Back to the future: Super Bowl ads to evoke nostalgia, escapism

Super Bowl advertisers this year want Americans to forget about pandemic woes and focus on the future: of electric vehicles, mind-reading Alexas, robots and cryptocurrency, and also to harken back to the nostalgic past of '90s movies like Austin Powers and The Cable Guy. The Los Angeles Rams will take on the Cincinnati Bengals during Super Bowl 56 on Sunday at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. But for many, the big show of the night will be the commercials. Advertisers are hoping to deliver a dose of escapism with light humour and star-studded entertainment amid the pandemic, high inflation and tensions between Russia and Ukraine. "Marketers are recognising Americans have had a very heavy, difficult two-year period and are responding by bringing some good old-fashioned entertainment for Super Bowl Sunday," said Kimberly Whitler, marketing professor at the University of Virginia.