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Everything but football: the best ads from Super Bowl Sunday and Lady Gaga – as it happened

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Amber Jamieson
Amber Jamieson
Donald Trump and First Lady Melania watch the Super Bowl in West Palm Beach, Florida. Photograph: Carlos Barria/Reuters

Guess he only likes winning.

Donald Trump left his Super Bowl party and headed home not long after half time. He said he was backing the Patriots, who have been trailing since the start.

“Potus’s motorcade pulled into Mar-a-Lago at 9.06 pm, just seconds after the Patriots missed extra point,” according to the pool report.

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Adwatch – Bud Light

The return of Bud Light late-1980s mascot Spuds MacKenzie, who made his debut during Super Bowl XXI in 1987. In this ad, the ghostly figure of Spuds appears to dispense advice to a man who really needs his help – because he’s decided to stay home like a plum instead of going to watch the game with his friends.

According to Bud Light, Spuds MacKenzie’s “affinity for living life to the fullest with friends, both old and new, embodied the spirit of Bud Light that we still honor today.” OK great.

We’re through three quarters, and we’re moving towards the end. Falcons lead – and they’re heading towards their first NFL championship.

Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

Movie trailer – Baywatch

While a Baywatch movie might seem like dictionary definition of unnecessary, this summer take on the cheesy show is going the 21 Jump Street route, meaning that it might actually be fun because it knows it’s unnecessary. Frustratingly, the jokes here have mostly been shown already in the main trailer which is a worrying sign that, well, maybe that’s all they have ...

Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

Movie trailer – A Cure for Wellness

“Are you tired of not feeling well?” – a parody of a medication ad here for this loopy new horror film set in a wellness center. It’s a smart way of selling it, ridicules the often staggering list of side effects listed in a drugs ad and leaves us with the rapid selection of creepy cuts that we expect from the genre.

Brand fatigue is imminent, but that won’t stop TV pushing more ads down our throats. Fiji Waiter tell us that “Fiji Water is a gift from nature to us” – but it doesn’t stop them selling it at $3.98 a liter.

Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

TV trailer - Stranger Things

Quite possibly the trailer that will have the most people tweeting this year is an early look at the second season of Netflix’s breakout hit. It looks like they’re going for the Alien rule of doubling up for the second chapter with an increase in the horror element and what looks like a giant monster in the creepy final shot. Plus the kids in Ghostbusters outfits. It’s probably spawned 15 BuzzFeed lists already.

Ad watch – Budweiser

“You don’t look like you’re from around here.”

This politically charged commercial from Budweiser has been causing a quite a stir since it debuted in the week. Anheuser-Busch, Budweiser’s owners, says the ad was not created with political intent – but the parallels between today’s politics and the message in the ad are certainly evident.

This spot tells the (fictionalised) story of Adolphus Busch, who leaves Germany for America in 1857 to follow his dreams and make something of himself as a master brewer. In this filmic, sweeping commercial, Busch endures a perilous voyage across the Atlantic, a fire onboard a paddle steamer – but the key motif is the hostility and rancour he receives from the locals, who don’t take kindly to the accented immigrant from an ocean away.

Budweiser makes a big deal of this, showing Busch being jostled and harried upon arrival, and greeted with cries of: “You’re not wanted here! Go back home!” In spite of this, Busch gets to St Louis, meets Eberhard Anheuser, and the pair go on to brew the beer so quintessentially American it actually emblazoned its cans with ‘America’ last summer.

Of course, it’s merely coincidence that the spot was released just after President Trump’s travel ban took effect, but the timing certainly gives the ad an extra frisson. It’s already roused the ire of Sarah Palin and Breitbart, among others, for being “pro-immigrant,” as if that were something deeply iniquitous. The payoff line? When Nothing Stops Your Dreams. It’s a fine, and thoughtful, ad. TH

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We’ve started again in the football, but the consensus seemed to be that Gaga rocked the house. No overt political statement from Lady G, but a message of inclusivity – and the first time the word transgender was sung at the Super Bowl.

The half-time verdict: 'Lady Gaga killed it! Was so good I cried'

Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

Gaga went down well with fans at the stadium and on Twitter and her celebrity monsters also gave her the thumbs up:

Omg Just saw super bowl half time. @ladygaga killed it! Sang so strong too. Was so good I cried. So aesome!! Xxx

— Cyndi Lauper (@cyndilauper) February 6, 2017

Well done Lady Gaga peace and love 😎✌️🌟💖👏👏👏👏🌹🍎🦋☮

— #RingoStarr (@ringostarrmusic) February 6, 2017

We loved it, @LadyGaga! @RyanSeacrest @PortiadeRossi pic.twitter.com/fqbkgwbwqt

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) February 6, 2017

YES Gaga!!

— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) February 6, 2017
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Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

There aren’t many performers who could sing this well with the amount of athletics she’s doing up on stage. It’s an energetic show for sure and she’s just done a jump off the stage, throwing the mic down as she goes.

That’s it! No crazy guests or big statement but hugely impressive work from Gaga. It’s a smart career move for her after a slowed down experimental album of sorts. The Beyhive will have to wait for the Grammys instead ...

Gaga and her dancers in white. Photograph: Elsa/Getty Images
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Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

She just held the hands of some fans who will likely never be washing again and now it’s Bad Romance. She’s lost that jacket and is now wearing a Gaga take on some NFL gear. The stage is full of another set of dancers, all dressed in white.

It’s all going rather well so far but will she find time to make an anti-Trump statement?

Gaga at the half-time show. Photograph: Patrick Semansky/AP
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Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

“We’re here to make you feel good!” Gaga just excitedly said to the audience. She’s remarkably in charge of an ambitious stage as she sings A Million Reasons from her latest album Joanne, which has jumped right back up the charts this week.

She also just gave a quick shout-out to her parents, which is understandable given the circumstances.

Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

Now to her first ever track Just Dance and she’s got a bit cold so is now wearing a gold tinsel jacket. The stage is also full of men with strange S&M puffer jackets.

Gaga’s gold and silver jacket. Photograph: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
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Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

Telephone is up now - her hit duet with Beyonce. She’s doing some rather dicey stage school acting with a fake phone but most are just eagerly waiting to see if Bey turns up, a rumor that’s been circulating all week. Doesn’t look like it ...

Gaga in action. Photograph: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
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Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

Okay and now she’s moved straight to Born This Way, her gay anthem that still sounds awfully like a Madonna rip-off. The choice to sing this is clearly a dig at Trump and Pence and some of their proposed policies. She gets an A+ for energy.

Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

Gaga has started off with Poker Face, a nice nod to the kind of music which made her famous after a rather odd country pop album. She’s got some sort of Terminator 2 style steel stage. Looks dangerous so we’re hoping it’s not too slippy.

Lady Gaga's Super Bowl half-time show

Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

Okay Lady Gaga is here. She’s up on the damn roof! She’s also singing God Bless America with an insane amount of red white and blue drones. She has now jumped down after giving a brief speech about America being united.

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And here’s another ad, called The Journey, that feels especially pointed in the political climate: for 84 Lumber. The company were forced to pull their original ad, which was deemed too controversial by the network.

And here’s Gaga’s much-anticipated ad for Tiffany’s:

“You’re born knowing that Tiffany’s is the best. I am a rebel, but I wouldn’t say that me transforming at 19 was purely because of rebellion. It was more of a sense of power.

“I love to change. It makes me feel alive. Oh it’s pretentious to talk about how creative you are. I don’t feel that way at all. And I’m coming for you.”

Here’s the ad:

That's half-time!

That’s the first half done, the Falcons lead 21-3, and Gaga should be up shortly.

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Amber Jamieson
Amber Jamieson

As we get ready for Gaga’s halftime show, actress Tracee Ellis Ross (who won a Golden Globe last month for her role in Black-ish) posts a tribute to her mother Diana Ross and her 1996 Super Bowl performance.

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Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

Movie trailer - The Fate of the Furious

How did we get here? Well, in an obnoxiously fast car, of course. But yeah here’s a look at the eighth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise. The twist this time is that Vin Diesel’s character has gone rogue and somehow managed to get Oscar winners Charlize Theron and Helen Mirren to come watch. It’s as impressive as it needs to be and at least we’re finally getting our first submarine stunt of the series.

We’ve just gone past the two-minute warning, which means the half-time show is imminent. Stay tuned! In commercial news, an amusing spot from John Malkovich for Squarespace precedes an on-message ad from Wendy’s. Two for two!

Adwatch – Michelob Ultra

Definitely a contender for most irritating ad of the evening. First of all, I don’t think the good people at Michelob should be taking Where Everybody Knows Your Name, the theme tune from Cheers, in vain. It’s not yours to appropriate, Michelob! Second, the link between deeply mediocre beer and attractive people self-absorbedly working out is thin, to say the least. All that whooping and hollering in the name of self-improvement really grates! Come on, now: you’re doing push-ups in a gym; you’re not Nelson Mandela.

“Brewed for those who go the extra mile,” reads the tagline. Pish. TH

Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

TV trailer – The Handmaid’s Tale

Get ready for a barrage of “this is the show we need right now” headlines come April when Hulu’s ambitious retelling of Margaret Atwood’s grim dystopian drama hits. The story of an extreme Christian movement overthrowing the government and taking away all of women’s rights is certainly timely and this new spot hints at a loyal adaptation, bleak and clinical yet still packing an emotional punch. It’s also a worthy showcase for two of television’s finest female actors: Elisabeth Moss and Samira Wiley.

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Amber Jamieson
Amber Jamieson

A peek at the wild Super Bowl party the president is attending at a golf club in Palm Beach, Florida.

First Lady Melania looks stone-faced. Trump sits next to his chief of staff Reince Priebus, both in suits and red ties. Everyone is sitting in gold dining chairs clustered around tables.

The first couple and @Reince's family at the Trump International Golf Club Super Bowl party pic.twitter.com/5jG3xzhCg8

— Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) February 6, 2017

Contrast that with President Obama’s more casual first Super Bowl as president in 2009, where they hosted a party in the family theater.

US president Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama wear 3-D glasses while watching the 2009 Super Bowl. Photograph: The White House/Getty Images
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Another commercial from Coca-Cola. Incidentally, I read a very good essay on Coke in the LA Review a couple of months back, and I’d encourage you to do the same. Capitalism in a Bottle. Quite.

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There’s 8min 48sec remaining in the second quarter, so we could be on for an earlier half-time start than last year. Last year, Coldplay and Beyoncé got going at about 8.20pm, but we could be looking at something closer to 8pm.

First touchdown of the game, if anyone cares. And a first look for Honda, featuring Steve Carell and Missy Elliott, among others. (It’s like the curate’s egg. Good in parts.) Also, drinks company Bai just released their keenly anticipated spot with Justin Timberlake and Christopher Walken.

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Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

Movie trailer – Transformers: The Last Knight

The Transformers franchise has made over $3.7bn at the global box office. Let that sink in. Because despite critics saving their best insults for each new installment, fans have continued to make the films profitable which has led us to this dark place: awaiting a fifth feature-length fight between robots. Mark Wahlberg returns and is joined by Anthony Hopkins, who might just be lost, and from this spot, what looks like a vague attempt at political allegory!

Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

Movie trailer – Logan

Yep, another one of them Marvel films but thankfully this is looking a tad different from the rest. Another Wolverine film as well but one for grown ups with an R rating and reports of graphic violence and a grittier tone. It’s Hugh Jackman’s swansong as the character but you can expect a reboot within months...

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Amber Jamieson
Amber Jamieson

Adwatch - Yellow Tail

Yellow Tail, an Australian wine brand, premiered a cheesy ad with fake kangaroos djing and a man in a yellow suit.

As the resident Australian in this live blog, I can confirm Yellow Tail is like Foster’s for wine (heavily exported and not something you should turn up at a dinner party with), and this ad relies on some pretty outdated Aussie cliches. Bikinis! Beaches! Barbecues!

Australian model Ellie Gonsalves strolls down the beach and is asked: “do you want to pet my roo?”, and she replies yes.

No Australian would pet a roo. That is insanely stupid and likely to end badly.

Benjamin Lee
Benjamin Lee

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Fans weren’t 100% sure if there would be a tease for Disney’s big budget sequel but it’s landed and gives us the first look at Johnny Depp back in character. It looks a bit more spectacular than usual but Depp is on quite the losing streak so it’s questionable whether there’ll be enough of an appetite for this.

More on this story

More on this story

  • Super Bowl 2017: Tom Brady leads Patriots to historic comeback win

  • Simply, the best Super Bowl ever

  • Super Bowl 51: New England Patriots beat Atlanta Falcons 34-28 – as it happened

  • Super Bowl ad prompts Trump supporters to #BoycottBudweiser

  • Super Bowl ads trolling Trump: 'The world is more beautiful the more you accept'

  • Lady Gaga's Super Bowl performance: heavy on the hits, light on the politics

  • Super Bowl 51: Atlanta Falcons v New England Patriots – in pictures

  • Super Bowl commercials: best and worst of 2017

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