Don't we all complain about the same things? Don't we all defy cultural stereotypes? And don't we all love hummus?
To fill advertising slots costing as much as a $US5.6 million for 30 seconds — a high — New York Life Insurance, Michelob and Snickers are among the brands with big-budget commercials showing a wide variety of Americans embracing their differences. Another exception to the escapist fare is a spot on police shootings. Surprisingly, it comes from an organisation that has shied away from the issue: the National Football League. The spot shows the retired 49ers wide receiver Anquan Boldin reflecting on the 2015 death of his cousin, who was shot by a police officer, and it includes a dramatic re-enactment of the killing.
The mood continues a trend toward tonally light commercials that became pronounced in 2018. In 2017, a year after Trump's inauguration, Budweiser and Coca-Cola, among other brands, touched on immigration, equal rights and fair pay.