An exciting football game broke out in between various political protests on Sunday night. Indeed, while many may remember Super Bowl LI as the first overtime contest in the history of this NFL championship game, others may consider the event special due to the unique nature of the ads. Some were silly. Some were funny. Some featured celebrities. However others clearly tried to send a message to the world. There was the controversial Budweiser ad that told the story of that beer's immigrant founder. There was the Airbnb commercial that took a clear stance on Donald Trump's immigration policy. But the following spot for 84 Lumber represented the most obvious, clear cut case of a company using its time to focus on something far beyond its product. A building materials supply company, 84 Lumber spent considerable money to show viewers a mother and daughter embarking on a journey across Mexico in a bid to reach the United States. The ad's initial version – in which the loved ones are blocked by a forbidding border wall – was deemed “too controversial” to air by Fox executives. Therefore, the company settled on a 90-second ad that depicted portions of the journey, with an invitation to watch its conclusion online. And that conclusion is what we present below. At the end of it, the mother and daughter find a wooden gate in the wall, which opens to the tagline: “The will to succeed is always welcome here.” Did the company's gamble to get this political off? According to People Magazine, traffic to the 84 Lumber website last night was so intense and ongoing that it caused the site to crash. “We will always support the American Dream,” wrote 84 Lumber on Twitter shortly after the ad aired. “This is a conversation that’s taking place in homes across America and so 84 Lumber was willing to be part of that conversation, to be relevant and timely,” Rob Schapiro, chief creative officer of 84 Lumber’s ad agency Brunner, told Business Insider. “In Part Two [of the ad] you will see what a beacon of light America is, not just within America but beyond to other countries. “We are that beacon of light for people for finding success from hard work and making a contribution.” WATCH THE FULL, UNCUT VERSION BELOW:
Audi drove directly into the world of politics on Sunday night. Just like the controversial 84 Lumber ad that has left viewers talking, Audi used its time during Super Bowl LI to make a very clear statement. And that statement centered very clearly on the issue of gender and wage equality. There was no subtlety here, either. While other ads (such as this Budweiser immigration commercial ) tip-toed around sensitive subjects a little bit, Audi did not mince words or beat around any bushes. “What do I tell my daughter?” a man wonders while watching his daughter compete in a downhill derby race, adding: “Do I tell her that her grandpa is worth more than her grandma? That her dad is worth more than her mom? “Do I tell her that despite her education, her drive, her skills, her intelligence, she will automatically be valued as less than every man she ever meets?” After she wins the competition, he muses: “Or maybe I’ll be able to tell her something different.” Elizabeth Banks and Octavia Spencer were among those who reacted to the sentimental ad on social media. To wit: Where do you stand on this sort of Super Bowl commercial? Did you stand up and cheer when you watched? Or roll your eyes over a car company exploiting a legitimately important topic just to sell a few more cars. View the ad below:
The eight-year old daughter of Jamie Lynn Spears is reportedly fighting for her life. According to TMZ, young Maddie Spears was on a hunting expedition of some kind on Sunday when she was badly injured in an ATV accident. The accident took place in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana. While details are still coming in, sources tell the website that Maddie was riding a Polaris off-road vehicle when it flipped over. She was submerged under water after for several minutes, losing consciousness in the process. Jamie Lynn Spears was NOT with her daughter, who was air-lifted to a local hospital, at the time of the crash. TMZ has described Maddie’s condition as “extremely serious.” However, a representative for the family of Jamie Lynn and Britney Spears contradicts this report, although it remains clear that something happened to Maddie. “The details the media are reporting surrounding the incident regarding Jamie Lynn’s daughter Maddie are incorrect,” this rep says, adding: “Right now the Spears family asks that everyone respect their privacy during this time and appreciates all the prayers and support for their family.” Jamie Lynn and then-boyfriend Casey Aldridge made major headlines when they welcomed Maddie into the world in 2008. Spears was only 16 years old at the time. She was best known as the younger sister of Britney, of course, but also for her role as Zoey Brooks on the Nickelodeon sitcom Zoey 101, on which she starred from 2005 to 2008. Shortly after giving birth, however, Jamie Lynn largely disappeared from the spotlight in order to focus on being a full-time mother. She quietly got married to Jamie Watson in 2014. And she opened up last June to People about raising Maddie in Louisiana. “She’s got such a sweet little heart,” Spears told People Magazine at the time. “I feel like I’ve raised her with a lot of honesty, but I’ve also raised her with a lot of love. She’s a very happy, content little girl, and there’s nothing more a parent could ask for. “That’s my most proud accomplishment out of anything and always will be.” Spears spoke at the time in promotion of the documentary Jamie Lynn Spears: When the Lights Go Out on TLC. The special chronicled her life as a parent and former celebrity over the past few years. Please join us in sending thoughts and prayers to Jamie Lynn Spears, Maddie Spears and their loved ones.
Coca-Cola coughed up the cash for two ads during the Super Bowl, but its pre-game spot was one of the most talked-about and controversial. Same was true in 2014 when it first aired! The beverage giant aired a re-run of the spot it ran February 2, 2014, when the Seattle Seahawks drubbed the Denver Broncos 43-8. Last night, if the poignant pre-game Coca-Cola Super Bowl ad , fittingly titled, “It's Beautiful” felt familiar, that's because it was … identical. It features a cast of diverse people singing “America The Beautiful,” first in English, but also languages like Hindi, Arabic, and Tagalog. The ad is designed to portray the multi-cultural make-up of the U.S., and given the current political climate, carried special significance. It's hard not to see the recycled ad as a protest of the nascent presidency of Donald J. Trump and his nationalist, “America first” agenda. Not surprisingly, it is even more polarizing now than it was then – which was pretty polarizing even in relatively quaint, peaceful 2014. Last time the spot aired, a bunch of people hated it, taking to social media to air their grievances against the brand (see gallery below). “One simply does NOT sing America the Beautiful in ANY language but English! Get on board or OUT!” one Facebook user posted. Coke's FB page was, and is, transforming into a wall of conservative protest … the U.S. president knows something about those apparently. The pointless hashtag #BoycottCoke has resurfaced as well. Meanwhile, supporters of the brand and its message have been equally vocal praising the ad, along with some notably similar others. Combined with the 84 Lumber Super Bowl ad , the Airbnb Super Bowl commercial and others, the theme of Sunday night was consistent. Check out the 2014/2017 Coke spot below:
Kim Kardashian is pissed. Like seriously, intensely, royally pissed. At her sisters, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian, no less. She’s so mad that she made a series of Snapchat videos to discuss her feelings — feelings that include things like “this is so rude” and “f-ck you.” What could have possibly set her off like that? She’s still been keeping relatively quiet since her robbery , so why would she get so intimate on social media after all this time? Well, as it turns out, Kim takes her workouts very, very seriously. She shares a trainer with Khloe and Kourtney, and on this particular day, the trainer, Joe, had scheduled back-to-back sessions with the sisters. Kim Kardashian: My Sisters Are A–holes! He was working with Khloe and Kourtney, then he was going over to Kim’s to work with her. But, as Kim complains, her sisters’ workout started 30 minutes late, so Joe was running 30 minutes late to her workout. And that displeased Kim greatly. She explains what’s going down in the video above, which ends with a lovely sarcastic “Thanks, a–holes,” but she really gets in her groove in this next video: Kim Kardashian Gives a Big “F-ck You” to Her Sisters “OK, seriously, Kourtney and Khloe, f-ck you,” she begins. And yeah, it’s a little hard to take her seriously when she’s airing her grievances while using that bunny filter, but still, she’s upset. “This is so rude,” she tells her sisters. “I’ve been sitting in my garage, waiting on the trainer for 30 minutes.” “I DO have a life.” And you’d think that’d be it, right? That she’s gotten all this off her chest and she’s ready to move on with her life. But come on, y’all. You know Kim is pettier than that . Kim Kardashian Confronts Her Trainer When Joe the Trainer finally does arrive, she interrogates him until he tells her which of her sisters made him so late. It was that dastardly Kourtney. Always trying to ruin Kim’s schedule. Always trying to ruin Kim’s life. So, OK, while this was fun and all — come on, Kim Kardashian said “f-ck you” to her sisters through a bunny filter on Snapchat, you know it’s good — it’s a little bit ridiculous, too. Is there only one trainer in all of Los Angeles? And can he only work during one time period, one day a week? Also, is this really something to get this worked up over? Wouldn’t a sassy text suffice? Did we all really need to hear about what that evil Kourtney did to Kim? We don’t have the answers to all these questions, but we do know that Kim going off on Snapchat is some mighty good entertainment . And for that, we thank her. View Slideshow: 13 Times Kim Kardashian Suffered from Serious #FirstWorldProblems
Today is a very special, very sacred day for the good ol' U.S.A. — it's Super Bowl Sunday, friends ! As people all across the country gather together to eat food and watch football (or the commercials that air in between the football bits), we must also give thanks to all the celebrities that make this such an important event. There's Lady Gaga, for instance, who will be performing for the halftime show. But there's also Taylor Swift, who did a pretty impressive pre-Super Bowl show herself last night in Houston. She performed some old classics like “Love Story” and “You Belong with Me,” and she also did some newer hits like “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space.” She even performed a solo acoustic version of her new song with Zayn Malik , “I Don't Wanna Live Forever,” which you can watch below. But the most interesting moment of the night was when she told the audience that she wasn't planning on doing another performance for a long, long time. “As far as I know,” Taylor said, “I'm only doing one show in 2017, and as far as I know, this is that show.” “So what I'm trying to tell you is, by coming here tonight, you're essentially attending 100 percent of my tour dates for the year, so thank you!” As you might recall, she only did one show in 2016, too. So what's up with Taylor? Is she over being a pop star? Is she just taking a long, long break? Either way, watch an apparently rare performance in the video below:
So this is a pretty interesting turn of events … Nicki Minaj may be pregnant. Like, several months pregnant. What a surprise, right? It’s so surprising that it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. But Nicki shared this photo on Instagram last night: So it has to be true, right? What are we supposed to believe?! In the caption of the photo, Nicki wrote “ATBIMS. y’all so childish. Omgskibbidybopbophjhddfnij – I was gonna wait to share the news but…” Sounds like she’s in no rush to clear up the confusion, huh? To break it down though “ATBIMS” stands for “all these bitches is my son,” which is something of a catchphrase for Nicki. The line appears many times in her songs. “Y’all so childish” seems to mean that this is a joke, but let’s remember that about a month ago, Meek Mill strongly implied that he’d impregnated Nicki. Right after the news broke that they’d broken up , Meek wrote this little thing on Snapchat that read “I ain’t tell y’all bout her being preg … Nvm lol.” It didn’t get a whole lot of attention at the time because hey, it’s Meek Mill’s Snapchat account, who really cares? But after Nicki’s baby bump pic, people sure are starting to pay attention. At this point, she’s got over 21,000 comments on the photo, many from people who believe she’s actually pregnant. “MY BABY IS PREGO! Congrats,” one fan wrote, just one of many messages of congratulations. “Take good care of little Nicki,” another said. “Omg,” yet another follower wrote, “this is so awesome whats gonna be the name and what is it boy or girl congrats nicki.” One sweet fan said “Wishing u Nicki a safe delivery much love to u and ur unborn child.” But while several commenters were excited about the possible pregnancy, plenty more weren’t buying it. “Don’t play with my emotions like that,” someone told her, “you know how happy this news would make me.” “As if,” another person wrote. “Show us your baby pictures then you are just being selfish because Beyonce is having a baby.” In fact, many people made the Beyonce connection — that Nicki was trying to steal attention from Beyonce’s big pregnancy announcement earlier this week. Others thought it was sweet that the two ladies would give birth around the same time. But while all the speculation is fun, let’s be real — Nicki’s almost certainly not pregnant. Though at least now we know how amazing she’d look if she was! View Slideshow: 34 Beautiful Celebrity Baby Bumps
Luke Bryan helped honor America prior to Super Bowl LI. The country music artist was chosen to sing the Star-Spangled Banner, mere minutes before the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons took to the field. Wearing blue jeans and a black jacket over a purple shirt, Bryan took his time with the country's national anthem, although he clocked in at just over two minutes and four seconds, under the Las Vegas line of two minutes and eight seconds. He didn't try to do anything particularly special with the song… other than sing it really, really well, that is. And as Bryan held on to the long final note while belting out the word “brave,” the crowd erupted in applause just as U.S. Thunderbirds from the Air Force flew over head. How did Bryan do? VOTE below and weigh in : Bryan, it's worth noting, sang the beloved song a capella. Did he compare to past stalwarts such as Beyonce or Whitney Houston? Watch him do so below:
Breaking Sports Video
