Rihanna was more entertaining than most of the Super Bowl commercials

 

Rihanna was more entertaining than most of the Super Bowl commercials

Transcript¹

The best Super Bowl ads of 2023 seem to combine celebrity² nostalgia³ and a bit of comedy. We run down the most effective commercials from the big game and the halftime show, featuring Rihanna.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

In addition to the Kansas City Chiefs' down-to-the-wire win against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday's Super Bowl featured Rihanna in a halftime performance that left fans celebrating online and wondering if she was expecting. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says Rihanna's performance entertained better than most of the big game's commercials.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RIHANNA: (Singing) Better have my money. Y'all should know me well enough.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE⁴: From the moment she kicked off the TV friendly version of her 2015 hit "Better Have My Money," Rihanna brought a Super Bowl-sized spectacle to the Apple Music halftime show, singing from an illuminated⁵ platform suspended high in the air.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RIHANNA: (Singing) Like I'm the only one that you'll ever love.

DEGGANS: In a 13-minute set, Rihanna sang hits like "We Found Love" and "Only Girl (In The World)" surrounded by a football field's worth of backup dancers clad in white jumpsuits with hoodies and black sunglasses. Producers of the television broadcast excelled in capturing the visual grandeur⁶, sending cameras swooping⁷ through the dancers in tightly choreographed⁸ moves. The fans online were talking as much about Rihanna's appearance. The singer had a bulge⁹ at her stomach that made her look as if she might be pregnant. And after the performance, media outlets¹⁰, including the Associated Press and Rolling Stone, reported her representatives had confirmed she was indeed expecting her second child.

Given that news, Rihanna's triumphant¹¹ performance was even more impressive. How many other music stars could hold the attention of an entire stadium, and a likely hundred million TV viewers, suspended high in the air while pregnant? If only the commercials in the big game were as good. But one of the most talked about ads was also something of a head fake. M&Ms candies made headlines before the game, saying they were pausing use of animated¹² spokescandy (ph) characters, which had drawn¹³ the ire of some political commentators¹⁴ after they were revamped to be more inclusive. Instead, comic actress Maya Rudolph took over, adding clams¹⁵ to the candy.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MAYA RUDOLPH: (Singing) Come with me to a magic land - bite-size candies filled with clams.

DEGGANS: The company revealed in a commercial after the game that the characters were coming back.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

AMBER¹⁶ RUFFIN: (As Purple M&M) I'm glad to be back because this is what I was made for. I mean, as a walking, talking candy, my options are pretty limited.

DEGGANS: Given that advertisers paid up to $7 million per 30 seconds for ad time, there were a lot of clunkers, including John Travolta singing a retooled¹⁷ version of his hit song from the musical Grease, "Summer Nights," for T-Mobile.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JOHN TRAVOLTA: Home internet - what a pain in the...

DONALD FAISON: Hey, neighbor.

DEGGANS: A roast that featured Jeff Ross and other stand up comics making fun of the Planters mascot¹⁸, Mr. Peanut.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JEFF ROSS: I'll make this quick, Mr. Peanut. I know you got some brownies to ruin.

DEGGANS: And a commercial for a new movie about the superhero the Flash, with Michael Keaton delivering a line he first made famous back in 1989.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MICHAEL KEATON: I'm Batman.

DEGGANS: OK. That one sounded pretty cool. But it's telling that one of the evening's most heartwarming commercials came from The Farmer's Dog pet food company, featuring a young woman growing old with a trusty dog she promises to take care of forever. It's a truism of Super Bowl advertising¹⁹. A powerful story with a cute puppy always trumps²⁰ big celebrities²¹ or high-price spectacles.

I'm Eric Deggans.

(SOUNDBITE OF RIHANNA SONG, "WE FOUND LOVE")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

3 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 illuminated   

adj.被照明的；受启迪的

参考例句：

• Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。
• the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市

6 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

7 swooping   

俯冲，猛冲( swoop的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The wind were swooping down to tease the waves. 大风猛扑到海面上戏弄着浪涛。
• And she was talking so well-swooping with swift wing this way and that. 而她却是那样健谈--一下子谈到东，一下子谈到西。

8 choreographed   

v.设计舞蹈动作( choreograph的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• There was some carefully choreographed flag-waving as the President drove by. 总统的车经过时，人们按精心编排的动作挥舞着旗帜。
• Achim had choreographed the dance in Act II himself. 阿希姆自己设计了第2幕的舞蹈动作。 来自辞典例句

9 bulge   

n.突出，膨胀，激增；vt.突出，膨胀

参考例句：

• The apple made a bulge in his pocket.苹果把他口袋塞得鼓了起来。
• What's that awkward bulge in your pocket?你口袋里那块鼓鼓囊囊的东西是什么？

10 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

12 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

13 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

14 commentators   

n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员

参考例句：

• Sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 体育解说员翻来覆去说着同样的词语，真叫人腻烦。
• Television sports commentators repeat the same phrases ad nauseam. 电视体育解说员说来说去就是那么几句话，令人厌烦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 clams   

n.蛤；蚌，蛤( clam的名词复数 )v.（在沙滩上）挖蛤( clam的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The restaurant's specialities are fried clams. 这个餐厅的特色菜是炸蚌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We dug clams in the flats et low tide. 退潮时我们在浅滩挖蛤蜊。 来自辞典例句

16 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

17 retooled   

v.（给…）更换工具， （给…）更换机械设备( retool的过去式和过去分词 )；改组，革新

参考例句：

• The company will be retooled after the incorporation. 合并之后的公司要进行重组。 来自辞典例句
• Each time the product changes, the machines have to be retooled. 每次更换产品，就得重新装备机器。 来自辞典例句

18 mascot   

n.福神，吉祥的东西

参考例句：

• The football team's mascot is a goat.足球队的吉祥物是山羊。
• We had a panda as our mascot.我们把熊猫作为吉详物。

19 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

20 trumps   

abbr.trumpets 喇叭；小号；喇叭形状的东西；喇叭筒v.（牌戏）出王牌赢（一牌或一墩）( trump的过去式 )；吹号公告，吹号庆祝；吹喇叭；捏造

参考例句：

• On the day of the match the team turned up trumps. 比赛那天该队出乎意料地获得胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Every time John is late getting home he trumps up some new excuse. 每次约翰晚回家都会编造个新借口。 来自《简明英汉词典》

21 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目