Written by Siobhan Johansen, Content Manager
The Super Bowl is always the biggest advertising event of the year. And, with all the hype leading up to the big day this year, partially due to Taylor Swift’s guaranteed attendance to cheer on Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs, it made sense that brands wanted to capitalize on the excitement. Nearly every brand seemed to share or at least tease their ads days, if not weeks, ahead of time. A majority of commercials trended toward humor, which was a change after the last few years of more heartwarming and purpose-driven messaging.
While the 49ers and Chiefs battled it out in Las Vegas on Sunday, the battle of the Super Bowl commercials raged on. With ad placements costing roughly $7 million for a 30-second spot, the pressure was on for brands to bring their A-game (and A-listers).
Here are our staff favorites:
Uber Eats
Uber Eats brought nostalgia and celebrities together, with Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer, as well as appearances by David and Victoria Beckham, Jelly Roll, and Usher. The Usher payoff at the end was even better thanks to the ad’s post-halftime placement following his stellar performance.
Bonus: The follow-up spot showing Usher forgetting how to skate is a perfect extension of the campaign.
Dunkin’ Donuts
Another ad that had an A-List lineup. Ben Affleck’s latest partnership with Dunkin’ brought in some of his other notable friends like Matt Damon and Tom Brady, along with Jennifer Lopez. Our team loved the Matt Damon cameo!
BMW USA
BMW chose to capitalize on the fact that everyone has a Christopher Walken impression in their back pocket. Then at the end, they reminded viewers that when it comes to BMW—like the star of the commercial—there is only one original. The Usher cameo at the end was also a fun tie-in to the game.
Verizon
Beyonce breaks the internet with Verizon. Or does she? Now that’s how you make an announcement!
NFL Sunday Ticket
This one was for the birds, in the best way. Such a fun concept that certainly entertained us.
We hope you had as much fun as we did watching the game and the commercials. They were a good reminder that ads can entertain and sell at the same time. We’re sure the commercials will be even bigger next year, but only time will tell if they’re better.
