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Before I graduated from the university, I was an advertising major as many of you know. The Super Bowl was my favorite time of the year because we spent the following week discussing the best and worst ads. This was a time when some brands attempted to re-brand themselves or reinforce their brand’s image, so it was fun to take a look at how they did. Since I’m no longer in school I figured my blog would serve the same purpose as my classes did.

Below, I present to you my top 10 favorite 2014 Super Bowl Ads and why. (These are not in any particular order. They’ve just made my top 10 spot.)

Maserati

Coming off of her outstanding performance in Beasts of the Southern Wild and 12 Years of Slave, Quvenzhane stands tall in her role as narrator. As natural disasters wreak havoc upon the world, her voice brings things into perspective. Just like Quvenzhane, Maserati was small. No one expected big things, but they waiting until the perfect time. They waited until the world became complacent and then they struck. It is a beautifully designed ad and I really liked the way that they took a young actress and put her in the spotlight. The poem fit really well and it conveyed its message very well.

Budweiser

Budweiser has always pulled at the heartstrings with its Clydesdale commercials. Now, it combines two of many people’s favorite animals for the perfect feel good ad about friendship across species. In many ways this ad is telling the world that there is nothing wrong with loving someone even though they’re different. I’m a big fan of that song by Passenger, it fits very well with the theme of the ad.

Beats by Dre

I love ads that put a spin on fairytales. This ad features Ellen Degeneres as Goldilocks along with the Three Bears and cameos by the Big Bad Wolf and the Three Little Pigs. The message is quite simple. Beats by Dre has something for everyone’s tastes. It’s a little corny but I liked it.

Coca Cola – America The Beautiful

I absolutely adore the message of this ad. It has created a lot of controversy lately due to the fact that some people seem to think that English is America’s primary language when it is not. America is made up of immigrants. It’s a salad bowl. This is what makes it so special. I think that it is great that Coca Cola is celebrating diversity. They even have a gay couple featured in it.

Hyundai

I really enjoyed this ad because it was funny. The son isn’t too aware of his surroundings the majority of the time so the father has to step in quite often. The message is that with the Hyundai the father doesn’t have to worry because the car takes care of things.

Cheerios

There was a lot of controversy surrounding the first ad featuring this interracial family. A lot of people were upset which shows that there is still a long way to go with racial relations in this country. I’m glad that Cheerios didn’t step back and instead they showed everyone which side they were on. This ad is very cute and I loved the attitude of the little girl. She has her father wrapped around her little finger. The message is clear. Cheerios is for love, no matter the color.

RadioShack

This was a very fun ad because it took it back into the 80’s. For the longest time, RadioShack was a step behind all of the big named brands like Best Buy and hhgregg. This ad kind of shows that they saw that and want to change that. They brought back all the 80’s favorites to illustrate their point.

Toyota Highlander

I love the Muppets so anything with them in it is going to get me watching. Terry Crews is such an interesting actor. He’s a big muscular man who tends to defy stereotypes. Him being in a commercial with The Muppets proves my point. The message is a little muddled for me, but I thought it was still a fun ad that caught my eye.

Axe

I’m glad Axe has shifted away from the sexual and decided to focus more on peace and love. I still think it smells like overcompensating teenage boys, but I love how the message is growing up. The use of dictators and soldiers choosing to show their spouses love instead of death is really nice. I like how they spun it. I’d be interested to see what new stuff comes from Axe.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Last, but definitely not least is The Amazing Spider-Man. I know it’s not an ad for a product, but I don’t care. I had to slip one movie ad in here. It looks amazing and I’d be interested to see how Jamie Foxx plays Electro. It looks like an awesome movie and I can’t wait to see it.

Which ones are your favorite?