On Sunday, 111 million-plus people watched the Seattle Seahawks demolish the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl LXVIII. While there are no numbers to show how many watched solely for the commercials, it can be assumed a large section of the viewership were more interested in the ads than the action taking place on the field.
Unlike any other live television event, the Super Bowl is universally recognized as one of if not the premier programs to advertise on, with a 30 second ad running $3-4 million. The commercials have become as big as the game itself.
Just look at the amount of coverage and reviews of the commercials from publications and sites like Entertainment Weekly, SB Nation and Slate Magazine. Or better yet, look to Twitter to see the reaction to each ad in real time, as people critiqued or praised each ad.
Sometimes, however, that reaction revealed some of the uglier opinions harbored by Americans, most notably during Coca-Cola’s second half ad.
That commercial featured a rendition of “America the Beautiful” being sung in multiple languages and featured people of different ethnic and geographical backgrounds. The commercial was meant to represent the diversity that is a fundamental part of the United States.
But after the ad aired, Twitter exploded with people blasting Coca-Cola for the decision, claiming that only English should be spoken in America, or that it was wrong for “terrorists” to be singing the song, as the ad featured Arab-Americans singing in Arabic.
Some people even made the “noble” decision to boycott Coke in favor of it’s competitor Pepsi, despite the fact that Pepsi’s top executives are different nationalities, as the Huffington Post reported on Monday.
Pepsi’s CEO, Indra K. Nooyi, is a Hindu woman originally from India and Zein Abdalla, Pepsi’s president, is Muslim.
Additionally, people became upset over the depiction of a gay couple in the ad, certain that this went against the moral fiber of America, despite the fact that 17 states have legalized same-sex marriage and that a majority of American’s support a nationwide marriage equality law, according to a 2013 Gallup poll.
Social media like Twitter can serve as a valuable tool in the digital age in which we live, but actions and comments like those following Coca-Cola’s ad only serve to bring to light the darker side of America. The ability for people to instantaneously spit out their thoughts behind the anonymous glare of a computer or phone screen puts on display the bigotry and racism still present in America.
Sadly, this kind of response has become a sort of norm with Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. And while some people used those platforms to praise Coke for the ad’s nod to America’s diverse immigration history, until those criticizing it are shown their fallibility, it will be difficult to move America’s morality forward.