The Super Bowl’s Top 5 Most Family-Friendly Ads

As I mentioned in Friday’s post, the team here at Focus thought it would be fun to create a countdown of the night’s most family-friendly ads. After all, we love to celebrate all things that elevate family – even commercials!

It was also nice for us, as Broncos fans, to find a source of distraction as the contest deteriorated on the field. Nevertheless, a big “congratulations!” to all you Seahawk fans out there – it was a well-earned win.

For this list of advertisements, though, we wanted to highlight commercials that were both safe for younger eyes and that elevated families, friendship and the values that hold both together – like love and loyalty. Our choices do not represent an endorsement or approval of the company or its products.

Here’s our list:

Fifth place:

Budweiser’s “A Hero’s Welcome” spot was heartwarming. It conveyed love, loyalty and a sense of community. Focus on the Family is located in Colorado Springs, a military town that provides a lot of help and support to our military families. It was good to see an ad that honored our troops.

Fourth place:

What we liked about Hyundai’s “Dad’s Sixth Sense” commercial was that it showed a dad who took pains to take good care of his son through the years. It’s great to see an involved father doing an admirable job at parenting – and I’m sure plenty of us dads can identify with those “near misses” as we raise our kids.

Third place:

Microsoft’s “Empowering” is on our list for a variety of reasons. First, the ad highlights the beauty of relationships and human connections. Secondly, by showing people with disabilities in a positive way, it spreads the message that every human life matters. Finally, we liked the message of people using their gifts and talents to improve humanity. Here at Focus, we’ve seen firsthand how God can use technology to bring people together for his glory, so that’s a message we can applaud.

Second place:

Chevy’s “Life” ad honored cancer survivors and those who support them on their road to recovery by showing a committed married couple. It was a simple, but powerful, commercial – and one that I’m sure many couples can identify with. We’re glad Chevrolet chose to affirm the beauty of marriage and commitment with their ad.

And finally, in first place, our pick for the “Most Family-Friendly Super Bowl Ad” goes to:

The Cheerios “Gracie” commercial. I had blogged about the original commercial featuring this family. Both ads show a mom and dad who love their sweet and spunky little girl. Their daughter enjoys a close relationship with her parents. They’re about to welcome a new member into their family. You can’t help but smile when you see themes like that.

As far as honorable mentions go, our team thought that the Budweiser “Puppy Love” ad deserved recognition for its commercial highlighting the power of friendship. Heinz Ketchup’s “Hum” commercial also gets a nod for its portrayal of families and friends spending time together, helping each other and creating memories – all things that help make families thrive.

I'd be remiss in not mentioning that we thoroughly enjoyed Tim Tebow's spots for T-Mobile. Self-deprecating and humorous, Tim delivered. Seeing him back in the line-up of Super Bowl commercials brought back a lot of good memories for us. As you might recall, Tim and his mom, Pam, appeared in a spot for Focus back in 2010. Over the weekend we spoke with the Tebows and they were excited for us to highlight the story behind the heartwarming ad that affirmed their decision to ignore the doctor's recommendation and carry their little baby to term. Their story can be seen on our website.

I’m curious to know what you think of our picks. Do you agree with our choices? Did we miss any commercials you enjoyed? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

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