America’s prime entertainment event (and favorite unofficial holiday) has passed: the Super Bowl. It seems appropriate to review the famous annual commercial competition that runs on television alongside the football championship event.

Using just about every persuasive tactic in the book, companies and corporations try to appeal and relate to consumers. It takes more than just production value to air a Super Bowl commercial; the ads are sold to companies for over 5 million dollars per 30 seconds of real estate.

This year, beer companies have changed their advertising approach, going from sappy attempts to make themselves look like the heroes of the anti-drunk driving movement, and moving to comedic celebrity appearances in orderto appeal to consumers. Great use of ethos! English teachers around the globe rejoice.

WeatherTech purchased an admittedly cute thirty second long ad, but thinking deeper than the surface level of the commercial unfortunately ruined my blissful ignorance. Plastered upon the bottom of the commercial is a link: WeatherTech.com/donate. Naturally, one would think this would bring you to the page to donate to the school of Veterinary Medicine the entire commercial was about. No. It leads to the homepage of WeatherTech’s website. If you want to donate to a good cause, you have to see their products first. Priorities. 

Additionally, it may have been more effective and ethical to just directly donate the six million dollars spent on the ad to the University of Wisconsin School Veterinary Medicine. But, of course, WeatherTech would not profit nearly as much from a direct donation in comparison to a television advertisement.

At this point, Super Bowl commercials have become a cesspool of corporate entities trying to one-up each other and make themselves look good only for the purpose of appealing to consumers. At least we know where their priorities lie (money).

*intended to be satirical