Superbowl Ads 2021: Why do so many Commercials still use Vignettes?

Thanks to adage.com, it was super-easy to quickly review all Superbowl commercials in one go. I had expected to see great ads, but instead I was disappointed. What really surprised me was that more than half of them were vignette films. What happened to the art of storytelling, especially in epic moments such as the Superbowl? There is plenty of neuroscientific evidence that vignette ads are less memorable, less effective for brand building and less distinctive compared to ads with a proper story arc. Also, it is proven that ads that deliver "conceptual closure" (i.e., a "resolution" at the end) allow the brain to better process the message.

I might understand if these were everyday commercials, but this is a once-a-year opportunity to do something truly memorable. IMHO, these advertisers are wasting huge amounts of money. Epic moments demand epic stories.

Here are my Top 6 Superbowl ads 2021:

M&Ms "Come together": occasion-based marketing at its best (creating a new purchase occasion), could have been better if they had gone for one good laugh rather than merely a few quick chuckles.

GM "No way, Norway": the best storytelling of the Superbowl; this ad shows how powerful a great story is, even if the message is somewhat strange; the humor is very memorable.

Doritos "#FlatMatthew": another example of great storytelling and an idea based on a product truth; even if it's Old-School, this ad is brilliant.

Toyota "Upstream": a powerful, purpose-driven ad with a great visual idea; unfortunately, the connection between brand and purpose is somewhat forced and thus the branding element is not as strong as it could have been.

Jeep "The Middle": this ad has rightfully been called "a work of art"; it's much more than an ad and positions Jeep at the very heart of one of the most important topics in America today.

Anheuser Busch "Let's grab a beer": my favorite Superbowl commercial this year; it is based on one of the most powerful human insights ever: namely, that there is no better social glue than a beer. Coming from the category leader, generic category advertising doesn't get much better than this.

You can view all ads here: https://adage.com/SuperBowl2021Reviews