We're now almost a full week removed from Super Bowl LVII. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have had their parade. The Philadelphia Eagles have already had some of their coaches accept jobs elsewhere. All of the talk about the NFL officiating, the "controversial" holding call, the state of the field, and Rihanna's halftime show pregnancy speculation (later confirmed) has slowed, mostly. Heck, even the Twitter dustup between Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and several of the Philadelphia Eagles players have faded away in the maelstrom of social media. There is, however, one remnant of the spectacle that is the Super Bowl that will endure a bit longer - the "Super Bowl Commercials". Last year's crop of ads was considered to be boring by some. In years past, the overall vibe was silly or "off the wall". Well - this year's results are in, and here is a look at the top five Super Bowl commercials, according to USA Today's Ad Meter survey:
#5: PopCorners - Breaking Good
There were A LOT of celebrity cameos during this year's crop of commercials. John Hamm and Brie Larsen, Maya Rudolph, Alicia Silverstone (reprising her role from "Clueless"), Ben Stiller and Steve Martin, Will Ferrell, Serena Williams... I could go on (and I will a bit later). For me though, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Raymond Cruz take the cake with this homage to the hit 2008 show "Breaking Bad". The nostalgia for one of the best TV shows to ever play on the small screen has me trying even harder to convince my wife to binge-watch it with me!
#4: Dunkin' - Dunkin' "Drive Thru"
What was that I was saying about celebrities? In this 30-second spot for Dunkin, Hollywood power couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez team up to surprise patrons picking up their coffee and donuts in the drive-thru lane. They pull up to the window to find their cashier a familiar, albeit unexpected face, ready to take their payment and send them on their way. It's no secret that Mr. Affleck prefers Dunkin' to other coffees, and the reactions of the unsuspecting customers are quite entertaining. The interplay at the end between Affleck and Lopez gives us one last chuckle before pulling away from the Drive Thru.
#3: Amazon - Saving Sawyer
There's a popular saying in showbiz credited to W. C. Fields - "never work with children or animals". Well, Amazon melted our hearts in this ad thanks to the work of an actual rescue dog and his family. The ad, set to the song "Love" by Nancy Adams, tosses us a curve ball over the course of its 90 seconds of airtime. We watch Sawyer interact with his family, and how he gets bummed out and lonely when they're not home. His loneliness leads to some chaos around the house before we cut to the family shopping for a dog kennel, leading us to believe that Sawyer may be on his way out the door. Instead, the family brings home another puppy! Awwww - adorbs.
#2: NFL - Run With It
This spot was a bit of a hoodwink on the part of the NFL, crafting the ad to feel as if it was just a part of the actual broadcast. It starts with Erin Andrews interviewing the Mexican Flag Football Team's quarterback, Diana Flores. Andrews compliments Flores' elusiveness and how difficult it is for her opponents to pull her flags, before trying to do so herself. Flores dodges the attempt, then takes off down the tunnel and we go for a run with her as familiar faces (from Sauce Gardner to Billie Jean King) try their best and fail. The tagline at the end echoes the sentiment of the NFL, thanking the women who are pushing the game forward. Flag football has been a long-term strategy for the NFL. Even the Pro Bowl featured a flag football game and numerous skills competitions in place of the traditional "game" that the All-Pro players usually played.
#1: The Farmer's Dog - Forever
Remember that W.C. Fields quote I mentioned earlier? Well, one reason he gives never to work with kids and animals is that they are scene stealers. In the top spot of our top five Super Bowl commercials, you clearly see what Fields was talking about. The ad follows the journey of a young girl and her puppy as they grow up together, from early days as youngsters, all the way through adulthood - through thick and thin and all of life's ups and downs. If you claim not to have shed a tear watching the ad, I'm not 100% sure I believe you.
Honorable Mentions That Just Missed Our Top Five Super Bowl Commercials List
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images
- T-Mobile's John Travolta Ad with Zach Braff and Donald Faison
- Giannis Antetokounmpo's Pixel Ad
- Miles Teller's Bud Light on Hold Ad
- Avocados from Mexico's Ad with Anna Faris
- Adam Driver's Squarespace Ad
- Rakuten Reviving Clueless' Cher with Alicia Silverstone
There were plenty of other hits and misses during the big game when it came to the Super Bowl ads. Among the 51 ads that qualified for the Ad Meter Survey, there was a little bit of everything. Companies like Netflix, T-Mobile, Disney, and Doritos tried to focus your attention through various different ploys, the latter using Jack Harlow. M&M's just left many of us scratching our heads and saying "huh?". Alcohol brands ranging from Coors, Busch, Michelob Ultra, and Bud Light to Crown Royal all made an appearance thanks to Anheuser-Busch ending their exclusive advertising sponsorship. Kia left us with the memory of "#BinkyDad" while Jeep, General Motors, and RAM highlighted the electric vehicle trend in their own unique ways. Musicians were not to be left out. Rockstar Dave Grohl reminded us to thank Canada while Diddy fielded suggestions on behalf of Uber One and Melissa McCarthy found vacation spots with on Booking.com. All that in addition to multiple movie teasers.
Streaming service Tubi caused quite a stir with their ad, which had many viewers in a panic thinking someone was changing the channel! Even Jesus got in on the action this year. Perhaps the biggest win for all of these advertisers - regardless of whether their commercials were deemed a success, was the quality of the game itself. The Chiefs and Eagles were locked in a close, back-and-forth battle that kept viewers tuning in, which also kept eyeballs on those ads - good news for all, considering the price tag associated with them! Now - back to your regularly scheduled programming.
