Three conversations happen after every Super Bowl. The halftime show, the commercials and…what’s that other thing…oh yeah, the football game! I’m here to talk about the commercials!
I loved the Redfin commercial with Lady Gaga singing “Won’t You Be My Neighbor” in the background. 2 adolescent girls, just moved to a new neighborhood. The families are trying to settle into their new surroundings with the typical challenges that come with that, and a mishap brings the 2 lonely girls together and BAM…Sappy Annie is wiping tears off her face.
“I liked the Budweiser Clydesdale and Eagle commercial” comes a text from a gentleman I recently started dating.
I went and watched it, and Budweiser (bless its American Symbol loving heart) lost me within 7 seconds when they asked me to buy into the biologically impossibility and preposterous tomfoolery of this particular interspecies bromance.
This sent me down a rabbit hole, and my questions to my A.I. thinking companion went deep. Here are a few of the prompts…quintessentialized.
+ Prompt: Is this commercial as ridiculous as I think it is?
+ Answer: Yes and lighten up Anne. It’s calling on beautiful symbols of American Pride to evoke emotion.
Ok, but ouch!
+ Prompt: Contrast what the Budweiser and Redfin commercials say about those who liked them.
+ Answer: The Budweiser commercial emotionally resonated with those who value known, comfort and the inherent belief that we’re all on the same team. The Redfin commercial resonates with those who value taking action to connect and who are willing to work (sometimes uncomfortably) towards an aspirational vision of a better world.
WHOA! Interesting. I’ll skip the next few prompts where Chat GPT talked me off the ledge about my budding relationship being doomed, the reliance on comfort as the default and the inherent problems that creates, and how the world is also doomed so why do I bother dating anyway…
+Prompt: Please provide a few different ways to view the Redfin commercial (because mine feels really right and I don’t understand how anyone could prefer anything else!)
+ Answer: “Nostalgia feels safer than moral aspiration”
This contrast brought up a fascinating juxtaposition of thinking. ChatGPT reminded me that humans are overwhelmed right now, and the comfort of known and certainty is often the only respite.
The Bud Commercial is non-confrontational. Polished and beautiful already. You belong. We’re all on the same team.
The Redfin Commercial asks something of the viewer in a world where they already feel like they’re being asked for a lot.
And here lies the challenge.
Comfort is meant to be the rest you take to get your strength back so you can get back in the fight. (cue 1970s classroom filmstrip movie entitled “When Your Brain Was Invented, Life Required Discomfort.”)
These days, life is so comfortable that we always expect it to be. This throws us completely off when things go sideways, and that is a main contributor (in my opinion) to the massive increase in depression and anxiety, burnout, overwhelm and mental health challenges. (Michael Easter’s book The Comfort Crisis is a phenomenal look at this phenomenon.)
I’m currently compiling the interview data and common themes from over 300 interviews about Dancing in the Discomfort Zone, and one of the main themes that is emerging is that action comes before arriving at the new comfort zone. You can’t be comfortable and confident BEFORE taking the action towards making your world a better place. (whatever that looks like for you.)
So the problem with finding comfort in ease and soothing sameness is that nothing ever changes, and as the world changes around us, we’re sitting there in a puddle of warm comfortable yet eroding goo as everything progresses without us and we suddenly find ourselves behind, and likely in crisis.
And that’s why I encourage people to dance in the discomfort zone!
This is also why you’ll be hearing a lot more from me on this exact topic in the coming year. I think it’s that important. While I’m also realizing that the world and life is A LOT right now, and we also need to assess our own capacity to take action in the face of everything else going on in our lives….a very REAL challenge when striving for courageous action! Rest is necessary, same can create excellence. And also recognizing the structural and system issues that act upon us and how hard it is to work within certain constraints that will take more than a LinkedIn Article and a beer to solve. WHEEEE! The dichotomies of life!
But for now, I’m going to lighten up and go watch the Budweiser commercial again and try to see it with a different lens.
Go get ‘em Tiger
Anne Bonney is a keynote speaker and emcee who helps organizations lead through change by building resilience, emotional intelligence, and courageous communication.
