Chiefs, Who? The Super Bowl Ads That Scored (and Those That Fumbled)

If you’re anything like me, I hate commercials. I don’t watch much TV to begin with and ads are part of the reason why. The volume soars when the show stops, and I end up muting it or just turning off the TV altogether. But one night a year, I look forward to the commercials: Super Bowl Sunday.

Some of the world’s top brands spent a small fortune ($7 million for 30 seconds to be exact) to reach an audience that reached 120 million viewers this year — and the largest in history for a single network.

So, which Super Bowl ads scored a touchdown, and which fell short of the goal line?

My favorite commercial of the night: Dunkin’s 30-seconds with A-listers Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Matt Damon, and “Touchdown Tommy” Brady — literally four of my favorite celebs of all time and the former quarterback of my hometown team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — left me wanting more. Luckily, the “DunKings” released a 4-minute version the next day. Now, how do I get my hands on a sold-out jumpsuit?

And anything related to the TV show Friends wins my vote. I actually don’t even remember the point of the Uber Eats ad — I was just excited to see Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer together on the screen again.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup lovers now have a choice of new Caramel Big Cups. I personally like them the way they are so I wasn’t excited about the new topping — but I did love the creativity behind the ad. The lady flying in and out of the window and the dog hoola-hooping was just plain funny.

I’m not a huge Beyoncé fan, though I have seen her in concert. Her empire is fascinating — the woman just keeps getting richer. Verizon capitalized on her popularity and her new album dropping in a fun and creative way in their ad and I thought it was well done. You never know — she may run for BOTUS one day.

The Hellmann’s ad was cute, and in today’s social-media-crazed world, could actually be a real viral moment. Mayo Cat wins in my book because I, too, hate waste. And, I love Kate McKinnon.

And naturally, the Super Bowl wouldn’t be complete without a commercial from Bud Light. The wish-granting genie was a good touch. I recognized Post Malone and Peyton Manning, but I still don’t know who the woman was. (And I would have wished for my own Clydesdale horse.)

Kudos to the powerful, moving messages with meaningful products.

Good for Google Pixel technology. They should feel really good about the work they do. This ad is proof they are actually using technology to change lives for the better.

Dove’s Super Bowl commercial hits hard. The brand is known for its self-confidence-promoting ads. and this time was no different. Bravo for giving us all a little more confidence. Grab your daughter, sister, mother, and grandmother and watch another one of Dove’s moving ads.

And here were the ones that I could not believe people wasted spent millions of dollars to air.

I know this was a favorite for some, but the CeraVe commercial was just dumb. I have heard of the brand and the actor, but it didn’t make me laugh.

VW’s American Love Story and nostalgic ad showcasing the first time the VW Beetle hit American soil 75 years ago didn’t do it for me. Although, I do love a good game of punch buggy and got in a few hits during the commercial.

The Mountain Dew ad fell short for me. Nothing about that ad made me want to drink one or “have a blast.”

Dr. Umstick or Drumstick’s ad made me want ice cream — but not their ice cream on a stick. That is the exact opposite of successful advertising. And it’s not funny.

The Bass Pro Shop ad seemed like it got dropped into the commercial slot by accident. Nothing flashy, no glam, no celebs. Just boats. Boring.

Coming in last in the USA Today viewer favorites was the Robert F. Kennedy ad, which shouldn’t come as a big surprise seeing as political ads don’t typically win viewers over, and it apparently sparked complaints from some members of the Kennedy family for the use of the former President’s images.

I thought the weirdest ad was He Gets Us. It could have been about foot fetishes or pedicures for all I know — which I’m sure the people behind the religious-themed commercial did not intend. It kept me guessing until the title came up at the end. However, it got people talking.

Honorable mentions

State Farm was clever to bring former Twins’ movie co-stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito back together. Now, every time I pay my auto insurance, I will think of, “Like a good neighbaaaa… State Farm is there.”

The Doritos ad was comical. Dina and Mina were fun to watch and honestly, I did want Doritos after it aired.

Mission… possible? The Microsoft ad was familiar because we are using Copilot at work, and it really does enable what you are trying to do. Spot on advertising.

Which Super Bowl ads do you give extra points? And which ones just fumbled? Tell us in the comments.