After two heart breaking losses in the Super Bowl, the Patriots finally came back to reclaim the title as the best team in the NFL. If I didn’t live in Boston, I probably wouldn’t mention the Super Bowl but I do… so I am as it pertains to food and fitness.
Holy shit, that game was intense. Even if you are not a fan of the Patriots or the Seahawks, you have to admit that was entertaining! To watch the game, I made some “Sarah Fit” approved snacks as well as other fun game time treats.
First things first. Katy Perry killed it. I loved the half time show. Was dancing on my couch and would have been on the dance floor if I was at a bar. Missy Elliot might have been my favorite part.
As for the commercials, I decided that I liked BMW, will never use T-Mobile (this video has more dislikes than likes lol), Avocados are funny, maybe I should start wearing pads, Mindy is hilarious, glue + fanny packs = my attention, and puppies are always a good idea. There was one commercial featuring fitness people doing fitness people things from Reebok called Be More Human. You would think that I would like this commercial but here is why I don’t…
I like to work out for me. It makes me feel accomplished, better about myself, my body, it is something I enjoy and I do for myself – not to be better than you. It’s never been competitive for me. I don’t care if I’m stronger than you. I don’t care if I’m faster than you. I do it for me and if you want to improve, I’m here to help you to discover yummy healthy foods and a fitness routine you actually like and look forward to doing! This commercial makes health and fitness feel elitist, exclusive and douchey. I don’t want to be a part of a community that only celebrates people who are willing to do pull ups until the skin on their palms rips. This commercial made me feel inferior. It didn’t inspire me. It made me not want to be associated with fitness people if that is how we come across to people who just starting their fitness journey. I’m clearly in the minority and I know this but was curious if anyone else felt the same? Watching it a second time, I don’t feel as strongly as I did the first time I viewed the commercial it made me never want to be part of any CrossFit box. End rant.
So what was on my menu? Of course I bought crudités with hummus and guacamole.
We bought delicious tortilla chips from Food Should Taste Good for a Mexican dip that is a Dussault family favorite.
This recipe is super simple. It’s just cream cheese on the bottom, chopped green chiles, chopped tomatoes, and onions next, a bottle of taco sauce and cheese on top. Put in the oven for 35-40 minutes and enjoy. This dip is addicting and always a crowd pleaser. It is not a low calorie recipe but at least you can pronounce all the ingredients, right?
I might have had the entire bottle of Oyster Bay while watching. The game was stressful!
As a main meal idea, I made chicken in the slow cooker with a little butter and Frank’s Red Hot. I use 1/2 cup of Franks to every 2 lbs of chicken and added a little chicken broth. It came out delicious but roomie stood me up with a crazy lobster pasta dish. I laughed when he said he was making it but everyone filled up on his pasta and now we have buff chicken for days. Good thing we are snowed in!
I enjoyed the chicken on it’s own with a little celery, red onion, and fresh sliced blue cheese. I bought mini rolls to put the chicken for mini buff chick sub rolls, too.
For dessert, I served Georgetown Cupcakes that came in the mail on Thursday from my blog network, Mode Media. I love Mode and their timing was perfect! How else was I going to eat a dozen cupcakes in a week?
It’s now time for a little shoveling, detox from Ripe Stuff and work while we get pummeled with another snow storm.
What did you think of the Reebok, Always and T-Mobile commercials?
I’m from Seattle and that game was a tough loss for us but at least the game was entertaining! I guess you have to experience the losses to appreciate the wins, but it’s had when you don’t win the Superbowl for a bad play call! Congrats to the Patriots though.
Trust me. Pats fans know the feeling. It was such a good game. An incredible catch followed by an incredible interception.
I completely disagree with your analysis of the Reebok ad. You said “I like to work out for me. It makes me feel accomplished, better about myself, my body, it is something I enjoy and I do for myself – not to be better than you.” Maybe it’s just me, but nowhere in that video did I hear “better than you”. What I got was “better than I was before”, “better than I would be otherwise”. The way I saw the ad lines up exactly with what you said about why you work out. But that’s the great thing about everyone having different opinions, we can see so much in one thing 🙂
Yea -- you have a point. I just felt like the commercial was trying to get the viewer to compare themselves and their fitness to the athletes in the commercial. I felt like I was being told my workouts were not hard enough. You have a good point though and I totally see your point of view. This was my initial reaction so I was curious if other people saw it the way I did or if I misread it -- like you suggested.
I agree Karen. I just watched it for the first time and felt it was very impowering for the individual. I train to be a better person, to be strong for myself to be healthier in life, to be healthy for my kids (when I have them). I felt like the video was simply about being the stronger and best that you can be regardless of those around you. I never felt it was competitive except that it has crossfit all over it. I loved the commercial! But I love seeing how we all interpret them, it makes for fun talk!
I actually didn’t watch one second of the Super Bowl… whoops. I will probably look at AdWeek or something today to check out all the ads, but the Reebok one (I watched it just now ;)) could be really great inspiration for people who don’t workout out already… it was an interesting concept to say the least!
I have mixed feelings on that Reebok ad. I think the message is about being the best version of yourself, not necessarily better than another person. I do see what you’re saying about it feeling elitist, it is definitely not an ad that would make a newbie want to go workout, it makes it seem like an unattainable level of fitness. However, I feel ill from that shot of the girls palms bloody with the skin ripped off, UGH. I am pretty anti-crossfit as it seems dangerous and so many people come away injured. I love to workout and push myself but no part of me wants bruises and bloody hands from fitness.
All of that aside, I LOVED the Always ad. And GO PATS!
First off, I thought that game was crazy, especially the second half with those interceptions and that insane catch. I thought that the Reebok commercial was more focused on competing with yourself. (What can I do so I am a better mother/firefighter/person in the community as a whole). Maybe I didn’t make it through a workout a week ago, but now with that determination, I can. That’s what I took away from it. Fitness should not be elitist. With that being said though, there are certain people who I look up to in my community and strive to be more like them. Not competitively, just something to aspire to; a role model per say. I think that’s an important aspect of fitness.
As someone who does regularly crossfit, I would say that commercial was not 100% geared towards people who do that. Yes, there was a gratuitous bloody hand and an atlas stone that people associate w/ CF, but I also saw people doing tough mudders, trail running, yoga, and kick-boxing -- none of those are part of Crossfit.
Extreme fitness is a trend right now, so that’s pretty much who the commercial was geared towards and you can get injured in any of those things if you do them wrong.
I didn’t think it was geared towards CrossFitters but the shots of CrossFit workouts made me not want to do one ever hehe… I can barely do the yoga pose they show with the dude and when I do that one -- it is an amazing feeling! I feel so accomplished 🙂 I wish they showed people who didn’t look like yogi’s doing yoga poses or people who may have 20 lbs to lose running in the forrest. Things people can relate to not just aspire to
I didn’t see the ad the way you perceived Reebok’s messaging -- I really thought it was inspiring and showing how fitness isn’t about looking a certain way or being a certain body type but rather how it can benefit one’s lives. Sure it was a bit “CrossFit’y” (and I’m even a CrossFit-er) but I did find it motivating and a positive message to better yourself.
My thoughts were exactly the same as yours. I actually said it out loud. I feel strongly that people do not have to be able to flip tires to be considered fit or in shape. I think it would’ve been better if they added some different forms of exercise in there…not just the extreme ones. A lot of workouts I saw in that commercial and see on Facebook or other places seem to be dangerous to me anyways. I don’t think I will ever be trying to lift hundreds of pounds for one rep (with wobbly form)…that’s just me but whatever works for someone else is just that. That’s what is awesome about fitness. There’s so many different ways to reach your goals. Do you.
I COMPLETELY agree with you on the Reebok commercial. How much you do or do not workout has ABSOLUTELY NO correlation to how good of a parent you are, or friend, or lover, or worker, or thinker. I am personally a very active and fit person…. but would I say that someone who wasn’t as active was less human? NO. It DOES have a better than you feel… evidence in the lines that say we do it “to be better parents, etc.” It heavily insinuates that people who don’t workout aren’t doing enough to be great people in the other parts of their lives. Everyone is different and this ad makes it seem as though the only people who work hard are athletes… and though I am tempted to feel that way as an athlete, I know too many wonderful people who are WAYY better than me at a million other things. In fact, I know lots of people who work out so much that they have 0 time for anything else in their lives… so it goes both ways. I think it should have had a heavier emphasis on working out for your body and mind… trying to say that it will make you better at everything else in your life is a fallacy, I think
loved this. first pump
Interesting reaction to the Reebok commercial — I didn’t see it last night, so I just watched it. I think the general concept of Being More Human or whatever is actually really inspiring. The concept of pushing your body to your limits to make you a stronger human is definitely fine by me and TOTALLY inspiring!
That said, I do think they erred on the side of showing too many intense workouts that would completely turn off someone who hasn’t yet figured out their fitness journey. I do triathlons. A lot of times when I tell people that they say, “Oh, I could never do that.” or “That’s too intense for me.” What they don’t realize is that I’m not killing it and getting first place in an Ironman. I’m just doing me in a sprint or an olympic. Just trying to be better and stronger than I was yesterday. That’s my fitness journey. I guess for some people it is bloody palms in a Crossfit class, but that doesn’t make them a better human than me. Just different.
I do hate the undertone (which I think is reinforced by Crossfitters, largely, but certainly not exclusively) that to be “healthy” and “strong” you have to beat up your body and be more intense than the guy next to you. So not true.
And the Always commercial was everything. So beautiful. And touching. And TOTALLY inspiring. I hit it hard on my workout this morning, thinking the whole time how proud I was to do it like a girl.
I had a similar reaction, I know Reebok is now mostly geared towards the Crossfit crowd but the “be more human” felt exactly as you said, “elitist”. I can totally understand how ripping your palms and shins open makes you realize you are human, just like when I’m trail running and face place after tripping on a rock, I’m extremely aware of how human I am, but the concept is only shared with people who have experienced the same. I teach beginners yoga and really want everyone to find their fitness love in whatever form it is, but when you say flipping tires and ripping skin open is the way to do it, that leaves the rest of us wondering “so I’m less human?”, if so my reaction is less than classy 😉
I have tripped on a few tree roots myself in front of plenty of people. So embarrassing haha.
Agreed on the Reebok commercial. A huge part of my fitness journey has been working to find a healthy balance in my lifestyle -- eating better overall but still indulging in a treat from time to time, sticking to a workout schedule but still making time for my friends and family, etc. The commercial didn’t show balanced, overall healthy individuals -- it showed people who were totally consumed with making themselves better. And while maybe that works for some people, that single-minded drive isn’t what I know is healthy and a good fit for me.
On a totally unrelated note, that Oyster Bay is my favorite white wine too! We had a few bottles of that chilling along with a stash of Sam Adams in our snow cooler. Shoveled out part of my snow-covered back deck to hold all our beverages for the game, because the fridge was full! Worked great to keep spirits high for these Pats fans even when things were looking bleak.
How can you not like Oyster Bay, it’s a crowd favorite 🙂
I LOVED the always commercials, and I did not really care for the Reebok commercial! I think it is that exact mentality that scares people from taking the first step towards fitness, and becoming healthier.
I mostly agree about the ad. I think they were going for motivation, and accidentally ended up with something that could have been interpreted as “holier than thou.” I’m not interested in CrossFit or those endurance/obstacle runs-- mostly because I’ll never be able to participate-- but I know that I don’t need those challenges to and those activities are not a necessity to live a healthy lifestyle. However, there are viewers out there who may be on the verge of wanting to create healthy changes in their lives, and that ad could be a source of intimidation. If that had run a second ad with a more “beginner” point of view, I think it would have made for a much more balanced ad campaign.
I always felt like I was different for trying to not compete with others, really just myself. And I feel the exact same way about fitness in that I do it for me. I think that commercial would have me shying away from the scary fitness world, except it doesn’t have to be like that. I am not going to touch on cross fit specifically, because I do agree with above comments about it being all about marketing, or the target audience. But I just love hearing when people are cool with not competing in regards to fitness!
I wasn’t a fan of the Reebok ad -- similar reasoning as you.
I don’t compete against others when I work out. I just want to better myself.
I actually thought it was inspiring as well. And that means a lot coming from me, because I typically can not stand the cross fit mindset and cocky persona that’s portrayed all over the place. I thought the main purpose of the ad was to be proud about comping with yourself, and working hard to be a better version of yourself. I also think Reebok knows their target audience are most likely cross fitters or people that are farther along in their fitness journey than the average person just starting out. And maybe seeing how successful these people are would inspire someone who’s just starting out. Either way, it doenn’t matter 🙂 They accomplished their goal because we’re all talking about it after the fact, right? 😉
yes, you’re right haha
This is spot on!!! Honestly, how on earth does anyone expect to solve the obesity problem in America when companies are sending messages that being in a gym is like this commercial? It’s going to terrify the 99%! I guess they think it’s something to strive for, but with an audience that large they will make more sales by celebrating accessibility.
Jill
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I couldn’t believe the turn that game took at the end! Cray-zy! My favorite was the Budweiser commercial, hands down. I did laugh at the T-Mobile commercial…only because it was unexpected to me. I did not expect that to be an ad for them for some reason! Reebok’s commercial didn’t bother me. It’s all relative to me!
I actually did not see that particular commercial but I agree 100% with your thoughts here. I workout for myself alone. Never to be better, faster or stronger than anyone else. That’s totaly the wrong mind set in my opinion and takes away all the joy from it.
I’m disabled. I have severe rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions that are robbing me of my mobility on a daily basis. I did not like the slogan that seemed to say,”the more athletically accomplished you are the more human you are.” And yes, I saw the perfect buff swimmer guy wheeling away but he felt like a token to me. Not a fan of this campaign but I guess that’s ok because I am clearly NOT their target demographic.