The 31 best Super Bowl LVIII commercials, ranked
The Big Game that delivered (mostly) big ads and (mostly) big stars. See which spots were the night's big winners
TV Features Super Bowl
Super Bowl LVIII, with its thrilling overtime finish and luxury box shots of Taylor Swift and Blake Lively, has come and gone, and so now we must honor those generous corporate patrons who shell out millions so Tom Brady can stay on television. This is all we have, for the staff of The A.V. Club has spent far more time stuffed in lockers than suiting up in the locker room.
Every so often, a Super Bowl commercial justifies the lies we tell ourselves, specifically that we’re only watching this game for the advertisements. Despite the over-reliance on celebrities willing to puncture their personas to squeeze a little bit of juice out of a can of Starry, Super Bowl commercials do what all great art does: Make us laugh, cry, and dream of a better world in which we solve all our problems through shopping. So come down from those Super Bowl highs and enjoy a rundown of the best commercials of the year—and maybe a couple that absolutely sucked—to celebrate the millions spent on convincing us that a Michelob Ultra sounds pretty good right about now.
99 Comments
This is related to the Michael Cera ad.
Thankfully, the concept, that people misspell “Skechers” (true) and
repeated use of “T in these Skechers” is far too specific and weird to
ignore.
Um, was this on purpose or is this another one of those unintentional typos this site has become increasingly prone to.
Wait, did you seriously not get that the e.l.f. commercial featured half the cast of Suits?
Suits, the USA Network original program that’s been off the air for 5 years? How could anyone have missed that?
Suits, the #1 streaming show in 2023. I don’t have to like the facts, but I can’t deny them.
edit: replied to the wrong post
It’s still like one of the top shows on streaming, though, which has been covered here on AVClub a lot, so they are definitely still aware of the show. Also 5 years isn’t that long. lol
I still think of Gina Torres as being “from” Firefly, and Rick Hoffman I guess I know from Postal and Thanksgiving (I thought he was in The Boiler Room but apparently that was Vin Diesel?!) I’d still think that adding Judge Judy and Megan Trainor into the mix kinda weakens the “Suits reunion” angle, but clearly my days of knowing what is and isn’t relevant in popular culture are behind me.
I thought the Arnie commercial for State Farm was pretty funny. Sure, it was based on a single joke repeated over and over again… and it was funny every. single. time.
But it also felt like a pretty blatant ripoff to the Radioactive Man bit where they’re trying to get him to say “Up at atom” and Ranier Wolfcastle struggles to get it right. I guess if they’re gonna take a bit from the Simpsons, at least they used the real Arnie in the stand-in Arnie role from that gag.
But that’s one of the reasons WHY it was funny — it referred specifically (and deliberately) to the “up and at them” thing from the Simpsons. Plus, I’m there for Arnie poking fun of himself.
I’d argue that, if it was an intentional reference to Radioactive Man, then it missed the point. Wolfcastle failing to understand that he’s blowing a pun by speaking the catchphrase clearly is not the same thing as Arnold Schwarzenegger saying the catchphrase correctly with an accent.
Except it wasn’t funny? The premise was “Arnold has an Austrian accent.” Schwarzenegger has been a well known public figure for 40 years at this point, surely we, as a nation, aren’t still laughing at how he pronounces “er” sounds.
Yeah, this felt weird and lazy and kinda racist? “Speak in an American accent! Do it!” Like, no one casts Arnold and would expect him to hit the Rs, so why pretend like that’s even a thing? Imagine if it weren’t a well-known actor—does the fact that he’s so famous make it “OK”?
And while everyone in the commercial has a problem with how he said “neighbor,” they didn’t say boo when she pronounced “farm” as “faaahm” over and over, which reveals how little this was thought through. So yeah. Maybe this is Arnold playing with how he was told to adjust his accent early in his career, but it’s weird to see an entire commercial hang on that one premise.
Hell, He’s been taking vocal lessons to maintain his accent for most of his career.
Plus, Danny DeVito. You can never have enough of Danny DeVito.
So is this list in reverse? Dunkin’ was easily one of the best ones (yes Matt is the best thing in it). And Christopher Walken should be higher than 10.
Exactly, Matt goes Lindt at 4 by calling it “fine” and dumps on the Dunkin ad? *I don’t know who Ice Spice is, think we should stop promoting the Kardashian whores, and worry who thought Kennedy should go retro by implying he’s the second coming of his father?
*I don’t know who Ice Spice is,Apparently, neither did I. (Just looked her up.I just assumed she was one of the Spice Girls. *Shrugs*
Anyone else thrown for a loop and think the BMW ad was for Dune 2 when they saw Emperor Shaddam IV of house Corrino?
unicorn dolphins
Also known as “narwhals” which are a real species. Do I seriously need to point this out?
The ad used a dolphin with a horn on it, though, not an actual narwhal.
The critter in the ad is clearly a “unicorn dolphin” and not a narwhal. Do I seriously have to point that out?
Yeah, I know what narwhals are and I still agree that it’s supposed to be a unicorn dolphin, which is a lot funnier.
Didn’t watch the commercial? Because it contains a bottle nosed dolphin with a unicorn horn.
Still the greatest:
From the perspective of it being a funny bit, and masterfully executed, that is indeed one of the all-time greats (gets brought up every year in my family). But as an effective ad (i.e. getting us to remember their name), it’s an utter failure.
I always thought that was the point of the Superbowl ads. More…ad agencies showing what they can, rather than any specific product impact. Fucking the love the Danny Glover analogue (Danalogue?) sagely intoning “Ah wouldn’t do nothin’ else.”
Where is the Kia ad with the girl ice skating for her grandpa? That commercial was an emotional rollercoaster.
These were apparently only ads with celebrity cameos in them.
You are out of your mind. They all sucked except for the State Farm Action Movie ad with the Twins stars.
Overall the commercials were too shouty and frenetic, and Takis are literally hot garbage, so I’m not sure what Dorito’s is imitating here.
Most of the commercials were already released a week or more prior and now that Super Bowl is getting the edited version of some of them. All the movie commercials were snippets that directed you to YouTube to watch the trailer and the Paramount+ commercial with Patrick Stewart and Creed wasn’t even the full thing.
They’re all the same ad. Celebrity cameos. What’s good about any of them? They aren’t funny, they aren’t well written… the Nerds ad was the best one I saw all night. We’re just guffawing at famous faces.
Ken Jeong was actually funny.
So come down from those Super Bowl highs and enjoy a rundown of the best commercials of the year—and maybe a couple that absolutely sucked…But you’re leaving out the worst of the worst (e.g. Scientology, He Gets Us, Robert F. Kennedy, FanDuel)? I guess going that way at least deprives their messages of oxygen.
The Kennedy one was bizarre. So, you’re saying the only reason to vote for you is that JFK was your uncle? I guess he is going for the “too senile to remember that JFK is dead” vote.
The Kennedy one was bizarre. So, you’re saying the only reason to vote for you is that JFK was your uncle? Longtime Masshole here. That is, in fact, a reason used by politically nascent Kennedys. I shit you not, the reason Joe Kennedy III ran for the House was because he was fresh out of law school (after a stint in the Peace Corps), and people kept saying “Hey, you’re a Kennedy! You should run, you’d prolly win!”
Well, sure, you could win if only Massholes were voting. But nationwide? He’ll tank the same way DeSantis tanked.
Oh, definitely. He’s living that “would-be spoiler” life. It’s a fucking grift.
He’s also not on the ballot in 49 states
Apparently the latest is that he’s trying to get on the Libertarian ticket since they are on the ballot in most states. That said, he’s not really a Libertarian beyond his antivax views so it’s not a sure thing.
Upside is that modern American Libertarians are basically the consequence-free toddler party, so it’s a big tent*!*more like that parachute game many of us played in kindergarten
Grew up on the Cape in the 70s. I was a little kid, but even then it gave me a completely different perspective on the Kennedys, before I was aware of what the family had done and been through.
I guess it beats his usual messages like Prozac is responsible for mass shootings, vaccinations cause autism, and covid was a bioweapon used as part of a vast conspiracy headed by Fauci and Gates to… do… something.
Tax the damn churches.
That’s a Super Bowl ad I can get behind. The Christian Fascists are already breaking down the wall between church and state and using the pulpit to promote their candidates. It should cut both ways.
I think they’re saving those for a separate slideshow. But to help us navigate all the slideshows, we’ll need another slideshow!
I am kinda surprised how up front the Scientology ad was. The stupid cans and meter were front in center.
The Dunkin commercial was an all timer.
100%. And Damon with the walk-off. “I’m so sorry.”“Remember when I said I would do anything for you? This was anything.”
I like the J-Lo sizing up her next catch take with Brady as well. Ben is apparently well aware.
Considering it was partying with Brady that led to Affleck pissing away his previous marriage, I don’t know whether to find it hilarious or tasteless.(it’s both, and I love it for that)
The last line was fantastic
Damn dude, we really do live in a society, huh? Got any other searing hot takes like this? Wanna go ahead and call football “the opiate of the masses” while you’re at it? And perhaps call it “sportsball” or “hand egg” while doing so?
i’ll un-grey you since it seems like your comments mostly don’t get acknowledged on this network of sites. i assume you find the gif trite. what a hot searing take of your own.
Look if you don’t like John Carpenter, you don’t like John Carpenter. I get it. I can’t agree, but…
The product is garbage but those action abuelas need to rank higher.
My favorite was the Jesus commercial that included the backing music of a song written by a man that died via auto erotic asphyxiation.
https://mehndiwalaghar.com
They used a Lawrence Welk song?!?!
I needed a good laugh today. Thank you!
You’re welcome. I’m just happy someone here knows who Lawrence Welk is!
“we have to pretend Creed is good now since there hasn’t been a new mainstream rock band since 2003″ Thank you. Out of all the bands that could make a comeback, ignoring the fact that there are plenty of new original bands out there, why Creed? They were corny, formulaic Jesus rock back in the 90s, why the hell would we be nostalgic for that now? Some corporate exec is apparently.
They were kind of over the top which made it pretty funny. Also Sir Patrick Stewart singing while throwing a cartoon kid whose head is shaped like a football is what the internet was made for, not whatever else all this bullshit is.
Some corporate exec is apparently.Probably got a beej from Stapp.
The Lindt commercial is #5? Slim pickings this year, I see.
At least it wasn’t about a dead kid. Remember the year that there were two separate commercials about dead kids?
that Reese’s ad is starring Will Arnett
Sunday: Will Arnett, Tony Hale, and Michael Cera each star in a separate Super Bowl ad.Monday: Jason Bateman leaves his agent an angry voice mail.
Now, he’s growing a mustache because it reminds him of “Mr. P.”? First of all, his name is Julius Pringle.
The ad definitely (unfortunately) leaned heavily into the “Mr. P” name, but for the true Julius-heads out there, it did still have a cameo for his real name in the movie billboard at the end.
Who is Addison Rae?
I’m not going to deny that body perception issues might exist for some girls in sports, Dove, but a quick Google search shows that the drop-off in sports participation going into and throughout high school for both genders is 70%. The most common reasons given are the intensification in competition long time commitments, and the sports just not being fun anymore at higher levels. The only “body” related reason cited was injuries.But hey, thanks for trying to guilt us into buying your soap, Dove.
You included “going into and throughout HS” for that statistic. The ad says “by 14″ which precludes the highly competitive and time intensive years leading to the hope of going pro. Even if 70% holds true in HS, more girls going into HS playing sports still means more women being successful in sports.
You have a link to the research? My Google search has pages and pages of results that talk about how girls do drop out of sports at higher rates than boys before the age of 14.
“By age 14, many girls are dropping out of sports at two times the rate of boys.1 Through
more than 25 years of research, the Women’s Sports Foundation has
identified key factors which contribute to this alarming statistic”
https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/do-you-know-the-factors-influencing-girls-participation-in-sports/
Nah. No way DunKings is that low. Arguably the best of the night. Michael Cera was top quality too. Let my cream hydrate you!
If there was a big winner in the Super Bowl this year, it was definitely the cast of Suits.
Honestly the Lindt commercial was my favorite for just being a straight-up commercial and not a loud cavalcade of fame-os struggling to cram jokes into a half-minute.
I don’t disagree with the list, but I definitely disagree with the order.
While I was originally of the same opinion about Oreos I’ve come to learn that Double Stuf > Classic. If you don’t dunk your Oreos in milk you’re a psychopath and if you don’t use a fork to do so you’re a philistine. Double Stuf’s ample layer of cream allows for more clearance for the fork between the cookies which often crack or pop off with the original variety. I’ve also found after considerable research and for reasons that escape my comprehension that, on average, the Cookies of the Double Stuf variety require less time in the milk to reach desired tenderness than those of the original. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
If you don’t dunk your Oreos in milk you’re a psychopath and if you don’t use a fork to do so you’re a philistine.
Like I don’t know that I’m pathetic.
The Cerave commercial looks like an SNL reject.
There has only ever been one great Superbowl commercial: “Terry Tate, Office Linebacker”
Stone Cold has a partnership/endorsement with Kawasaki. If you follow him on social media he is always using their equipment. I think he even raced one of their ATVs recently and did fairly well for himself.
Fuck this list for claiming peanut butter M&Ms is somehow an inferior product to Reese’s Pieces. This is why AV Club can’t be taken seriously about anything.
Peanut Butter M&Ms are the best things that M&Ms have put their name too since they stamped the first M on a piece of candy coated chocolate.
Goddamn right. And it’s a better chocolate/peanut butter product than the venerable Reese’s cup, TBH (not that I dislike Reese’s PBCs). The peanut butter is much creamier that the gritty product inside a PBC.
Don’t get me wrong I love Reese’s PB Cups. But the filling isn’t actually peanut butter. It’s more of a processed peanut butter flavored candy filling that’s sort of resembles peanut butter. Because the product they actually sold as Reese’s peanut butter was definitely not the same thing. But still a quality peanut butter.
Yeah, peanut butter M&Ms blows Reese’s Pieces out of the water. I could never go back to the latter after trying the former.
The nice thing with using horses to delivery Budweiser is when you run out you can just give them some water and they can make more
Patrick Stewart, kissing Arnold on the head before he chucks him at a cliff.How can that not be number 1?
Baja Blast has been available in retail in the midwest (at least) for a few years now.
The best-ever commercial is still not a Super Bowl commercial, and that of course is GEICO’s Aunt Infestion.You’re slouching Teddy.
I like reading the lists that come out the day after ranking these commercials, and it is usually the case that there is some agreement among the lists, at least the top five, if not the order. six articles in and the rankings are all over the place. I have seen the BMW and the Hellman’s commercials ranked at the top, at the bottom, and in the middle. There seems to be zero agreement about the ranking this year. I mean, we all disagree on everything lately, so why not this?
What fuckin planet are you people on to not vote Dunkies #1?
Watched the whole game and at least two of the ones on the list didn’t air during the game.
“The 31 best” is a sign that there are too many commercials on American TV. WTF, there are more that didn’t make the cut even. That’s depressing.