One of the most memorable and talked-about parts of the Super Bowl is always the commercials, and this year was no exception.
There was a fair share of funny ads, some heartfelt ones and the usual painfully embarrassing ones that are typically from local car dealerships.
But there were also a couple of commercials that were much bigger than themselves – they spoke to our American values. Contradicting American values, to be exact.
As you imagine, this has stirred up a bit of controversy.
The first of these commercials was a Ford car commercial featuring Bob Dylan. The ad, which was fairly lengthy, promoted a sense of nationalism, of American pride – something that football fans are definitely interested in.
Now, the second of these commercials, which was done by Coke, promoted a much different agenda. The commercial featured an international ensemble of characters all singing “America the Beautiful” in their respective languages.
This presents the notion of America as a “melting pot” of culture. An America that is accepting of all walks of life. An emerging America.
Of course, this outraged many football fans. I’m sure these fans must have all imagined a day where their beloved sport had to be distinguished by the clearly inferior “futbol” as “American football.”
Oh, the outrage.
I can’t even begin to express my true feelings about what this controversy implies about our country, although I can’t say surprise falls into that spectrum of emotion.
I guess “freedom” rings differently for some people.
Even now as I write this, I can’t help but think of our international students here on campus. I can’t help but think of what this Coke commercial must mean to them.
Regardless of what the company was trying to do – albeit corporations are always trying to win people over – they still represented a truth. Globalization. A truth for globalization. A truth for humanity.
This commercial represented the America I believe in. The model America. The one that promises things and keeps them and doesn’t bitch about it.
