognize Harbour from Stranger Things and this will grab and maintain their attention. Great job Tide!
The Tide ad’s were definitely one of the most successful ads from the Superbowl. For starters, they were hilarious, but they also did a great job promoting not just Tide, but multiple other brands, like Old Spice, Gillette, or Alexa. Similar to how the “Alexa loses her voice commercial” was a win-win for Amazon and all of the celebrities involved, the Tide ad is a win-win for other companies parodied in the commercial. It encourages the consumer to think about what each scenario is supposed to be the commercial for, and thus brining that product to the forefront of their mind. I think tide hit a home run with this one.
This ad is one of my absolute favorites. Tide is a brand that I have always loved, getting a random smell of the detergent always makes everything feel so clean and homie!
I agree with this post, this Tide advertisement definitely was the best ad of the Super Bowl. It completely dominated the other advertisements. Even though this advertisement was strictly a Tide ad, it still advertised other products like cars, Alexa, beer, Old Spice and even Coke. This ad was like no other ad I have ever seen and it may be the first of its kind. Not only was the ad versatile and appealed to other products but it was hilarious
I loved the Tide ads! They take typical Super Bowl commercials of products that are usually marketing during the game, but turn them into a commercial for the laundry detergent. I think the concept is genius and will be hard to top next year.
Tide did a very good job of releasing their ad’s strategically and effectively. It also was really strong in giving people a reason to talk about Tide other than the consumption of Tide pods.
I think this was the most creative advertisment in the Super Bowl by far! First off, everyone loves David Harbour so that was a great person to choose to star in this ad. But it was also clever, because the stereotypes of ‘typical ads’ were spot on. I think that this was a great post; I like how you mentioned how it also marketed other brands at the same time as marketing Tide… I did not realize that even after watching the ad multiple times.
This was one of my favorite commercials from this superbowl! It was so unique how they used other brands to advertise for Tide and literally proves that Tide could be in any commercial and we may not realize it. David Harbour was a nice touch too!
I think it is very interesting to see how they use their brand in so many different ways but always make sure to mention that it is a tide ad. By saying it all the time in the commercial, they make sure that you can’t miss that it is a tide ad, and that way you will be remembered about it all the time.
This advertisement was genius! The fact that no matter what commercial was being played it somehow relayed back to the Tide Ad. I as a viewer was doing the same thing. I loved reading your analysis of the Ad. I have yet to see an ad top this one!
This tide ad caught my eye this year, not only because if all the drama with kids eating them, but how they made it seem that tide has taken part in every commercial you see from that point on due to the changes in scenes and it look like all average commercials. So every time is see clothes that look super clean I feel like it reminds me of the Ad.
I absolutely loved these ads. David Harbour is such an awesome dude and gained so much popularity through Stranger Things on Netflix, it was very smart of Tide to get him. When the first one of these commercials came on TV during the Superbowl I was very confused but then they kept coming up and they were hilarious. You go through the whole commercial thinking it’s a parody of another commercial, such as Matthew Mcconaughey in the Lincoln Motor commercials, but then he just flat out says “nope, it’s a Tide ad.” I think it was a genius use of appropriation, metacommunication, and possibly even bricolage. I loved these commercials and thought they were very well done.
I loved this commercial. I liked how Tide was poking fun at cliche commercials and shamelessly admitting that it’s an ad to get you to buy their product. I like when commercials or shows break the 4th wall and speak directly to the audience because it helps you feel included.
The idea Tide had for their Superbowl ad was one of the most brilliant and clever I have seen in recent memory. They represented their product in a good light by explaining that in every commercial where one sees a clean shirt, its because of Tide. In this sense, every ad is then in reality a tide commercial. This commercial works for tide really well, and they truly pulled it off well, especially when it came to being humorous.
I really enjoyed this ad campaign by Tide because it was aggressive. They wanted to be remember and talked about this Super Bowl, and I think this was a successful strategy.
I did not even watch the Superbowl and I heard about these Tide ad’s. I think Tide did an amazing job in producing a funny and relevant advertisement that appeals to recent consumer shift in wanting companies to be more transparent. By playing on this idea and being very straightforward, Tide created a very memorable yet simple advertisement that also helped their other brand’s.
This ad was easily one of the most memorable commercials of the superbowl. they perfectly combined star power, with toying with expectations. the end result is a near perfect commercial, constantly reminding you in other ads of the Tide brand. it also helps change their brand to one that is much more witty than it was perceived before. it was primarily a family brand in my eyes, and this commercial makes them far more fun and cheeky.
I think Tide did a fantastic job of advertising their product in a way that I’ve never seen before. We don’t see too many commercials break the 4th wall to begin with, but Tide used the idea of putting their product in commercials meant for other products. As a viewer you knew it was coming each time, but they made each segment individually creative to keep consumers interested and glued to the screen.
Hilarious and smart! The combinations of commercials to create one large commercial was an ingenious tactic for Tide to smoothly incorporate itself within every advertisement during the Super Bowl.
I have to say, those Tide ads are hilarious and they happen to be my favorite Super Bowl ads! What I love about them is that they are showcasing reflexivity (breaking the fourth wall) by actually telling the viewers they are not only watching a typical ad; they are watching a Tide ad. Along with this, Tide is also poking fun at other commercials (even at themselves) which is always fun to watch.
I saw this ad over and over again during the super bowl and I will admit it was genius marketing for Tide. Something that is entertaining, makes you think or keeps you guessing, all while making you aware that this (Tide) is what is being advertised all draw potential consumers in. Not only was it funny, but definitely very effective!
I loved this ad so much. I believe the fourth wall breaks are very effective because the companies know we are being advertised to so why not make it funny. This ad was not only super popular during the Superbowl but YouTube as well. They made every ad seem like a Tide ad because they found a funny loophole. Also the way you ended the article is funny and ads more to the creativity of Tide.
I think this was a very strategic ad. I appreciate the comedy and thought behind it. Its a great example of what a Superbowl ad should be. And now every commercial you watch may have you wondering if it is a tide ad.