Chairs and Tables

My partner is currently working on Super Bowl TV ads with her clients, two large tech companies. Apparently, the spots were bought recently and opportunistically, suggesting that inventory is either more open or demand is down. We wouldn’t be going out on a limb in assuming COVID is involved.

Her sharing this got me thinking about the history of tech companies and bold TV ads. Apple always comes to mind. 1984 and the Mac vs PC ads are classics. But as far as I can tell, the tech companies of the past decade haven’t invested much in the medium. Even when I started at Amazon back in 2014, the company had just started producing commercials to promote the new Echo.

I’m really curious if we’ll see more tech companies with Super Bowl ads. Perhaps not this year, but sometime in the future, the percentage of ads from tech overtakes the percentage from the stalwart beverage, car, and chip companies (yes you, Doritos). That, or we’ll have chips implanted in our brains (no not you, Doritos) and commercials will be a relic of the past.

And so, we arrive at chairs and tables. Back in 2012, Facebook got lambasted for creating an ad in which they compared themselves to chairs. You know it’s dire when the show Silicon Valley creates a parody of your ad, aptly called tables. But the best part is.. you just know it’s a tech ad. It’s beautifully shot, overly aspirational, and people look way too inspired while doing mundane things.

So let’s all hope for more chairs and tables vibes in the Super Bowl commercials this year. I’m looking at you, Zoom!