How: You can watch them on YouTube and other sites without waiting for the weekend. Why Do You Care: If you’re not a sports fan, it can be fun to see what ads will make history. It’s not just beer and car companies who advertise during the show, either. This year, tech giants like Microsoft and Google have dropped their ads almost a week before the Super Bowl itself. So have smaller companies, like Squarespace, who have had an ad presence during the game for years. Katie Sowers is the first female coach in the Super Bowl, and Microsoft’s ad, ostensibly for the Surface tablet Sowers uses in a couple of shots, focuses on her story. It’s an inspirational take on football, a young girl’s dream to be a part of the game, and a feminist story that could influence the next generation of kids looking forward to their own time in the spotlight. Google’s Super Bowl ad uses Google Assistant’s ability to remember things as a foil to tell the story of an older man who wants to keep memories of his wife alive, even after her passing. “Remember she always snorted when she laughed,” and “Remember Loretta’s favorite flowers were tulips” are among the things the man tells his Assistant in voice over. The spot pulls at the heart strings and should be a favorite among viewers. Squarespace opted for a quirkier advertisement, with Winona Ryder (Heathers, Alien: Resurrection, Stranger Things) starring in a 30-second spot showing the famed actress making a website about the town in which she was born (but never lived in), Winona, Minnesota. It’s a cute exchange between Ryder sitting near the town sign and a state trooper who stops to ask her what the heck she’s doing.
