Have you ever met anyone who says, “I’m not a big sports person, but I’ll watch the Super Bowl for the ads?” Maybe YOU are that person. Regardless, Super Bowl ads are some of the most iconic of all time, with each year bringing both new classics and new blunders. For better or for worse, here are some of my most (and least) liked Super Bowl ads!
5 Best
Budweiser, Puppy Love
Budweiser: Super Bowl XLVIII Puppy Love #BudEpicAds
This ad may be the best example of recognizable branding I’ve seen in a long time. At no point does this commercial actually physically show you a bottle of beer, and yet the sight of those horses is all you need to know that this is a commercial for Budweiser. Or maybe they do show a beer bottle and I just can’t see it through all my tears. The point stands either way: THAT is some powerful branding.
Old Spice, The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
Old Spice | The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
Besides being the most quotable piece of media of the 2010s (kicking off that decade to a good start), this ad was just a wonderful piece of creativity. The way the sets move fluidly from one scene to another is mesmerizing. You don’t want it to stop, and you’re a little sad when it does. I don’t even like men, but I might if they all smelled like him!
Snickers, Betty White – You’re Not You When You’re Hungry
Betty White’s Snickers Commercial
This is my favorite of the “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” ads and the one I found myself returning to recently. What can I say? Betty White was irreplaceable and would PROBABLY have owned these guys in a real game — you can’t change my mind on that.
Budweiser, Wassup
I think this commercial might, honest to god, hold the title of the first meme of a new millennium. The fact that it still holds up as funny and relatable 22 years later is proof that people, much like beer, don’t really change. And that’s for the best.
Apple Macintosh Computer, 1984
Apple 1984 Super Bowl Commercial Introducing Macintosh Computer (HD)
The fact that this ad will be turning 38 this year and is still this memorable speaks for itself. Say what you will about Apple today, but you can’t deny that as far as first impressions go, this one is up there with the best.
5 Worst
Doritos 3D, Flat Matthew
Doritos 3D | Flat Matthew Super Bowl LV
This is what it would look like if one of those Scooby Doo moving eyeball paintings breached containment, and I think we should all put it back. It only gets worse when he starts to “fill out” with the power of Doritos.
Miller Lite, Evil Beavers
Did you ever get those chain texts as a kid? Send this to ten of your friends or this will be in your room tonight? That’s the vibe this ad is giving me. If I don’t put it on this list the evil beaver will come for me, which, I guess, could qualify as being spread so… new marketing strategy through cursed images 2022?
Mountain Dew Kickstart, Puppymonkeybaby
Mountain Dew Kickstart, ‘Puppymonkeybaby’
There are times I wish I could be in the room while the idea for an ad was being pitched, to learn a little and maybe get some new inspiration by witnessing the creative process that went into the eventual final product. I think we all do! I do not, however, want to be in the room with the people who invented the Puppymonkeybaby. I do not want to look into the cold eyes of the person who pitched the Puppymonkeybaby and attempt to comprehend the cosmic horror that has possessed their imagination, forcing this amalgamation of words to exit their mouth. Even less do I want to be in the presence of whatever void-touched mind made the decision that yes, this should put on television. Yes, we would be subjected to this sleep-paralysis demon given CGI flesh. I do not want whatever they’re smoking. There is no way it isn’t a neurotoxin that survived by means of dealing with a demon who then birthed the Puppymonkeybaby.
tldr: I don’t like this ad.
Sony Ericsson, Xperia Play
Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Super Bowl Ad
Think about how this made it through several levels of approval. Someone at Sony decided it would be funny if severed human thumbs were sewn onto a robot, and then actual visual effects artists were hired to do it. At the final screening someone important decided it looked fine and released it to the world. I don’t understand how anyone can look at this and not deduce that this is the work of Leatherface’s much weirder cousin. Not your best play, Sony.
Go Daddy, Bar Refaeli Kiss
Go Daddy Bar Refaeli Kiss Super Bowl Commercial 2013 – FULL
Of all the ads on this list, this is the one that I feel is the most deserving of some sort of warning. So here’s your heads up for “MOUTH SOUNDS” if you decide to click that link, headphone listeners especially.
Without even getting into the stereotypical representations of “sexy” and “smart” that would put us here for an hour, it’s just weird. The dead silence in the background only being filled by the aforementioned mouth sounds and a close up on the lips locking, followed by a zoom out where the actors look to be in physical pain just…doesn’t make for a very good ad. This feels like I’m seeing a little too far into the innermost thoughts of the creators, and I really would have rather they kept that to themselves.
So, that’s my 100% accurate and unquestionable analysis of best and worst Super Bowl ads. But tell us if you agree or disagree — and feel free to send us some of your favorite or least favorite ads of Super Bowl LVI.
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By: Madison Aeling
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