Superbowl Commercial Analysis
Budweiser Commercial Analysis
The screen fades up to an image of a soldier being greeted by his wife in an airport. “On Jan 8th, Lt. Chuck Nadd came home” is printed across the screen. Soon after, it cuts to a clip of the couple driving home in a red Ford Explorer with the caption “we gave him a homecoming he’d never forget” in white. It is unclear at this point, however, who “we” is referring to. The camera cuts to signs that reads “We love Chuck”, “We’re glad you’re home”, and “We’re proud of you” with a soft song featuring a woman’s voice plays in the background. The soldier is visibly overcome with joy. Following his warm welcome home, a parade takes place for the soldier. Him and his wife ride in a horse drawn carriage while hundreds of members of the community wave and cheer. The camera focuses on one woman in particular, jumping up and down and waving with one hand, while holding an American flag in the other. The soldier runs up to and embraces her, and the viewer can infer that she is his mother. “Every soldier deserves a hero’s’ welcome” then appears on the screen, and dissolves to Budweiser’s slogan with “#Salute a Hero” displayed underneath it. The viewer should keep in mind that although the people featured in the commercial are real and the situation is real, the homecoming is not. It is a staged event that Budweiser put together, in an attempt to sell more of their product by having the viewer link “supporting our troops” with drinking Budweiser beer. That is not to say that Chuck Nadd’s homecoming would have been less meaningful if it were not for Budweiser organizing it. It certainly was not purely in appreciation of Nadd, however. If it was, it would not have been filmed and edited, and Budweiser would not have spent millions of dollars to showcase it. The patriotism of millions of Superbowl viewers of all ages, genders, and races, is being exploited through this ad. A soldier returns home to an enormous parade with endless support from
The screen fades up to an image of a soldier being greeted by his wife in an airport. “On Jan 8th, Lt. Chuck Nadd came home” is printed across the screen. Soon after, it cuts to a clip of the couple driving home in a red Ford Explorer with the caption “we gave him a homecoming he’d never forget” in white. It is unclear at this point, however, who “we” is referring to. The camera cuts to signs that reads “We love Chuck”, “We’re glad you’re home”, and “We’re proud of you” with a soft song featuring a woman’s voice plays in the background. The soldier is visibly overcome with joy. Following his warm welcome home, a parade takes place for the soldier. Him and his wife ride in a horse drawn carriage while hundreds of members of the community wave and cheer. The camera focuses on one woman in particular, jumping up and down and waving with one hand, while holding an American flag in the other. The soldier runs up to and embraces her, and the viewer can infer that she is his mother. “Every soldier deserves a hero’s’ welcome” then appears on the screen, and dissolves to Budweiser’s slogan with “#Salute a Hero” displayed underneath it. The viewer should keep in mind that although the people featured in the commercial are real and the situation is real, the homecoming is not. It is a staged event that Budweiser put together, in an attempt to sell more of their product by having the viewer link “supporting our troops” with drinking Budweiser beer. That is not to say that Chuck Nadd’s homecoming would have been less meaningful if it were not for Budweiser organizing it. It certainly was not purely in appreciation of Nadd, however. If it was, it would not have been filmed and edited, and Budweiser would not have spent millions of dollars to showcase it. The patriotism of millions of Superbowl viewers of all ages, genders, and races, is being exploited through this ad. A soldier returns home to an enormous parade with endless support from