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The Super Bowl is undoubtedly the most watched sporting event each year, but let’s be honest: many of us don’t watch it for the football. Whether or not you’ll admit it, the legendary commercials made specifically to be showcased the night of the Super Bowl are the most entertaining part. From iconic TV character reunions to surprising tearjerkers, this year’s commercials certainly lived up to the high standards that were set by many years of amazing ads. Here are my top 5 from the night.
- National Football League: “Born To Play”
This ad beat out so many other great ones for the 5th place spot simply because of how enjoyable it was to watch and the good message it put out into the world. My expectations for a good commercial to come from the NFL were low, but the creative teams behind this outdid themselves. The ad follows a young Ghanaian boy as he runs throughout his city imagining that he’s playing football with famous NFL players. He knows the dream is hard to reach, but when he stumbles upon an NFL practice camp a player tells him, “It doesn’t matter where you’re born, as long as you’re born to play.” The entirety of the commercial is wholesome and feel-good, making it very enjoyable to watch. I was also pleasantly surprised by the cinematography of the ad and how colorful and visually appealing it was.
- Dunkin’: “The DunKings”
JLo. Jack Harlow. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in matching tracksuits. Tom Brady playing the keyboard. This commercial had it all. Affleck, Damon, and Brady form a band called “The DunKings” and perform a song for JLo in the recording studio hoping to make it onto her new album. They perform a hilarious choreographed song and dance promoting Dunkin’, but they embarrass JLo and she sends them out of the studio. The premise of the ad is great (who better to represent Dunkin’ than three renowned New England figures?) but the classic comedic banter between Affleck and Damon dispersed throughout really completes it.
- Google: “Javier In Frame”
If a commercial was ever going to make me tear up it would have been this one. The ad follows a man with poor vision as he uses Google AI’s Guided Frame to figure out what/who is in the frame before he takes a photo. The feature announces “one face in frame” to let him know he can take the selfie. Gentle music plays in the background during a nostalgic montage of the man’s life depicted through his selfie-taking—showing his happiest memories and how he captures them with his Google Guided Frame feature. Viewers watch his life develop first when he gets a dog, then when he finds love, and finally—with a hospital machine beeping in the background—the phone announces three faces in the frame for the first time. The commercial ends with a heartwarming selfie of the man, his wife, and their newborn baby. These uplifting and joyous sixty seconds provided a perfect break from the chaos of the game and for that I loved it.
- Mountain Dew: “Having A Blast”
Super Bowl commercials are jam-packed with mainstream celebrities every year—this year was no exception. Aubrey Plaza, known best for her role in the sitcom Parks and Recreation, and more recently her role in The White Lotus, starred in this fun, fast-flowing ad. She was joined by past Parks and Recreation co-star Nick Offerman at the end of the commercial for a surprise reunion, delighting millions of fans of the show, including me. The irony of Plaza, an actress known for her deadpan expressions and unique persona, advertising a Mountain Dew “blast,” was very amusing and that made me put this in second place.
Also, I just have to point out that not only was it super entertaining, but it was effective advertising too because now I (someone who doesn’t even like soda) want to go out and buy Mountain Dew.
- Verizon: “Can’t Be Broken”
Finally, for the #1 spot, this commercial was just perfect. It checked off every box you would want for a Super Bowl ad. Famous star? Yes! But not just anyone—Beyoncé. Entertaining storyline? For sure. Smart advertising? Absolutely. The advertising team behind the commercial did a great job making it a relatable and easy-to-understand product since most young people don’t know much about buying internet services. The premise of the commercial was that Verizon’s 5G network was so strong that nothing Beyonce could do to break the internet would mess with Verizon’s service. After several hilarious attempts of Beyonce breaking the internet failed to overload Verizon’s network, she announced, “Okay, they ready, drop the new music.” No one knew if she was dropping new music at first, but as all of us pulled out our phones, we saw she had released a new song. Not just that, she announced a new album, which comes out in March!
Sure the ad was great, but what made it my #1 was this iconic way of announcing new music. The fact that her new song, TEXAS HOLD’EM, is so good and one of the catchiest songs I’ve ever heard cements this commercial at the top of this list.
