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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

Notre Dame commercial power ranking

Football season is upon us, along with a brand new commercial for the University that will air during game broadcasts on NBC. Let’s take a look at some of the best and worst Notre Dame ads from recent years.

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Erin Rice | The Observer
Erin Rice | The Observer


5. “Goals"

“This is our goal. Let no one ever again say we dreamed too small.” — University President Fr. John Jenkins

It’s ironic that a commercial about the importance of imagination confines itself to cookie-cutter aerial shots of the dome. Rather than showcase Notre Dame’s beauty in a creative way, this ad uses it as a crutch in an attempt to elevate a contextless speech to something profound. No Clio awards have ever been handed out for ads like this.

4. “Wake Up the Echoes"

The newest ad is a case study in clichéd university commercials. It depicts students doing typical science and art in an attempt to show how well-rounded we all are. Pretty solid idea for an ad … too bad every other college in the land has already done the same thing.

Also, bonus points to those chemistry students. I thought I was pretty good at organic chemistry … then I saw them writing out their assignments backwards.

3. “An Irish Blessing

This one holds a special place in my heart. I have fond memories of watching Notre Dame games with my family during my senior year of high school. This ad is an indelible part of those memories. “An Irish Blessing” does a tremendous job of capturing the Notre Dame ethos that drew many of us to this school. There is no better example of this than the ad’s final line: “We are the University of Notre Dame.” We absolutely are.

2. “Perspective Reimagined” (or “Waterworld”)

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that last year’s much-maligned TV spot is a misunderstood masterpiece. One can imagine Don Draper telling the creative team behind this ad to “take a great leap forward.” The results are cutting-edge visuals that showcase some of the typical campus highlights in an interesting way that actually fits the context of the voiceover.

1. “Notre Dame Cuts Costs With Xerox"

A comedic masterstroke. This bearded gent was tasked with acting against a character that wasn’t really there, something for which Chris Pratt gained oodles of accolades recently after his performances in “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Jurassic World.” And what can be said of the leprechaun cutout? He’s a deadpan virtuoso cut from the same cloth as Alec Baldwin and Michael Keaton. However, there must have been a falling out between the University and Xerox, because nowadays printing costs are cut by allotting students a Lilliputian print quota.