What did you think about the advertising spots in the Super Bowl?
There were a whole lot of AI-based advertising (and one commercial created entirely with artificial intelligence), countless celebrity cameos, and a sprinkling of crypto messages. In my opinion, there weren’t many memorable commercials featured, which isn’t what companies would want to hear considering a 30-second ad went somewhere around $8 million.
That being said, there were some decent “Big Game” commercials that aired during Super Bowl LX. Were there more average, so-so and downright awful ones? I’d say so. But there were still enough on both sides of the spectrum to formulate “Top 5 Best” and “Top 5 Worst” lists.
Shall we?
Top 5 Best Super Bowl Commercials
5) “Last Harvest” – Lay’s
Lay’s checked off all of the heartfelt boxes with this one. An aging farmer handing over the keys to his daughter to take over the family business. A yellow lab getting older over the years. Revisiting memories. Family and friends getting together. Trucks. It might not come off as a potato chip commercial, but it was still enough to crack the Top 5.
4) “Runaway Keg” – Bud Light
Bud Light is getting back to their old ways, and this spot with Post Malone, Peyton Manning and Shane Gillis was very well done. A runaway keg at a wedding led to a chasing-cheese-wheel-down-hill type moment for everyone at the event. It was simple, funny, and effective… and the celebrity cameos weren’t obnoxious.
3) “The Choice” – Pepsi
The soda brand that will forever be locked into a heated rivalry with its counterpart – Coca-Cola – decided to steal away their rival’s mascot for this year’s Super Bowl. When people see polar bears drinking soda, they immediately think of Coca-Cola. Pepsi put a spin on that for the “Big Game,” and it all revolves around one of the arctic bears actually preferring the taste of Pepsi.
If you ask me, the idea is rather clever. And the execution couldn’t be better… mainly because at the very end of their ad spot, they parodied the Coldplay concert couple and showed two polar bears caught cheating on Coca-Cola. It’s very well done, and a perfect callback to the viral moment.
2) “American Icons” – Budweiser
What more could you ask for from Budweiser? To celebrate their 150th anniversary, the iconic beer brand brought out the big guns: Clydesdales and bald eagles. The minute long advertisement first started with a Clydesdale foal discovering a baby bald eagle who had just fallen out of its nest.
We then got to see the unlikely animal friendship blossom as Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” played in the background. It was beautifully done, and a great way for Budweiser to lean into their brand recognition.
1) “Good Will Dunkin'” – Dunkin’
Dunkin’ and Ben Affleck continue to bring it with their Super Bowl ads. Last year, the coffee (and donut) company made headlines with their “DunKings” advertising. This year, they once again got the famous Bostononian, and pulled off a Good Will Hunting parody.
I’m sure Matt Damon loved it, and they brought out all of the ’90s stars for the ad. My only critique is that, with all of the de-aging in the commercial, they missed an opportunity for Jennifer Anniston to be non-de-aged and still be featured… would have made for a really funny “she doesn’t age” joke. Also, people bashed the ad for being AI, but it wasn’t… just some digital touch-ups to make them younger.
So that was the best of the best.
You may think I left a couple of other good ones out (maybe Hellman’s “Meal Diamond” or Kellogg’s “Will Shat”), and that’s okay. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. However, I think we’ll all be in agreement that these were the worst Super Bowl ads that aired.
Top 5 Worst Super Bowl Commercials
5) “Can I Get A Six Pack?” – Claude
It was an AI-takeover during Super Bowl LX, and this one was as creepy as they come. Posing a real human to act as if they are AI may have been impactful, but it still too disturbing to land. And while they were trying to point out how ads in AI answers give you a poor result, there was an irony in there that AI in general gives you odd, creepy, robotic answers to your questions. Not very helpful result.
4) “Tell Me Why” – T-Mobile
Nostalgia sometimes works, and sometimes it doesn’t. There wasn’t anything wrong per say with this T-Mobile commercial that featured the Backstreet Boys… but it just didn’t feel like a Super Bowl-caliber ad, you know? They could have rolled this one out at any time of the year, and saved a lot of money doing so.
3) “Claim Your Handle” – ai.com
Another AI ad. This time, from ai.com. It was a bland and boring call to action… but it evidently worked. Tens of millions of people went to the site after it aired. The only problem? The website apparently crashed shortly after the advertisement ran. Kind of defeats the purpose, eh?
2) “Everybody” – Coinbase
You didn’t think we could get through the Super Bowl (or this Top 5 Worst list) without a crypto ad, right? Coinbase rolled out a karaoke themed spot, and once again, the Backstreet Boys had a moment to shine during the “Big Game.” But it all came off as confusing and a tad strange.
1) “Shake Your Bots Off” – Svedka
Svedka had the worst of the worst. Their “Shake Your Bots Off” spot is meant to encourage the power of disconnecting. Svedka Vodka evidently wants people to unplug, get out there, and have fun. The only ironic part is that the ad and its messaging were made almost entirely by AI.
An ad made primarily by technology telling consumers to put technology down? Seems like Svedka could have heeded their own message, put AI down, and hired some actual people to make what could have been a heartfelt commercial. Go the Lay’s route. Would an ad with real people dancing and drinking and not having their noses in their phones been a bit on the nose itself? Probably. But it still would have went over a heck of a lot better than this.
