Super Bowl Sadness
We talk about the big game, sports connecting cultures, and the moribund state of travel advertising. It wasn’t always this way!
Matt here. It’s Super Bowl Sunday—and over 100 million Americans will be watching, plus another 50-or-so million globally, braving brutal time zones to catch the action and its cultural spectacle.
There’s something undeniably charming about the international Super Bowl audience. Fans in Germany staying up for a 12:30 AM CET coin toss. Those in India setting alarms for a 4:00 AM IST kickoff. Or Australian fans playing hooky from work for the 9:30 AM AEDT start. I guess it’s really Super Bowl Monday for some!
Like travel, a sports fan’s passion can bridge time zones and connect people from vastly different backgrounds. Just last week, I met an Italian gentleman who instantly struck up a conversation about the Super Bowl and the NBA trade deadline—both sports for which he religiously wakes early to catch live. (Ciao Alessandro!).
Staying up late to catch these games is difficult—but watching one’s team take a loss in the middle of the night represents a special kind of heartbreak. Real fans put themselves through it anyway. And we have to respect the dedication.
But when it comes to the Super Bowl—it’s a fact that the majority of viewers aren’t viewing for the love of the sport. The bigger draw is the overall fanfare: the off-the-field storylines, the halftime show, and the pinnacle event in advertising. Or should we say what was once the pinnacle of advertising….
We think back to some of our favorite ads from years past—both pre-recorded programs that aired during the breaks and even more so the genius stunts that will live on forever. Take Virgin Atlantic in 2000. With no budget for a Super Bowl ad, Branson & Co. went rogue—plastering 'NBC CAMERA MEN ARE THE SEXIEST MEN ALIVE' on the Virgin blimp. Naturally, NBC cameras couldn’t resist filming it. Free air time was secured—and the world smiled.
While we’d love to see a modern day equivalent of this kind of tactic, it feels as though it wouldn’t be possible today. All the cameras will be fully-occupied, dedicated to continuous coverage of you know who. The cameras stick to the script. Every moment pre-packaged, every shot designed to fuel the narrative of the night.
Enough already! These obvious, prescriptive storylines are taking over everything—leaving no room for the unexpected. Choreography stifles creativity to the point that what ultimately sells is pre-determined. Even if it’s all ratings driven, we can’t deny that it’s a lot less fun. And the commercials themselves are the same.
So allow us to pour it on: truly excellent travel advertisements, the kind that made you actually feel something, are practically extinct. The punchy copy, the ingenious wit, the creativity that bridged emotion and aspiration. It’s all been replaced by sanitized campaigns that feel like they're algorithm-approved before they even hit the screen. The perceived safety of the cliché has turned what was once a vibrant showcase into a predictable parade of sameness.
There was a time when advertisers dared to be irreverent! To take honest risks! The payoff? Depth of connection. Emotional allegiance. These were simpler times, sure, but firmly bolder ones. And here we are again, longing for a return to that golden era. Almost none of the advertisement stories being framed today feel truly enduring. It may be that digital just moves too fast for remembrance.
What happened to ads with an emotive capability? Pan Am had it right…
So can the golden age be reclaimed? How do we go about doing it? We have some brief thoughts for advertisers and their partners…
Embrace the Unpolished // feature raw, real travel moments that resonate on a human level. Bring honesty to the highs AND lows of the travel experience, contrasting the glossy depictions that dominate today. Travelers will trust the truth.
Get Provocative // challenge your audience with sharp and clever twists. Dare them to think both bigger and deeper. Thoughtful irreverence in marketing is cooking with gasoline. It sparks connection that resonates beyond first glance.
Tell Stories with Teeth // push far beyond banality. Bring an emotional charge to storytelling that turns advertisements into narratives worth remembering.
We’re calling on brands to shake things up and break the mold. So if you’re in the industry, let’s talk. Maybe we can make something that actually sticks.
And while that’s all for today, we’ll leave you with a small sampling of the all-time great advertisements of old. There was something so suave about the language of this era…
If you made it this far—we sincerely thank you for your support. Why not drop us a line in the comments and say hello? We’ll be responding to all of them. And if you like what you’re reading, please hit the heart (<3) on this post to show others that it’s worth subscribing.
As always, smooth skies to the lot of you!
A few travel brands I have enjoyed in terms of advertising, British Airways, Emirates (especially across social), and Airbnb…
My father pines for Pan Am. Attractive stewardesses who would give you a mini-pack of smokes for the flight. Why is advertising so ugly now?