Super Bowl ads aim to entertain with light humor

As Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl 55 in Tampa Bay, Florida, a different kind of action is taking place off field.

After a year of pandemic fear and isolation and a tumultuous election, brands are waging battle during game's commercial breaks. Many are sticking with stalgia and light humor to entertain and connect to 100 million viewers expected to tune in to CBS broadcast On Sunday.

Cadillac is going with an update to classic 1990 film “Edward Scissorhands," with Timothée Chalamet as title character's son enjoying Cadillac Lyriq's hands-free “Super Cruise" Techlogy. M&M's enlisted Dan Levy to show how a bag of M&M's given as an apology can help people come toger. And Will Ferrell teamed with GM — and Awkwafina and Kenan Thompson — on a madcap cross country dash to promote electric vehicles.

With so many light spots, advertisers that try a different approach risk polarizing audience — but are more likely to stand out. Jeep will air a two-minute ad in second half of game starring Bruce Springsteen urging people to find common ground.

“re's so much going on in this country, advertisers want to be a little more cautious and a little more safe around what y put out," said Vann Graves, director of Brandcenter at Virginia Commonwealth University. “ Super Bowl is a respite in many ways of what's been going on."

(Im Credit: AP)