Sam Adams' Super Bowl 2023 Ad Dreams Of A Nicer Boston

Boston is not known for being the friendliest city. As one Boston.com reader put it, these northerners are "as cold as the winters." In fact, according to a survey done by Business Insider, Boston is the fifth rudest city in the U.S. Of those surveyed, about 15% felt it was the rudest city in the country. Apparently, 85% of those surveyed had never spent much time in Boston. Of course, the classic disgruntled city, New York, takes the number one spot. Considering that the cities that beat out Boston for least personable city are many times its size — Los Angeles houses 3.85 million people to Boston's 650,000, while NYC has 8.5 million — we think that says a lot about how much rudeness Bostonians can pack into their person (via Census).

But Bostonians, it turns out, are proud to wear this badge of unpleasantry on their sleeves (per Boston Magazine). They even think of themselves that way, as a survey by Boston.com revealed that 70% of Bostonians think they and their city are rude. "In public settings, people are just not very friendly, impolite, and often display aggression, especially while driving," Sandra, a former Bostonian, told Boston.com. But what if it didn't have to be that way? Sam Adams' new Super Bowl ad explores this incomprehensible parallel universe (via Boston.com).

In its 2023 Super Bowl ad promoting a "brighter" Boston Lager, Sam Adams gives us a glimpse of what a brighter Boston might look like (per YouTube). The ad shows the brand's spokesperson, Your Cousin From Boston, purchasing the beer from what Patch notes the locals call a packie or package store. You might call it the liquor store. Previous ads have seen him ordering famously raw steak tartare "medium well," showing off his tattoo that might say "bad boy" in Gaelic, wearing Timberlands on the golf course, and generally representing the good city of Boston (per McNulty). He also might be the nicest Bostonian we've met in a while.

After Your Cousin From Boston brings his case of the "now brighter" Sam Adams to the counter, he and the appropriately surly cashier quip about a "brighter Boston," leading us into that fantasy. People greet you on the street. They willingly give up their parking spaces. A Yankees fan at Fenway receives a hug and not a beatdown. Your Cousin From Boston bumps up against comedian Lenny Clarke, and Clarke responds with "Hey, you wanna go-" (old Boston) before smiling, pulling out two tickets, and adding "to the ballet" (brighter Boston) (per Boston.com). Two gangster-looking fellas talking about "dump 'em" over an open trunk now turn out to be dumping recyclable bottles. And Celtics legend Kevin Garnett writes a book about spreading the love. Then it's back to reality as the cashier says "Hey! Genius! Your card declined."