The Mandalorian and Grogu’s Super Bowl Ad Continues to Delivers Nostalgia and a Wink to Classic Pulp Adventures
There are certain traditions that go with the Super Bowl. Lots of betting around the game, hours of pre-game coverage promoting whatever non-football related projects, over consumption of pizza and wings, and of course the one time of the year people pay attention to the ads as much as the main show. One of those ads has been Budweiser‘s Clydesdales ads. The tradition goes back to Super Bowl XX in 1986, making it now 40 years since they debuted. Many of those have been memorable, some of the highest buzzed of the game. This year’s game included an ad celebrating 150 years of Budweiser.
This year we also got a bit of a spoof of the ad with The Mandalorian and Grogu‘s big game spot and we apparently can’t have fun things because even this 36 seconds is getting venom and vitriol.
With narration similar to the well known Budweiser ads, the teaser at first seems like yet another ad by the beer company. With a similar pacing, similar tone, it’s a fantastic homage to the tradition. Add in the fact that The Mandalorian and Grogu is squarely rooted into the concept of a “space western,” and the spot feels even more appropriate.
The Polygon seems to disagree with a personal opinion saying the spot left them feeling “apathy.” The opinion piece doesn’t talk of the history of Budweiser and what the 36 second ad was going for. Budweiser is mentioned 0 times. Clydesdales are mentioned 0 times. The fact the spot was an homage/parody of the classic Super Bowl ads seems to go over the writer’s head. Thankfully comments seem to understand this and get what it was going for.
It ignores the rather new phenomenon of short teaser videos that tell audiences to fund the longer trailer online. It ignores the tone and visuals used in the previous marketing showing the film isn’t going for memorable lightsaber battles or crazy space battles, but instead a look more akin to the pulp serials of the past. It has more in common in its tone with Indiana Jones that traditional Star Wars films. The logo alone makes it clear what we should expect, something more like classic Flash Gordon than the rather serious nature of recent Star Wars releases.
It’s clear the film is going for a certain look and feel and it’s not the one used for any of the three trilogies.
For a fandom that seems to what new things, they seem to also be so rooted in rehashing nostalgia to the point of repetition and boredom. In the ideal world, we can have both. Numerous releases all set in the same world, with some delivering something different while others stick to the working formula.
But, “fandom” has morphed into something where we can’t have that. New releases must stick to a rigid formula and meet strict expectations or it’s pilloried by anonymous individuals who claim they hate the world and its stories but spend an inordinate time vilifying it and trolling dedicated pages.
I love Star Wars. One of my earliest memories is watching Return of the Jedi on the big screen when it was released. I slept out for tickets for the new editions and at least Phantom Menace and maybe more. I dislike some of Star Wars’ releases over the decades. There’s films I enjoy more than others. There’s releases I don’t enjoy. That’s actually normal.
It’s ok to not like things. It’s ok to criticize and negatively review something. And it’s then ok to move on from things you enjoyed in your childhood or even adulthood to entertainment you do enjoy. It’s strange to think everything is made for you and needs to be.
The Mandalorian and Grogu opens May 2 in theaters and you can watch The Mandalorian on Disney+ now.
