Amazon, the pet friendly tech giant where employees get to bring their dogs to work, scored high among Super Bowl advertisers with an ad about a dog that’s left at home.
The 90-second spot called “Saving Sawyer” finished as the third-best ad in USA TODAY’s Ad Meter ranking of the top 10 commercials during Super Bowl LVII on Sunday.
The ad follows the relatable story of a family who adopted a dog during the pandemic, showing how life for the humans and the dog was much different with everyone working and schooling from home. When the parents and kids eventually return to their normal routines, Sawyer’s loneliness at home brings out a destructive streak.
The family is shown shopping on Amazon for a dog kennel and it looks like Sawyer might be on the way out.
But it’s a feel-good Super Bowl ad, not a cautionary tale about the perils of pandemic-induced pet adoption. So, in comes another dog, a pal for Sawyer.
This behind-the-scenes video offers more about Sawyer, a real shelter dog who has become a TV star.
Amazon managed to be the highest-ranked tech-related ad from the big game, with a simple nod to its e-commerce roots — no Alexa, the company’s voice assistant that was the focus of past Super Bowl ads, and a division that was impacted by Amazon’s recent layoffs.
As for the rest of the noteworthy ads, a “Rock Star” commercial from business management software company Workday finished No. 10, and T-Mobile’s “Neighborly” ad starring a singing John Travolta was No. 7.
The top-ranked ad as judged by Ad Meter panelists also starred a dog, from pet food company The Farmer’s Dog.
