About 97.5 million viewers watched the Giants upset the Patriots on Super Bowl Sunday, according to Nielson Media Research. This was the most watched Super Bowl in history, but were people watching for the game, or the commercial hype?
Reebok’s “Perfectville” advertisement was an audience favorite. The ad that ran during the game shows the 1972 Miami Dolphins in their “perfect little town, where one team stands alone.” The 15 second “teaser,” as Reebok calls it, alludes to “something stirring that will change this place forever.”
After the upset, Reebok’s commercial “Perfectville: Population 1” was released, and Giants and Dolphins fans were elated. The commercial starts with the 72′ Dolphins we saw in the “teaser” barbequing and celebrating their “perfect” life.
A delivery truck rolls into the driveway from “Giants Couriers: We Deliver the Best on the Road.” I know many Giants fans that would love that truck to pull into their driveway. The driver is wearing a NY Super Bowl Champions t-shirt, and asks for Mr. Morris (Mercury Morris, a running back on the ’72 team).
Inside the package is a football, accompanied by a note from Mr. Manning himself: “A gift from the NY giants. Enjoy it for one more year. Regards, Eli.”
“Perfect,” Morris said, as they zoomed in on the Perfectville sign. “Welcome to Perfectville: Population 1. Founded 1972.”
As a Miami Dolphins fan, this Super Bowl was nerve-racking. The Patriots fell just short of joining the Dolphins in Perfectville, and Reebok’s commercial reminds us that Perfectville only has a population of one.