It’s probably the only show in the world where people look forward to the ad breaks as much as the on-screen action. And this year’s Super Bowl LV certainly delivered as far as the commercials go.
As Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs on the field, a host of big-name brands delivered off the field with an array of ads designed to inspire, uplift, tear-jerk and make us laugh. Oh, and encourage us to buy stuff, of course.
From real-life couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis fighting over Cheetos with a little help from reggae star, Shaggy, to Wayne and Garth from Wayne's World assuring us they would never sell out (not) for Uber Eats, here are the 10 most-talked about ads from the Super Bowl…
1. Cheetos
Starring Hollywood power couple, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, in the advertisement, the pair try marriage counselling in order to figure out who is eating all the Cheetos in the house. Except their marriage counsellor is reggae star Shaggy of It Wasn't Me fame, whose advice to serial Cheetos-quaffer Kunis, is the same advice he's been giving for the past 21 years: "It wasn't me". And what do you know, it seems to work on Ashton.
2. M&Ms
Schitt's Creek star, Dan Levy pops up in this ad, which takes pot shots at a number of modern zeitgeisty dilemmas, such as gender reveal parties, mansplaining and Karens. A host of people take the opportunity to say sorry to those they have wronged, offering packets of M&Ms by way of an apology. "Sorry I called you a Karen," says one woman. "But that's my name." "Sorry your name is Karen."
3. State Farm
Insurance is famously boring, which is why US insurance company State Farm enlisted the famously not-boring Drake and Paul Rudd to star in their Super Bowl ad. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes are auditioning their stand-ins for a commercial, with Paul Rudd set to play Mahomes, when Drake pops up to stand in for Jake from State Farm. Needless to say, the multi-Grammy award-winning rapper is not content to take a back seat.
4. GM
The US declares war on Norway in this ad from car manufacturer GM. After discovering the Scandinavian country has more electric vehicles per head than the States, Will Ferrell, in classic Ferrell-mode, teams up with SNL's Kenan Thompson, and actress Awkwafina to head to Norway to inform the country they will soon be crushed in the EV stakes. Naturally, Thompson and Awkwafina end up in Finland, and Ferrell in Sweden.
5. Rocket Mortgage
30 Rock's Tracy Morgan makes mortgages hilarious in this ad that ponders whether "pretty sure" is a good enough reason, not only to work out if you can afford a house, but for anything in life really. Such as being "pretty sure you can take Dave Bautista down."
6. Cadillac
Timothee Chalamet stars as Scissorhands's son, Edgar, teaming up with Winona Ryder, who famously starred opposite Johnny Depp in the original film. Although the local townsfolk are benevolent towards Edgar, the bus drivers are tired of the damage he wreaks on their vehicles. Luckily, mum's on hand to buy Edgar a Cadillac that makes his life a little smoother.
7. DoorDash
Hamilton star, Daveed Diggs, teams up with Big Bird and the Sesame Street crew to highlight all the food and local businesses to be found on market delivery app, DoorDash. Fans of Cookie Monster and Gonzo will be in their element.
8. Jeep
National reconciliation is the key theme in this ad – and buy a Jeep, obviously – as Bruce Springsteen stars in and narrates a plea for America to “meet in the middle.” The Boss journeys to the centre of the US to remind his fellow citizens: “We just have to remember the very soil we stand on is common ground”.
9. T-Mobile
Real-life couple Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton let us know they're in on the joke when it comes to their relationship. So, if you've ever thought: "The Hollaback Girl and that country singer guy are together. Really?" Rest assured that, as with Maroon 5's music, we have Adam Levine to blame.
10. Uber Eats
Mike Myers and Dana Carvey put aside their decades-long feud to reunite as Wayne and Garth for Uber Eats. No way. Way. Plus, Cardi B pops up in an in-no-way shameless celebrity cameo. Excellent.
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Read more:
9 of the best Super Bowl ads in 2021: from John Travolta dancing to Matthew McConaughey eating crisps
Super Bowl 2021: The Weeknd, Amanda Gorman and all the performance highlights
Tom Brady adds fifth Super Bowl MVP to GOAT resume
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
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Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Celta Vigo 2
Castro (45'), Aspas (82')
Barcelona 2
Dembele (36'), Alcacer (64')
Red card: Sergi Roberto (Barcelona)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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NINE WINLESS GAMES
Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace (Oct 27, PL)
Liverpool 5-5 Arsenal (Oct 30, EFL)
Arsenal 1-1 Wolves (Nov 02, PL)
Vitoria Guimaraes 1-1 Arsenal (Nov 6, Europa)
Leicester 2-0 Arsenal (Nov 9, PL)
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton (Nov 23, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt (Nov 28, Europa)
Norwich 2-2 Arsenal (Dec 01, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Brighton (Dec 05, PL)
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
Profile
Cultural fiesta
What: The Al Burda Festival
When: November 14 (from 10am)
Where: Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi
The Al Burda Festival is a celebration of Islamic art and culture, featuring talks, performances and exhibitions. Organised by the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, this one-day event opens with a session on the future of Islamic art. With this in mind, it is followed by a number of workshops and “masterclass” sessions in everything from calligraphy and typography to geometry and the origins of Islamic design. There will also be discussions on subjects including ‘Who is the Audience for Islamic Art?’ and ‘New Markets for Islamic Design.’ A live performance from Kuwaiti guitarist Yousif Yaseen should be one of the highlights of the day.
