On Super Bowl Sunday, there’s one thing that matters almost just as much as the football: the commercials.
And this year, they delivered.
Though some popular brands were notably absent — like Budweiser, which chose to donate the millions it would’ve spent on an ad to Covid-19 vaccine awareness — many others still partook.
CBS reportedly charged $ 5.5 million for a 30-second spot, slightly less than last year but still not exactly pocket change.
Sure, watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs was the main event. But here are the ads that we think truly made the hours-long game day even more enjoyable.
DoorDash
It was hard not to love the company’s Super Bowl commercial, which served as an ode to neighborhoods everywhere. It also featured singing Sesame Street characters and Daveed Diggs. How could we resist?
General Motors
This commercial wins for sheer storytelling ingenuity. Will Ferrell stars in it as someone who hates Norway because it sells more electric vehicles per capita than the US.
The ad takes an opportunity to show off GM’s new ultium battery and advocate for alternatives to gas-guzzlers, all while following Ferrell’s journey to Norway, featuring cameos from Awkwafina and Kenan Thompson. With those three, this advertisement was destined to be a winner.
State Farm
This State Farm commercial, like many State Farm commercials, was star-studded — it featured Aaron Rodgers, Paul Rudd and Patrick Mahomes (right after we’d just seen him playing!).
Then Drake showed up, introducing himself as “Drake from State Farm.” This may be the most interested in insurance we’ve ever been.
Toyota
Toyota’s commercial featuring American Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long is one that’s sure to pull at the heartstrings. Long, a 13-time Paralympic gold medalist, shows the “hope and strength in all of us,” Toyota says of the ad, depicting Long’s adoption story. And though we’re not really sure how it’s related to cars, we did feel our eyes briefly welling up.
Huggies
Babies are, obviously, incredibly cute, so they’re guaranteed to win us over. The Huggies ad shows just how universally loved babies are by showing short clips of babies doing things like pooping, licking their toes and eating. In a way, Huggies had an unfair advantage. Who doesn’t love babies?
Honorable mentions
-Oatly — Sure, the CEO’s singing may not have been a hit for everyone. But after airing the ad, the company gave away T-shirts (now sold out) that poked fun at the terrible-ness of the ad. That, my friends, is some good marketing.
–Reddit — Super Bowl ads are, like we discussed, expensive. So Reddit’s ad lasted a mere 5 seconds, and was maybe all the more effective for it.
-Cheetos — Who among us hasn’t stolen our roommate’s/partner’s/spouse’s snacks? In this ad, Mila Kunis keeps taking Ashton Kutcher’s Cheetos and honestly, we can relate.
-Jeep — Whatever you may think about this ad, it was one of the first to actually hint at the fact that the country we’re living is pretty divided right now. Sure, it makes an awkward attempt at conveying unity, but at least it recognized that even a Great American pastime can’t hide the fact we’re anything but unified.
