It seems every year we live for the Superbowl, not for the sake of the game, but rather really expensive commercials. The average cost for a 30-second ad hit $5.6 million this year. That is a lot of scratch and the cost doesn’t always pay off in the end as some of the commercials can be big flops.
According to Ad-Meter, the WORST spots ranked one thru five:
- Donald Trump’s 2020 Campaign Ad
- Pop-Tarts Pretzel ad. (Seriously, a pretzel crust for a Pop-Tart?? Eww)
- Mike Bloomberg’s 2020 Campaign Ad
- Quibi Streaming Service
- Square Space with Winona Ryder
I can totally agree with this list. For me, the last thing I want to see during the Superbowl commercials is political ads. Regardless of the candidate. In fact, out of 62 total ads, Trump’s came in dead last and Bloomberg second to last Side note: Each of them dropped $10 million for their 60-second ads. And the other, I just found to be dumb. I was also quite disappointed with Pepsi and their total destruction of “Paint It Black” by Rolling Stones. Tide and the weird mulit-part ad.
Ad-Meter’s top five ranked spots:
- Jeep’s “Groundhog Day”
- Hyundai’s “Smaht Pahk”
- Google’s “Loretta”
- Doritos’s “The Cool Ranch”
- Rocket Mortgage’s “Comfortable”
I don’t work for Ad-Meter so I had to come up with my own favorites.
Jeep’s “Groundhog Day”
You HAVE to love Bill Murray. The movie was brilliant so recreating for the Superbowl that was actually ON Groundhog Day? Spectacular
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QgBRvMmWk4
Rocket Mortgage’s “Comfortable”
Helloooooooo Jason Momoa. While this spot was hilarious, it was also a bit disturbing as the Hunky Jason walks into his home peeling off his muscles…and his hair. There’s even a quick cameo of his wife, Lisa Bonet. This was a favorite for Ryan as well. My one disappointment with this: Where was the bubble bath scene?? Rocket Mortgage released a teaser spot with Jason in a bubble bath telling us the rest would be revealed during the Superbowl. Well played, Rocket. Well played.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2ERWFMLptw
Hyundai’s Smart Park
This was one that leaked early on Hulu. It features Boston natives”Captain America”, Chris Evans, John Krazinski from “Jack Ryan” , Rachel Dratch from “SNL” and the Boston Red Sox’s Big Papi, David Ortiz. There is a certain way that Bostonians speak: a major lack of R’s! Listen to Tiffany sometime… there are certain words where her Boston slips out. This one is the top ranking spot for her as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85iRQdjCzj0
Doritos The Cool Ranch
Two words: Sam Elliot. No, wait, three words: Sam Elliot’s MUSTACHE! This spot featuring Lil Nas X and Elliot in a Wild West Showdown. The ‘dance’ his mustache did was an honest bold laugh out loud moment for me. If you blinked, you may have missed Billy Ray Cyrus at the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6qchztaw9g
Mountain Dew As Good as the Original
I love the versatility of Bryan Cranston. From his comedic work in “Malcom in the Middle” to making meth in “Breaking Bad”, he’s just so awesome. So for him to pay tribute to Jack Nicholson’s Jack Torrance and Stephen King’s The Shinning I was all in. It was a bit corny but I strangely loved the recreation of the bedroom and the smashing thru the bathroom door. Ad-Meter ranked this one at 19 on their list.
I do have a few honorable mentions:
Bud Light’s “Inside Post’s Brain”
This one I found slightly funny tho at first look I was like UH… what? Why? But it all played out in the end. This one was one of also Mo’s favorites.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsnnU3fJTWg&has_verified=1
Illumination “Minions”
I am ridiculously excited for this
Planter’s “Tribute”
I’m not sure what the exact initial plan was for Planter’s, but according to social media, they were plotting to kill off the world’s most famous peanut. Due to the death of Kobe Bryant, the shifted gears to bring us an adorable Baby Mr. Peanut. No where near as adorable as Baby Yoda, but cute nonetheless
There were two things that were a part of this year’s that I wouldn’t consider a “commercial” but both were quite moving and came from the NFL.
The piece that started the broadcast: The Tribute to America with Johnny Cash’s Ragged Old Flag. Every single time I hear this from Cash, I get huge goosebumps. This one hits me in the feels. And the video that was put together… .well, I won’t lie, I teared up. And yes, that is Kyle Carpenter, Medal of Honor Recipient.
And finally the “commercial” that literally delivered the game ball. I have to keep watching this one over and over again to catch all the players that appear. I loved the moment that it all paused in front of the statue of Pat Tillman. And the inclusion of Kansas City Chief’s lifelong superfan, 100 year old Melba! The NFL “Next 100”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbkafMhmvMo
So what were your favorites? You can check them all out here.
