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Come Fan with UsMonday, June 29, 2026

VIDEO, 2011 Super Bowl Commercial: HomeAway’s Ad, Featuring Gravely Injured Baby

For years, Super Bowl commercials and controversy have been joined at the yoke. This is especially true of commercials for brands that aren’t household names -- Chevrolet doesn’t need to be over-the-top controversial, but a company like HomeAway.com could always benefit from something that will get people talking, or gasping, or what have you.

HomeAway is an online service that puts you up at private rental spaces while you’re on vacation, the idea being that this saves a lot of money. Here’s video of their commercial, which is schedule to run in the third quarter of Super Bowl XLV:

  1. It’s a baby!
  2. Oh no, the baby has been gravely injured!
  3. Oh no, the baby is fake!
  4. Wait, okay, it’s fine if the baby is fake.

I’m too wound-up to think about vacations right now.
That was my roller coaster of emotions, anyway. Also, the look on that women’s face suggests that the test baby was not a test baby, but a baby. She would know better than any of us would. This commercial distresses me terribly.

For more video and commentary on Super Bowl commercials, stay tuned to this StoryStream throughout the weekend. And for more on the big game itself, follow along with our Super Bowl hub.

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