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Super Bowl 2016: Commercials, halftime show, science, football, and other stuff

Whether you watch it for the sportsball or the marketing blitz in between plays, this Sunday marks one of the biggest days of the year in television.

  • Chris Plante

    Feb 2, 2016

    Chris Plante

    Super Bowl 50: how to sound like an expert

    Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

    Super Bowl 50 approaches with the reliability of the morning sun, and yet, you still have so many questions. There are the obvious questions, which I can answer here.

    What teams are in the Super Bowl? The Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers.

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  • Kwame Opam

    Feb 2, 2016

    Kwame Opam

    Drake did an awful Super Bowl commercial for T-Mobile

    Just in case you weren't already tired of "Hotline Bling," Drake and T-Mobile just teamed up for a Super Bowl spot that, no matter what they or anyone else tells you, actually makes the song worse. Here, Drake, back in his trademark turtleneck and Timberlands, is interrupted mid-dad-dance by reps for an unnamed carrier, who each give him advice on how to advertise for their bad deals. And of course he's for it (he's all about working with tech companies), but it all kind of makes him look terrible.

    Of course, T-Mobile's Un-Carrier schtick — specifically, features like Binge On — is already terrible and, at least in the view of Stanford researchers, "likely illegal" as it violates key net neutrality principles and constrains consumer choice. Drake can dance all he wants with any carrier he chooses, but that doesn't mean the deals will be good for consumers or his fans.

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  • James Vincent

    Feb 1, 2016

    James Vincent

    LG’s first-ever Super Bowl ad is bad Tron with worse Liam Neeson

    Well. So much for subtlety. LG has just released its first-ever Super Bowl to show off its new Signature OLED TV and the result is ... not great. With Liam Neeson in the ad's starring role (Liam Neeson!) and the spot produced by Ridley Scott (Ridley Scott!), you'd think there would be some redeeming qualities, but unfortunately not. Instead, we've got a schlocky 60-second journey through a Tron knock-off fantasy land, with Neeson growling cliches about how "the future belongs to us." There's also some ouroboros magic tattoo symbol? And generic motorbike-riding future goons? Really, it's just confusing.

    In a press release, Neeson explains: "My character is an enigmatic man from the future who has traveled back to the present day on a very important mission. He represents that inner appeal, that curiosity we have to find out about the future." His enthusiasm for the project is palpable isn't it? Anyway, at least that TV looks nice.

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  • Jamieson Cox

    Jan 27, 2016

    Jamieson Cox

    Amazon's first-ever Super Bowl ad will star Alec Baldwin and Alexa

    Amazon is getting ready to air its first Super Bowl ad ever, and it's shining a spotlight on its leading bot. The company released a teaser for the commercial this morning, one in which Alec Baldwin and former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino — they're friends, apparently — are having trouble coming up with ideas for their Super Bowl party. That's where Alexa comes in, hanging out within an Echo in Baldwin's living room. When he's unfamiliar with the idea of a snack stadium, she replies, "A stadium built entirely of snacks." How concise! Baldwin's working on securing an architect, a five-star chef, and building materials for said snack stadium, and it sounds like Amazon will be showing off the fruit of his labor during the big game on February 7th.

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  • Tom Warren

    Jan 26, 2016

    Tom Warren

    Microsoft says it’s not the Surface’s fault your team lost

    Tom Brady's Patriots lost to Peyton Manning's Broncos in the AFC championship game last weekend, but it had nothing to do with Microsoft's Surface tablets. That's the word from the software giant in the form of a blog post entitled "Surfacing the Facts." Microsoft's detailed response blames stadium "network issues" that affected the Patriots tablets.

    "Not a single issue has been reported that is related to the tablet itself," during 100,000 minutes of sideline activity, claims Microsoft's Yusef Mehdi. Microsoft says during "rare occasions" like Sunday it works with the NFL to troubleshoot network issues. It doesn't explain why only the Patriots tablets weren't connecting, but the issue was resolved after 20 minutes.

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  • Ross Miller

    Jan 25, 2016

    Ross Miller

    Pokémon's Super Bowl ad channels every great Nike and Adidas commercial

    Children and teenagers from all walks of life, from all around the world, their eyes bright and aspirations grand. "I can do that," they whisper as the drums march aggressively on. But it takes training. To what end? To be the best, of course — like no one ever was. Can he be defeated? I gotta catch 'em all. Etc. etc.

    "We're all united in friendly competition" is a popular trope in Nike and Adidas ads, as parallels are drawn between athletes of all levels. But this isn't sports in the traditional sense. This is Pokémon, and Nintendo is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a surprisingly classy 60-second spot early in the Super Bowl (which is estimated to have cost them upwards of $10 million). Sports and Pokémon have been intertwined unofficially for years, from Ronda Rousey to up-and-coming tennis pros, but this commercial makes a pretty strong case for defining sportslike competition more broadly.

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  • Andrew J. Hawkins

    Jan 20, 2016

    Andrew J. Hawkins

    Uber will be the exclusive rideshare app of Super Bowl 50

    Uber is reportedly plunking down as much as $500,000 to become the exclusive ride-hail service of Super Bowl 50, according to Quartz. As part of the deal, Uber will have its own pick-up and drop-off zones at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Other app-based car services, like Lyft, will not be allowed at the Super Bowl.

    The deal is a first for Uber, which has been barred from operating at previous Super Bowls because of traffic restrictions or rules imposed by the host cities. Thanks to the sponsorship deal, as well as the game's proximity to Uber's San Francisco headquarters, the company will have unfettered access.

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  • Jamieson Cox

    Jan 7, 2016

    Jamieson Cox

    Beyoncé is helping Coldplay out with the Super Bowl 50 halftime show

    Chris Graythen/Getty Images

    The rumors are true: King B's taking the field at this year's Super Bowl halftime show. Entertainment Tonight is reporting Beyoncé will perform alongside Coldplay during the 50th annual halftime show February 7th, making it the third time in four years the Beyhive queen has had to work during the big game. (She headlined in 2013, receiving helping hands from her fellow Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.) One of the singles from Coldplay's new album A Head Full of Dreams, "Hymn for the Weekend," features Beyoncé, so it's a near-certainty the band will perform that song in some form during the show.

    Beyoncé's appearance isn't a complete shock: when Coldplay's performance was first announced in early December, it was already being rumored that she was negotiating an appearance. ET is also reporting that Bruno Mars will join the performance, and he's making his way back to the Super Bowl stage even faster than Beyoncé. (He headlined the 2014 festivities.)

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  • Jamieson Cox

    Dec 3, 2015

    Jamieson Cox

    Coldplay is playing the Super Bowl 50 halftime show

    Julia Kennedy

    Many of Coldplay's hits skew a little more downcast (and guitar-heavy) than the discographies of other recent performers. It's hard to imagine thousands of fans raging to "Yellow" and "The Scientist" come February, but the presence of Mars and Chris Martin's other famous pals should liven up the set in one way or another. It'll also depend on the sound of A Head Full of Dreams, which is still a mystery beyond the handful of singles that have been released. If you're a Spotify user looking forward to hearing the album, take note: The Wall Street Journal is also reporting the band will withhold the album from the service. (It'll still be available on services without a free tier like Apple Music.)

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  • Kwame Opam

    Jul 28, 2015

    Kwame Opam

    CBS will live stream every national Super Bowl ad for the first time

    The internet has changed the way we watch the Super Bowl, and media is following suit. Variety reports that CBS, in a game-changing move, will live stream every national ad during next year's big game in near-real time. It's an incredible decision that will change how advertisers spend money on the event, and helps turn Super Bowl 50 into a much bigger spectacle.

    Super Bowl ads are consistently the most ambitious and most expensive spots in advertising, and are about as talked about as the game itself. But as viewership moved online, advertisers dragged their feet; while the game itself has been available for live streaming since 2012, advertisers haven't been forced to opt into the streaming package. That meant fans would have to wait until the majority of all ads hit Hulu or YouTube later on. That changes with today's decision, which aims to take online viewers on a variety of screens better into account. According to one source, CBS isn't letting ad buyers opt out. "It’s a huge deal," they said.

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