As the world pulls its head from the hangover of post-Super Bowl ennui, we at Counsel arrive bright eyed and bushy tailed. We flew past the Christina Aguilera national anthem mishap, the abysmal Black Eyed Pea’s half-time show (no surprise there) and y’know, the whole “football game” thing in exchange for focusing in on the ads woven through out the evenings proceedings. Opinions over this years ads have been mixed (at best). But we trudged on. By the half-time show we’d seen what most brands were blowing their budgets on and to be honest, the majority of what was presented teetered between unoriginal, uninspired and vaguely funny if not lasting. Only a select few stood out in their graduating class. These were the ads where the familiar devices of shock, awe and sophomoric, chauvinistic, sex and violence-based humor were absent. Instead, whimsical, humanist nostalgia themed spots won much of the blogosphere and audiences over.

But why? Why at a time when America celebrates the brutish barbarianism of the most macho display of macho sportsmanship, does the softer side prevail?

It’s quite simple. This slow shift is a reflection of what consumers are demanding and expecting from their brands. Irony is dead and snark is not far behind. A smarter, more relatable level of content is taking hold and shows little sign of loosening its grip.

In the Counsel study Sunshine State: The Power of Positivity, we examine the changing definition of what happiness really is and how we determine it in our own lives. These are some of the first real world reactions from brands to this demand.

The Washington Post does a rather good job of picking some of the better ones.

Take a look and decide for yourself:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2011/02/0...