On Sunday night, millions of Americans sat down on their couches for a thrilling Super Bowl 58. Accompanying the fantastic game were friends, family, food and most importantly, Super Bowl ads. I have had a deep connection with Super Bowl commercials ever since the time I was a little boy, watching Super Bowl 47 Between the Ravens and the 49ers. I distinctly remember the chain of M&M Super Bowl commercials broadcast during Super Bowl 47, introducing brown M&M’s to the M&M mix. The star of the commercial, the red M&M, enters a party and upon seeing the brown M&M and assuming it is naked, announces, “I didn’t know it was this kind of party,” before ripping his shell off and dancing to “I’m Sexy and I Know It.” As a little kid, and still today, this is the kind of humor that I most appreciate in ads. To me, the best commercials are the quirky, laugh-out-loud type, that seamlessly blend their product in with quality comedic entertainment.
When The New York Times and other news publications released their favorite Super Bowl ads of the year articles on Monday morning I was displeased with their choices. What The Times and other news outlets seemed to admire in the collection of commercials was the “spectacle” of it all. How grand, and over the top these commercials could be. Mentioned in this grouping featured Beyonce’s Verizon commercial, the new Bud Light ad featuring Post Malone and Peyton Manning and the Martin Scorcese-directed Squarespace ad. Sure, these are high-budget ads led by top-tier A-list celebrities, but they just don’t intrigue me. I realized that my ideal qualities in commercials simply do not align with mainstream ad marketing right now. And that’s a sad realization for a lifetime Super Bowl ad fan.
That said, some standout commercials had a special feel to them. Last year when I wrote my review on my Top 5 Super Bowl Commercials, I talked a lot about the growing Gen-Z influence I was seeing in these commercials. I’m not sure if I saw that influence notably grow from last year, but I definitely saw some ads that were targeted toward my age demographic. It’s no coincidence that these ads ended up being my favorites. There were scarce options, but here are my picks:
5. Duolingo Do your lesson, no buts.
What the 6-second Duolingo ad made up for in length was its ingenuity. The commercial features the Duolingo bird mascot’s butt expand and blow up and form a baby bird. While confusing at first, it doesn’t take long to catch the “Do your lesson, no buts” message accompanying the bird on screen. This message perfectly fits with the Duolingo brand model: a language-learning app that thrives on everyday usage. The commercial took a risky approach with the lack of information presented to the viewer, but in my opinion, it was well done.
4. The DunKings Dunkin’ ‘The DunKings’
Yes, it is very hypocritical for me to like this commercial as I said before I hate the big “spectacle” commercials, but this one was surprisingly too good to leave off the list. The commercial features Ben Affleck and his band the ‘DunKings’, Matt Damon and ‘Touchdown’ Tommy Brady, as they perform their new single at Jennifer Lopez and Fat Joe’s recording studio. Unfortunately for the DunKings, J-Lo hates their music and boots them from the studio. What separates this commercial from other “spectacle” commercials is the excellent callbacks in the characters’ dialogue. Matt Damon’s “How you like them donuts” is in obvious reference to his iconic line in Good Will Hunting, and Ben Affleck telling J-Lo she is “blinded by the pinstripes” after she rejects their song proposal, in a funny callback to her past relationship with Alex Rodriguez. The wordplay, storyline and casting were all spot on, making for a near-perfect commercial.
3. Ice Spice Starry Commercial Starry | Super Bowl 2024 | It’s Time To See Other Sodas
Over the last year, Ice Spice rose from the Bronx rap scene to national stardom, becoming somewhat of a national phenomenon. It’s no surprise she was featured hugely on Super Bowl Sunday. In the commercial, Ice Spice is at the club with the Starry Lemon and Lime mascots who are her new boyfriends, when she sees her old ex, Lemon-Lime Soda. Despite telling Spice that he still loves her, Spice opts to stay with the refreshing, crisp taste of Starry. Dismayed at the news that Spice won’t take him back, Lemon-Lime Soda spontaneously combusts into a stream of lemon-lime soda in a crying fit. The commercial ends with, “It’s time to see other sodas,” capping off a brilliant commercial with funny dialogue and the laugh-out-loud quirkiness that I love in commercials.
2. Kawasaki Mullets Kawasaki 2024 Big Game Ad “Mullets” Full Spot
Most car commercials take themselves far too seriously, often depicting their cars in splendor and regalness. Kawasaki is a refreshing take on this trend, as it has no problem making the commercial a complete joke. The commercial starts with two men entering the car and immediately sprouting mullets. As the commercial continues and the men take the car for a test drive, everything the car passes grows a mullet: the eagle that flies by them, the tiny turtle on the side of the road, the giant grizzly bear beside the lake and finally, Stone Cold Steve Austin sprouts a mullet in his cameo at the end of the commercial. With the recent resurgence in the popularity of the mullet, combined with the viewers that remember the mullet’s prominence in the 1980s, Kawasaki appeals to a wide age range of male viewers in the commercial. Moreover, Kawasaki shows off all the best functions of their car, and the viewer can chuckle at the ridiculousness of the ad. In a night of disappointing car commercials, Kawasaki excelled.
1. Michael Cera CeraVe Michael CeraVe – SB 2024
In my opinion, this was the best Super Bowl ad by far for a multitude of reasons. One, Michael Cera has the absolute perfect name to market CeraVe, and two, the strong irony behind Michael Cera promoting a skincare product. Michael Cera is a great comedic actor, but he is definitely not the first person you think of appearing in a skincare ad. The men used in skincare commercials are typically suave, tall and muscular men, and Cera fits none of these descriptions. He’s always been a bit of a funny-looking guy, and the commercial utilizes that really well when they have him market the product while standing next to the conventional-looking skincare models. The hilarious scenes of Cera marketing CeraVe while face-down on a massage table, climbing an imposing ice-covered mountain with his bare bands and brandishing his arms while looking up at the sky and laughing, are just too goofy to not laugh at. The combination of imagery and Cera-themed wordplay make this an elite commercial.
