By: Isaiah Shiau
COLLEGE PARK—Mountain Dew’s Super Bowl LIX commercial “Kiss From a Lime,” featuring Mexican American singer Becky G, failed to celebrate authentic Latino culture, disappointing viewers.
The commercial depicted Becky G tasting a Mountain Dew Baja Blast before being transported to a tropical island. But the commercial seemed to miss its mark when making a cultural statement.
“The lack of authenticity makes Becky G’s role feel more like a marketing tactic rather than an actual effort to engage with the Latino community,” Kathiuska Vergara, a sophomore criminology and criminal justice major, said. “They could have emphasized her music, vibrant personality, and cultural identity to make the ad more relatable and fun.”
During the commercial’s one-minute and 19-second duration, Becky G has one speaking line, while the focus shifts to a musical performance by R&B singer Seal, who takes the appearance of an actual seal.
“Becky G didn’t feel like the main character of this ad, and I think that’s something the marketing team and director could have changed,” Vergara said.
Like most Super Bowl commercials in the past decade, this one had comedic influences with outrageous elements. But some football fans want more meaning and substance behind these commercials.
“Super Bowl ads have been worse in terms of entertainment,” said Tyler Kim, a sophomore information science major. “They just shove their product in your face in the least tasteful ways.”
Other commercials, like the NFL-sponsored “Flag 50” video, tried to make a statement about empowering women while campaigning for girls’ flag football to be a high school varsity sport in all 50 states.
“I grew up playing soccer and field hockey, so I think their message was great,” said Victoria Ruiz, 19. “But the delivery of it all felt disingenuous and weird.”
The freshman computer science major expressed how the “Kiss From a Lime” commercial had a similar effect after a rewatch.
“I was excited to see what Becky G would be doing when I saw her in the commercial. By the end, it felt like she was just Mountain Dew’s token Latina,” said Ruiz.
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