Super Bowl 2018: The Commercials

One of the main parts of any Super Bowl is the commercials.

In fact I think the reason American Football is given this special status is because it is so boring it provides advertisers with ample opportunity to broadcast this 30 second short films making a statement about modern day America. The products they're trying to sell are almost entirely secondary to their cultural contribution.

Obviously in the UK we don't get to see the commercials. However if something is really talked it tends to trend of Twitter during the Super Bowl. The following day many broadcasters compile their lists of the best commercials. So you can normally track them down on the Internet.

This year I really do not have time for any of that.

On Saturday (10/2/18) the 2018 Winter Olympics begin in Pyeongchang in the Republic of Korea (RoK/South). Due to the time difference this will be Friday (9/2/18) in the UK and Thursday (8/2/18) in certainly the west coast of the US.

One of the main attractions at the Winter Olympics is Ice Hockey. One of the main controversies at this year's games is that the US National Hockey League (NHL) has refused to suspend its season. So none of the best Ice Hockey players will be attending the 2018 Winter Olympics.

However before I get into any of that I've got to get through the Opening Ceremony. I will not be getting drunk at 8AM to watch this live.

Before I get into the Opening Ceremony I've got to deal with the security situation. There has been a small issue between the RoK and their northern neighbour the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) involving some nuclear weapons. You may have heard about it.

Therefore the only Super Bowl commercials I have seen are the only ones that trended on Twitter during the game. The ones for the Proctor & Gamble detergent brand; "Tide."

They actually did 11 commercials all parodying Super Bowl commercials for other brands that had been shown during previous years.

The joke was that while watching you'd find yourself wondering; "Oh, is this the car/perfume/whatever commercial they showed last year."

Then a booming American voice would shout;

"No! It's a Tide commercial!"

"How can you tell? It's clean!"

This referenced the infamous 2004 "Nipplegate" incident when Janet Jackson was brought out as a guest during Justin Timberlake's half-time show.

One of the 11 commercials featured an entirely black family similar to the family in the ABC sitcom "Blackish." When the announcer shouted; "It's Clean!" the teenage/adult daughter who looked at bit like Janet Jackson looked down the front of her shirt as if to check her nipples were still there.

Apart from the absurd "No Nipples" rule the US broadcast regulator - the FCC - is also extremely strict about swearing and foul language.

Although not as absurd as the rule that content is only sexual if it shows a female nipple the FCC's extreme attitude to swearing is a little odd. You only need to look at Twitter or other forms of social media to see that Americans do indeed swear.

I mean they're not British and certainly not Irish but Americans do have a certain proficiency when it comes to swearing. Even if someone really does need to teach them how to pronounce; "Twat."

This is extremely frustrating for broadcasters. Particularly when they are broadcasting a live event such as a Super Bowl where they have no real control over the content.

So for example if a drunk member of the public sitting in the stands swears so loudly that it's picked up by microphones and broadcast there's not really anything to broadcaster can do to stop that. However they can be fined extremely heavily for one of these, what are termed; "Fleeting Expletives."

This actually happened at the 2013 Super Bowl when the Baltimore Raven's Joe Flacco uttered the F-word which is considered the second most offensive swear word in the English language. This was broadcast live and the broadcaster CBS was fined by the FCC. CBS then challenged the fine and I think it eventually it ended up in the Supreme Court.

Recently we got an example of just how frustrating US broadcasters find the FCC's attitude towards swearing to be.

The Democrats claimed that President Trump referred to; "Shithole Countries." As this comment allegedly occurred at a meeting that was broadcast live on several news networks you wouldn't think the Democrats would have any trouble producing footage to back up theirclaim.

Either false or not because; "Shithole Countries" is a direct quote from an event that is of significant public interest. Therefore there it presents an exemption to the FCC's tight rules on swearing.

This meant that Americans were finally allowed to swear on TV.

My god did they take full advantage.

21:30 on 6/2/18 (UK date).