This year’s Super Bowl was the first time I felt the game overshadowed the commercials since the patriots came back to beat the falcons in Super Bowl LI (51). That was six years ago.
But were the Super Bowl ads bad or just okay?
I’m Rob Canales, CCO at THE 3RD EYE where we take care of brands that take care of people.
And as someone who’s equally passionate about sports and commercials, the Super Bowl is a special day for me. Sitting to watch the big game is important—and to get invited to my bbq, you have to be willing to pay attention to the ads too.
Let’s rank the top 5 Super Bowl LVII commercials that aired during the big game. But first, you should know how I rank these.
The best super bowl ads have 3 things:
- A pop culture reference by way of celebrity, music, or execution
- A memorable moment, line, or meme
- Something that disrupts your viewing experience
With that in mind, let’s ride.
Table of Contents
5. Tubi, “interface interruption”
4. Michelob, “New Members Day”
3. Netflix GM, “Why Not an EV?”
2. Molson Coors, “High Stakes Beer Ad”
#5 Tubi, “interface Interruption”
I know a lot of people have this ranked in their top 3. Which is cool, but these commercials are becoming too gimmicky. I understand. You need the masses to remember you, and to be honest, Tubi succeeded. But they just ripped this bit from YouTube a couple of years back, or the She Hulk season finale. That and I immediately panicked looking for my remote.
#4 Michelob, “New Members Day”
As the best beer for golfing if you actually want to play well, this was a fun one from Michelob. You get the Caddy Shack reference. Some famous faces. And Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler.
Easy spot to watch, and hard not to enjoy the overall energy.
#3 Netflix GM “Why Not an EV?”
Will Ferrell drives you through your Netflix queue in a sleek looking truck. I really like combo ads for cost efficiencies, and Netflix actually did it twice.
Simple, has the right amount of pop culture references. And again, Will Ferrell.
#2 Molson Coors, “High Stakes Beers Ad”
I thought the rollout was a bit corny, but I get it. You need to build hype. The ad was nice, and well shot. But my favorite part was the twist where it’s actually a Blue Moon commercial at the end. Clever.
More cost efficiencies. And honestly, it was fun to watch.
#1 The General Feeling of Being At Home
This one is a tie for me.
Bud Light, “Hold”
You’re used to Bud Light leading the pack with campy yet humorous spots. We’ve also been trapped in this loop of being sold Hard Seltzer for too long. Seeing them break away from this formula to bring in one of the most relatable spots was refreshing.
Yes it was on Tik Tok before. Everything was on Tik Tok before. This was just a nice mirror into a normal life for people. Bud Light could’ve used anyone in this spot and I would’ve had the same reaction. They just happened to use Miles Teller and it really worked.
Still won’t drink their beer though.
Amazon, “Saving Sawyer”
Storytelling always wins. No celebs. They flip your expectation at the end. And my grandma, who doesn’t like dogs, almost adopted one last night because of it. Did not expect this from Amazon. It felt like a Publix commercial the entire time, until the Amazon app was opened on the iPad.
Honorable Mentions
Dunkin’, “Dunkin’ ‘Drive-Thru’ starring Ben Affleck
Anais is the biggest Bennifer stan. She’s one of 5 people that saw Gigli when it came out. So this is here for her. It was nice, he was full Boston Ben. And JLo pulling up at the end was cool.
Dexcom, “Feels Like Magic”
This commercial was okay, but the media buy was clever. They dropped a G6 commercial during Lebron’s historic game Tuesday night. A lot of people were obviously watching TNT that night and those same people were likely watchung Sunday. So running a G6 to show the upgrade to G7 on sunday gets mentioned for media placement. And that’s what happens when your CCO is tight with Jen, our Director of Media.
The Tear Jerker
The Farmer’s Dog, “Forever”
This spot made our Creative Lead of Copy Steph sob, and she grew up laughing when Mufasa died in the Lion King. The ad was amazing, but the craziest part is that it was created in-house. Props to that team!!
Fun Ones To Remember
Jeep, “Electric Boogie”
Uber One, “One Hit for Uber One”
Michelob Ultra, “Full Swing Gossip”
In conclusion, not a bad year for Super Bowl Commercials. But it was kind of like Rihanna’s performance:
Great to see again, had a good time, but left wanting more.
We lose a lot of the fun in having these ads premiere early on Instagram, TikTok, Youtube, and AdWeek/AdAge. I like being surprised, and I can argue that my feelings around the spots were driven by having already known what to expect this year. I miss just watching and being impressed by the spots that inspired me to get into this industry.
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