We saw tried-and-true formulas (which sometimes worked, and often didn’t). We saw some more inventive ideas. And we even had an experimental spot or two, which is always good to see.

CeraVe ‘Michael CeraVe’
Agency: Ogilvy PR North America

This whole “Michael CeraVe” campaign has been pretty special. Following some well-placed paparazzi-style social teasers in recent weeks—including Cera writing his name on CeraVe bottles in a pharmacy—the skincare brand’s Super Bowl spot extends the gag, with hilarious results. Directed by Tim & Eric (Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim), most of the spot mirrors the teaser from earlier in the week, with Cera absurdly claiming to have developed CeraVe. What’s new is the ending, where he pitches his idea to the brand’s stone-faced execs. The faux-perfume-ad vibes of the video are hilarious—seeing him free-solo rock climb with hand lotion is one of the funniest moments of any ad this year. And the conference room scene is the perfect capper. “My name is Cera,” he explains eagerly. “It’s a perfect crossover opportunity.” The funny thing is, yes, it’s a joke—but it’s also not a joke. It is a perfect crossover opportunity, as they’ve proven throughout the campaign. The idea here isn’t new—Bubly did it with Michael Bublé in 2019—but it’s executed flawlessly with layered humor that feels modern but also lighthearted and not overly concepted. It’s silly and smart at the same time, with great extensions beyond TV—one of the most fully realized campaigns this year.

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Dunkin’ ‘The DunKings’
Agency: Artists Equity

Dunkin’ follows up last year’s Ben Affleck/Jennifer Lopez spot, in which he was manning the drive-through (for real) at a Medford, Massachusetts, location and she showed up as a customer, by flipping the script—and getting ridiculously, comically goofy. This time, it’s Affleck showing up at Lopez’s place of work—a recording studio—with pals Tom Brady and Matt Damon. (Jack Harlow tries to stop Affleck from going in, but he’s undeterred.) Dressed in garish orange-and-pink Dunkin’ outfits, they call themselves the “DunKings” and launch into a horrible, heavily Boston-accented rap—which they’re hoping she’ll include on her album. She’s (obviously) horrified. An earlier spot on the Grammys introduced the idea of Affleck trying to be a pop star—this sequel (directed by Affleck and Brandon Pierce, aka Beedy) continues the story nicely. The cringey humor is actually funny, and the celebs are put to good use—with Affleck again being surprisingly self-deprecating, funny reaction shots from J. Lo, and Brady and Damon shining in supporting roles. J. Lo might not care for them, but maybe there’s a future for these DunKings in the music biz. Or at least in another commercial down the line.

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Google Pixel 8 ‘Javier in Frame’
Agency: In-house, Gut Miami

Google has a long history of emotional Super Bowl spots, from “Parisian Love” to “Loretta.” Its latest offering, “Javier in Frame,” isn’t quite as much of a tearjerker, but makes up for it with its inclusivity and warmth. Directed by blind filmmaker Adam Morse, the 60-second spot highlights the Google Pixel 8 smartphone’s Guided Frame feature, which helps visually impaired people take photos. The first-person perspective and blurry visuals stand out and give the viewer a sense of what it’s like to be visually impaired—a welcome exercise in empathy on advertising’s biggest stage. While not the most emotional story Google has ever told, it’s a lighthearted and effective framing of the company’s mission to make people’s lives better, in small ways, through technology.

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NFL ‘Born to Play’
Agency: 72andSunny

The NFL takes the joyful, inclusive exuberance of last year’s “Run With It” Super Bowl spot and extends it with “Born to Play,” another wonderful two-minute production by 72andSunny. This time we travel all the way to Ghana for the story of Kwesi, a boy who dreams of being a pro football player—the American kind of football. As he tears around his home and through the bustling markets of Accra (there are echoes of the NFL’s 2020 “Take It to the House” spot in here), he imagines himself in the NFL as Saquon Barkley, Justin Jefferson and Cameron Jordan make cameos. But they’re figments of his imagination—a boy daydreaming of the impossible. Soon, though, he stumbles upon an NFL camp in town and meets Osi Umenyiora, the British-Nigerian former NFL player—the ad is about how the NFL is developing talent globally these days—and things get real. The spot is beautifully done—a cheerful action film and heartfelt underdog story all in one. Plus, it’s great to see a rich and resonant African story—crafted by a Black director (Andrew Dosunmu of Little Minx), an entirely Black cast and a mostly West African crew—on America’s grandest telecast. Entertainment and purpose aren’t easy to merge. The NFL is doing it admirably.

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Reese’s ‘Yes!’
Agency: Erich and Kallman

Let’s get this out of the way before we start: Not everyone will like, never mind love, this ad. It’s yelly. It’s violent. It’s weird. It’s also, I’d argue, brilliant. Let’s break it down: First of all, you rarely see truly absurdist advertising on the Super Bowl—stuff that’s so offbeat, it’s polarizing. It’s too risky. Yet this is that rare beast, and it immediately stands out as a result. Second, it’s perfect for the Super Bowl—indeed, it plays like a parody of Super Bowl ads, taking the slapstick violence of Big Game ads to its logical, extreme conclusion. (It even feels like a parody of the Super Bowl ad-watching experience—with our motley crew of characters paying unusually close attention to everything the brand is saying, and having oversized reactions to it.) Third, the details are amazing. There are seven characters doing nutty things across four scenes—that’s 28 funny things in 30 seconds. You could watch it half a dozen times and not catch everything. (The character arcs are amusing, too, from the dude sticking his face in different foods, to the woman leaping in and out of the window, to the older woman and couch guy who suddenly decide to get it on at the end. Amid the chaos, there’s surprising character development!)

Finally, for all its weirdness, the spot feels strategically sound. It’s chock full of product close-ups, and the humor feels spot-on for Gen Z and Gen Alpha (the candy eaters among us). It’s great to see an absurdist spot like this succeed on so many levels. Nice work by agency and client—and director Harold Einstein—getting this gem on the game.

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Verizon ‘Can’t B Broken’
Agency: Ogilvy

In the epic Super Bowl LVIII face-off between Tay Tay and Bey, who won? Well, Taylor Swift did get repeated screen time as she cheered on her boyfriend Travis Kelce from the sidelines—lots of sweet, sweet earned media right there. But Beyoncé got a whole-ass Verizon Super Bowl commercial—paid media that really paid off. The conceit: “Beyoncé breaks the internet, but can she break Verizon?” In the 60-second spot, the pop superstar is seen introducing “Beyonc-AI” (an AI-powered robot) and “BarBey” (a Beyoncé Barbie doll), launching her BOTUS campaign (“I’m running for Beyoncé of the United States”) and more—but none of it breaks Verizon’s “crazy powerful” 5G network. “OK, they ready,” Beyoncé says near the end of the spot. “Drop the new music!” Yep, Queen Bey leveraged the Super Bowl for a stealth product launch—for her country-themed “Renaissance Part II” album. Now, one could argue that Taylor got there first—last week she used the Grammys to announce her next album—but there’s no bigger platform than the Super Bowl. Then again, Taylor—er, Travis—won the actual Super Bowl, so ...

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Volkswagen ‘An American Love Story’
Agency: Johannes Leonardo

Volkswagen has been out of the Super Bowl for a dozen years, but what a lovely return this was. The 60-second spot is almost entirely historical—beginning 75 years ago, in 1949, with the Beetle’s arrival in America—but features mostly new footage shot period-style by Lance Acord. As Neil Diamond’s 1971 track “I Am ... I Said” builds to a crescendo, the action follows the Beetle, VW Bus and other models from postwar showrooms to Woodstock to “The Simpsons” and beyond. After their wedding, a lesbian couple drive off in a Tiguan (model year 2013—the same year the U.S. Supreme Court made two landmark rulings extending gay marriage rights). Kids dress up as Darth Vader at a convention—a reference to VW’s classic “The Force” ad from the 2011 Super Bowl (also directed by Acord). At the end, we get just a glimpse of the future—VW’s electric ID Buzz, coming this year. It’s strange that this ad works so well—the Beetle was discontinued in the U.S. in 2019, after all. But it does a great job of combining a sweeping legacy statement with a product tease—and in such an uplifting way. One of the most heartwarming, feel-good spots of the night.

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BMW ‘Talking’ Like Walken’
Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners

BMW delightfully tweaks the celebrity formula in this excellent :60 from GS&P and director Bryan Buckley, showing Christopher Walken being accosted wherever he goes by people doing impressions of him. There’s a shared public fascination with Walken impressions, but it’s still an unexpected approach—kudos to the client for approving an idea where its expensive talent is mostly reacting, not pontificating. What great reactions they are, though—the actor’s charming annoyance is way cooler and more authentic than when brands try to match his eccentricity by giving him weird scripts. The spot is also admirably light on product (while not forgoing sheet metal entirely), and Walken’s end line, “The rest are just imitations,” puts a nice bow on things. Usher’s appearance is totally shoehorned in, but not even that can dent the entertainment value of one of the night’s best spots.

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Dove ‘Hard Knocks’
Agency: Ogilvy

Here’s a spot that’s simple, straightforward and affecting: Dove’s latest work to support girls’ self-esteem, this time in sports. Directed by Lucy Bridger, the ad is built around a somber statistic: that 45% of girls quit sports by age 14. But most of the spot is anything but doom and gloom. It begins with home-movie footage of girls falling down—with a smile—as they compete in sports, with “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” from “Annie” playing infectiously in the background. Only in the middle do we take a brief detour. “The knocks don’t stop girls playing sports. Low body confidence does,” the ad says, as a girl in a swimsuit eyes her reflection nervously. But we quickly return to a sense of hope and vitality, as the text mentions Dove and Nike’s Body Confident Sport program—and the girl quickly sprints off and cannonballs into a pool. The problem of girls quitting sports by the end of puberty is hardly new (P&G’s Always built a campaign around the same topic in 2016), but it’s nice to see Dove and Nike picking up the cause—and promoting it in such an energizing way.

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Poppi ‘The Future of Soda Is Now’
Agency: Virtue Worldwide

There’s a brightness and colorful swagger to Poppi’s 60-second Super Bowl spot that really stands out among this year’s ads. The anthemic nature of the ad’s storytelling is lofty yet fun-loving at the same time, beginning with the opening shot of Planet Earth—and the ensuing voiceover, positioning Poppi as a milestone of human achievement. Such self-regard is usually off-putting (remember “That’s why chairs are like Facebook”?), but here it feels uplifting. Partly, it’s just a welcome proposition. A healthy soda? We’ll take it. The rest is pure joyful execution—poppy visuals befitting the brand name, a great mix of nostalgic notes overlaid with modern Gen Z style and effortless diversity in the casting. Agostina Gálvez (one of only three women confirmed to be directing a Super Bowl ad this year) knocks it out of the park here—giving us a vibrant modern brand, fully formed, in a minute’s time. That’s a neat trick to pull off on the biggest advertising stage in the world.

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Read more: How the last-minute Poppi spot came together

State Farm ‘Like a Good Neighbaa’
Agency: Highdive

It’s a testament to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s charm that you can build a 60-second spot around him doing a single bit, over and over, and it doesn’t get old. And the joke isn’t even really a joke—how he says “neighbaa” instead of “neighbor” when delivering State Farm’s classic tagline. Somehow, though, you end up smiling a little more each time—as they take the joke through different gags and scenes. Highdive is good at this—making Super Bowl commercials that don’t try too hard, or do too much, that instead give their celebrity talent room to breathe and just be themselves. Danny DeVito showing up at the end isn’t that great of a kicker either, yet here I am smiling once again. It works because it’s a simple idea brought to life with great tone, pacing and variety (via director Jim Jenkins). Not a bad formula for creating something crowd-pleasing for the masses.

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DoorDash ‘DoorDash All the Ads’
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy

DoorDash’s spot is the latest in a certain breed of Super Bowl ad that doesn’t just want to entertain but to activate the audience. See previously: Mtn Dew’s bottle-counting spot in 2021 and Coinbase’s infamous bouncing QR code in 2022. The DoorDash spot, directed by Mike Diva, sends viewers to doordash-all-the-ads.com, where they can earn a chance to win a giant collection of stuff from other spots—if they enter an absurdly long promo code correctly. DoorDash reached out to as many other advertisers as possible in recent weeks, getting various levels of buy-in for the stunt. On the high end, the package includes BMW, Kawasaki, Kia, Toyota and Volkswagen vehicles; a $20,000 Booking.com vacation; and $50,000 toward a down payment on a house at homes.com. On the low end, there are single packages of M&M’s, Pringles, Oreos, Nerds and Starry soda. (Notably, the package also includes a gift card to competitor Uber Eats.) People love a game, and we’ve seen enough of these kinds of stunts to know they usually work. It’s also just nice to see experimental stuff like this in the game. It sure beats another celeb-filled :30.

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Doritos ‘Dina & Mita’
Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners

A good old-fashioned chase scene anchors Doritos’ 60-second spot for its Dinamita rolled tortilla chips—and a rollicking chase it is. Directed by the Iconoclast pair known as Alaska, the ad opens with Jenna Ortega shopping in a supermarket with her abuelas. They come upon the last bag of Dinamitas, but before they can snag it, Danny Ramirez cheekily absconds with it—and the chase is on. At first, the grannies pursue Ramirez in their motorized scooters, before making it to his apartment, where an adorable baby briefly distracts them. Eventually they fly down a zipline back to the street, where they vanquish the thief. This is classic broadly appealing action-comedy—fun and colorful, with cute moments throughout and a premise centered squarely on the product’s appeal. We wanted a bit more of Ortega, but it’s still great to see a spot with a Hispanic storyline and senior citizens as main characters (even if much of the humor is based around the ageless gag of old people acting like young people). Seems Doritos isn’t just for Gen Z after all.

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Etsy ‘Thank You, France’
Agency: Orchard

When you receive a really good gift, how do you reciprocate? Etsy addresses that age-old conundrum by supersizing it, revisiting one of the greatest gifts ever bestowed—the Statue of Liberty—to promote its new Gift Mode. The uber-Americanness of the setup is perfect for the Super Bowl, as is the resulting broad comedy, with the ludicrously oblivious Americans struggling to think of what the French might like in return. The comedy is perfectly paced, from the “Oh crap!” at the beginning (not the reaction we assumed the Americans had as the statue steamed into the harbor) to the hilariously happy mime leaping up out of nowhere at the end. Director Andreas Nilsson also nails the lush period vibe, which makes the idiocy of the comedy even funnier. In the end, the spot reinforces the brand promise in another way, too—on a night of hit-or-miss humor, this ad was a pretty good gift to the viewer.

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Kia ‘Perfect 10’
Agency: David&Goliath

In a sea of Super Bowl celebs and their (often unfunny) jokes, this sweet family story resonates. It opens with a girl wowing an arena with her ice skating, as her father watches proudly from the stands. But the seat next to Dad is empty—ominously so. After the performance, they drive their Kia EV9 through snowy mountains to visit a remote house. Upon arriving, Dad connects the electric SUV’s power to speakers and twinkle lights that illuminate a pond by the driveway—so the girl can do the routine for her grandpa inside, who’s too ill to travel. The spot is saved from being mawkish by John Hillcoat’s assured direction, and even the Cat Power/Coldplay track “Wish I Was Here” somehow doesn’t feel too on the nose. The car itself takes a bit of a back seat—a hard sell, this isn’t—but the spot stands out as a welcome bit of quieter storytelling on an otherwise loud night.

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Popeyes ‘The Wait Is Over’
Agency: McKinney

There’s good stupid-funny and bad stupid-funny. This here is good stupid-funny. The idea of freezing Ken Jeong in 1972, the year Popeyes was founded, and unfreezing him only now—with the chain finally selling chicken wings after 52 years—is a hilarious little setup that unlocks amusing shenanigans. Jeong’s reaction to the first mention of Popeyes—“The sailor man?” he asks—is gold. From there, he gets to see how else the world has changed. We get mostly standard goofy vignettes, but they’re elevated by Jeong’s comedic chops. (The hundreds of drones bringing him Popeyes is a fun moment, too.) Directed by Calmatic, the spot is a good example of loosening the reins and truly not taking yourself too seriously—as seen at the end, with Jeong butchering the brand song and getting splattered with sauce while spasming in a massage chair. Good stupid-funny for the win.

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Booking.com ‘Tina Fey Books Whoever She Wants to Be’
Agency: Zulu Alpha Kilo

Who doesn’t love Tina Fey? The actress and comedian anchors Booking.com’s 30-second spot, directed by Nick Ball, which suggests renting different kinds of homes lets you indulge different sides of yourself. This is colorfully illustrated through Fey hiring body doubles to gallivant around the world. Jane Krakowski (her “30 Rock” buddy) appears as “Splurgy Tina” on a Rodeo Drive shopping spree. A hairy Sasquatch, seen Bob Ross-ing at a woodsy cabin, is “Rustic Tina”—with another “30 Rock”-er, Jack McBrayer, serving as the beast’s stylist. Most impressively, Glenn Close pops up as irrepressible, horse-riding “Wild Tina,” galloping around a farmstead. As with last year’s Melissa McCarthy campaign, things do feel a little rushed—the spot does breathe easier in its extended :90 cut. Still, it’s a step up from the McCarthy work. Fey’s charm never fails, and it’s not a bad sign that we’re left wanting more.

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Bud Light ‘Easy Night Out’
Agency: Anomaly

It feels like a lifetime ago that Keleigh Sperry and Miles Teller danced to hold music while waiting for customer service in Bud Light’s charmingly understated 2023 Super Bowl spot. The Dylan Mulvaney controversy, which erupted seven weeks later, shattered the brand’s easy confidence. In its place, for this year’s spot, is a frenetic, gleefully juvenile fantasy-fest that feels (not surprisingly) like a throwback to Bud Light’s bro-forward, untroubled past. Directed by Craig Gillespie, the spot introduces the Bud Light Genie, an inexplicable character who gives out wishes. This leads to a lightning-fast (even by Super Bowl standards) sequence of events where everyone gets what they want—a cascading orgy of fulfillment that ropes in Peyton Manning, Post Malone and UFC CEO Dana White. (Post wishing for a dinosaur is, as they say, *chef’s kiss*.) Bud Light will never have its own wish granted—to actually turn back the clock—but this spot gets points for effort. It’s well made and entertaining. And if it gives off the strong impression of wanting to be liked—well, no wonder.

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Disney+ ‘Well Said’
Agency: Ultrabland

Simple, spare and quiet can break through on the Super Bowl, and this 30-second spot from Disney+ was a good example. Set to an unadorned piano score, it featured little more than text on a white background—line after line from the most famous films across Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars. The lines are instantly recognizable, and they end with “Ready for it?”—a subtle reference to Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” film, which is coming to the streamer on March 15. A clever, minimalist way to suggest the film will be as instantly iconic as those other revered properties. It cost practically nothing to make this ad, yet it was more compelling than many of the multimillion-dollar productions that aired during the game.

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Foundation to Combat Antisemitism ‘Silence’
Agency: Quantasy

In its first Super Bowl ad, Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism frames Jewish hate as part of a continuum of broader intolerance and discrimination—and suggests a tactic for fighting back. The 30-second spot, directed by Warren Fischer, draws on World War II– and Civil Rights–era imagery, with a burning swastika and burning cross—as it likens antisemitism to anti-Black and anti-Muslim hate as well. With resonant gravitas, narrator Dr. Clarence B. Jones, a one-time speechwriter for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., says one thing emboldens all such hatred—silence. While not Super Bowl–style creative in a traditional sense, the spot is direct, thought-provoking and timely, given the rise in hate crimes in recent years. Getting the nation to stop and consider these issues, even briefly, is a wise and welcome investment.

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Homes.com ‘Launch’ | ‘Salon’ | ‘Mascot’
Agency: RPA

Homes.com made a splash with two minutes of advertising tonight—a 60-second spot and two 30-second spots—recruiting Dan Levy and Heidi Gardner for a humorous, hyperbolic intro to the revamped real estate site. In the :60, Levy announces to a boardroom, “Succession”-style, that he’s taken over the company—then screens an absurd pitch video in which he and Gardner travel the country in a helicopter, researching towns at a micro level. (In one vignette, Lil Wayne gets inside info on local schools.) Back in the boardroom, they celebrate (disastrously) with a giant bottle of champagne—and Jeff Goldblum, as Brad Bellflower from sister site Apartments.com, makes a cameo. The two :30s extend the gag, with Levy and Gardner visiting a local salon and a high school football game for more ground-level intel. The spots, directed by Wayne McClammy, do a decent job of balancing comedy while communicating a point of difference. (Those who recall Levy and Gardner’s “SNL” Zillow spoof will enjoy an even more layered chuckle.) The helicopter is a nice device, as well—silly yet memorable. For a brand that’s planning more pricey TV buys later in the year, this was an eye-catching start.

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Read more about the campaign here

Kawasaki Ridge ‘Mullets’
Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners

Silly haircuts are a Super Bowl slam dunk. (Who can forget the gloriously hirsute 2017 spot from It’s a 10 Hairstyle?) Kawasaki joins that shaggy tradition by celebrating the mother of farcical ’dos—the mullet—to pitch its off-road Ridge vehicle. Seems one Ridge feature that’s not in the manual is its knack for instantly bestowing a Kentucky Waterfall on anyone who drives it—or even sees it. Among the mullet-getters in the amusing :30 are our bro-driver and his buddy, along with a Grizzly bear, a suddenly not-so-bald eagle and wrestling legend Stone Cold Steve Austin. The product tie-in isn’t belabored (“Business in the front, party in the back” refers to the Ridge’s powerful front engine and rear towing capacity), and it doesn’t have to be. Directed by Dave Laden and Christopher Gruse, this is decent Super Bowl sight-gag stuff, bringing the laughs while showing plenty of product.

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Michelob Ultra ‘Superior Beach’
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy

There’s nothing revolutionary here—just Lionel Messi ordering a Michelob Ultra and then playing a little beach soccer while they replace the keg. Throw in Jason Sudeikis and Dan Marino, and you’ve got your 60 seconds. In this case, though, it doesn’t have to be more complicated than that. It’s always great to see the G.O.A.T., whose effortless charm precedes him. (Why the bartender serves him last is anyone’s guess.) Sudeikis, with his own celebrated footie history, is a logical choice of admiring bystander. Marino is harder to figure, but hey, he probably hangs out on boats near beaches? (He still hasn’t learned you can’t pass with your hands in soccer.) The whole spot—directed by Adam Berg—has a playful, sunny, upbeat vibe that’s more than welcome in mid-February. And if the spot isn’t quite as “superior” as its World Cup-winning star, it’s still executed with style.

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NFL ‘Mental Game’ | ‘Tackle Bullying’
Agency: 72andSunny

In addition to its lavish halftime commercials, the NFL has been airing shorter cause-related spots on the Super Bowl in recent years. This year, the league created two 30-second spots, both directed by Mohammad Gorjestani—one addressing youth mental health, the other dealing with bullying. The spots use extreme closeups of NFL stars Cam Heyward, George Kittle, Solomon Thomas and Saquon Barkley speaking about these issues as though they were struggling kids themselves. Then, Tony Gonzalez and Steve Young step in and discuss how the NFL is helping young people through these adversities with the Character Playbook. The ads aren’t flashy, and in fact they break through because of that—quiet moments that reinforce the league’s commitment to social good.

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Pfizer ‘Here’s to Science’
Agency: Publicis Conseil, Le Truc, Publicis New York

Pfizer’s 60-second “Here’s to Science” spot is a good reminder of how crucial music can be to a Super Bowl commercial. The concept here is a celebration of science through history, with various icons—including Galileo, Copernicus, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Pfizer co-founders Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart, biochemist Marie Maynard Daly and chemist Rosalind Franklin—lip-syncing to Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.” The visuals are fun, if a little awkward, but it’s the joyful soundtrack that truly propels the piece, allowing its spirit to come shining through. The spot tries to do a little too much toward the end, pivoting to show a modern-day girl leaving hospital, as LetsOutdoCancer.com appears on screen (a nod to Pfizer’s also somewhat awkward “Outdo yesterday” tagline). In all, it’s a nice past-and-future anthem for the 175-year-old company.

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Come Near ‘Feet Washing’ | ‘Who Is My Neighbor?’
Agency: Lerma/

It still feels weird that Jesus is advertising on the Super Bowl, but the “He Gets Us” campaign returned tonight for its second straight game—with 60- and 15-second spots. The :60 features a haunting cover of the INXS track “Never Tear Us Apart” over still images (which are so stylized, they almost look AI generated, though they’re not) of people who’d be considered traditional adversaries—cowboy and Indian, Christian and Muslim, a white man and a Black man, a mother and her pregnant teen daughter, an oil man and an environmentalist, etc. In each image, the person who typically has more power is washing the other’s feet—a reference to what Jesus did for the disciples during the Last Supper. “Jesus didn’t teach hate. He washed feet,” says the onscreen copy. The :15 gives us striking closeup photos of marginalized people. “Who is my neighbor?” asks the text. “The one you don’t notice ... value ... welcome.” Both spots point to HeGetsUs.com/LoveYourNeighbor. The spots have a generally worthy message. The problem, as always with this campaign, is that people don’t like ads that are preachy—as these quite literally are. Throw in the murky intentions of those funding the campaign and it makes for awkward moments in the game—even if the creative is above average.

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Also read: “He Gets Us” ad sparks AI confusion

E-Trade ‘Picklebabies’
Agency: 72andSunny

In its first Super Bowl spot for E-Trade, 72andSunny (which took over for MullenLowe) drafts off the pickleball craze, with a pair of talking tots paired up as teammates against some typically overzealous adults. Their opening banter, mocking pickleball as “tennis for babies but for adults,” is great. Their skill at the game is less so, though they do eventually wear down their opponents, largely through wordplay. Along the way, we get the requisite references to saving for retirement and education. These are responsible babies, after all, a far cry from the renegade, barfing, stock-trading E-Trade proto-baby of 2008 (a spot which, like this one, was directed by Randy Krallman). In fact, the babies feel downright middle-aged these days. No wonder they’ve taken up pickleball.

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E.l.f. ‘Judge Beauty’
Agency: Shadow

It’s nice to see Judy Sheindlin, the legendary Judge Judy, holding court during the Super Bowl at age 81. In e.l.f.’s spot, directed by Zach Woods, she presides with typically acidic wit over a case in which Gina Torres is accused by her “Suits” castmate Rick Hoffman of overspending on cosmetics. “Judge Beauty” quickly agrees—“$92 on foundation?” she cries—and sentences Torres to using e.l.f. products so she can have “$14 glowy skin.” Hoffman is horrified, seeing the punishment as a reward, but Judy shoots him down with a classic zinger. While not exactly breakthrough creative, the spot is entertaining and delivers the value message clearly, even if its own spending on talent—with blink-and-you’ll-miss-them cameos by Meghan Trainor, Sarah Rafferty, Ronald Gladden and Emmanuel Acho—isn’t quite as budget-conscious.

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Mtn Dew ‘Having a Blast’
Agency: Goodby Silverstein & Partners

The famously sullen Aubrey Plaza is an amusing choice to play someone supposedly having a blast, while not actually having a blast—while actually having a Mtn Dew Baja Blast—in this whiplashing, cartoony 30-second spot. Directed by Jim Jenkins, the ad wings from one joke to the next, with Plaza deadpanning fake excitement throughout. (“Probe me, already!” she shouts with annoyance after being captured by aliens—this spot won’t be accused of subtle humor.) The over-the-topness reaches its apex at the end, as Plaza rides a dragon like a bored, brunette Daenerys—and Nick Offerman appears for no discernible reason. No one will laugh (or even fake-laugh) at this spot quite as heartily as Plaza and Offerman do in its final seconds, but as formulaic Super Bowl fare goes, we’ve seen worse.

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Oreo ‘Twist on It’
Agency: The Martin Agency

We’ve always found it a little odd when snack brands’ ads focus on playing with the product instead of eating it. (See Pringles’ “flavor stacking” spots from a few years back.) But Oreo goes all in with this “Twist on It” idea—that instead of flipping a coin, you can make decisions by twisting open an Oreo and seeing which side the creme ends up on. (Who carries coins anymore?) The 30-second spot, directed by Dave Laden, imagines Oreo twisting at momentous moments in history—guards deciding to let in the Trojan horse; investigators deciding not to report a UFO sighting; Kris Jenner figuring it’s fine to let cameras track her kids’ every move. It’s entertaining throughout, even with the throwaway premise. And isn’t that what Oreo is about—being pleasantly frivolous and not taking things too seriously?

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Snap ‘Less Social Media. More Snapchat’
Agency: In-house

On the heels of tense congressional hearings into the big social media networks and their harmful effects on teens, Snapchat makes a statement with a timely 30-second spot that says, essentially, we’re not like the other guys. Directed by Tommy Harden, the ad spends 10 seconds reminding us of the ouroboros of “like” culture—social media’s self-defeating spiral in its endless pursuit of more. Then we pivot to Snapchat. “Less likes. More love,” says the on-screen text. “Less ‘friends.’ More friends.” Stevie Wonder’s jaunty “Fingertips” plays, as collage-style images of joyful moments cartwheel through. As spots made largely in an editing suite go, the craft is decent. But the final message—“Less social media. More Snapchat”—feels like an oxymoron. Solving the social media crisis is an admirable, even critical goal. This campaign feels a bit like all promise and no proof.

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Starry ‘It’s Time to See Other Sodas’
Agency: VaynerMedia

Starry, the year-old PepsiCo lemon-lime soda, makes its Super Bowl debut with this spot, in which Ice Spice hangs with its cartoon mascots, Lem and Lime, after breaking up with her former lemon-lime soda. Their chill evening gets a little more explosive, though, when her forlorn ex shows up. It’s not clear if he’s 7Up or Sprite (the blurred-out logo on his shirt suggests the latter), but the breakup has clearly left him overly carbonated as he pines for the hip-hop star. Soon, he’s a veritable waterfall of sugary tears. The spot—directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon (who also made the Hellmann’s ad)—is really built around the sight gag. But the breakup idea is solid, and Ice Spice is as magnetic as always.

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T-Mobile ‘That T-Mobile Home Internet Feeling’
Agency: Panay Films

Following their entertaining “Grease” spot with John Travolta last year, T-Mobile pitchmen Zach Braff and Donald Faison return for another musical number—this time jumping forward five years for a salute to 1983’s “Flashdance.” The spot opens with Braff and Faison arriving at Jason Momoa’s house for a party, but he has to cancel because his cable internet is out. The visitors, being evangelizing cord-cutters, assure him there’s a better way: home internet from T-Mobile. They serenade him to the tune of Irene Cara’s “What a Feeling,” and before long all three of them are trading cringy “Flashdance”-style dance moves. Momoa, after a vibrant final flourish, needs hosing off—and Jennifer Beals obliges with a classic “Flashdance”-style dousing from above. Directed by Brian Klugman and Walt Becker, the spot misses Travolta’s magnetism and feels more like a goof than a real homage. Still, the nostalgia should bring some smiles.

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T-Mobile ‘T-Mobile Auditions’
Agency: Panay Films

T-Mobile’s other 60-second spot of the night features celebrities “auditioning” for the carrier’s Magenta Status loyalty program, which includes rewards such as $5 movie tickets and discounts with certain brands. The cast includes Bradley Cooper and his mom Gloria (their second straight Super Bowl ad for the carrier), Zach Braff and Donald Faison (stars of T-Mobile’s other spot tonight), Laura Dern, Jennifer Hudson, Common and “Suits” stars Patrick J. Adams and Gabriel Macht. The concept is fine and the footage has its charming moments (director Brian Klugman shot many of the celebrities at home, and there was quite a bit of improvising). We just wish the jokes were a bit funnier. Functionally, though, the spot certainly succeeds—there’s no mistaking what Magenta Status is by the end of the ad.

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Uber Eats ‘Worth Remembering’
Agency: Special Group U.S.

“In order to remember something, you’ve got to forget something else.” Is that really a thing? Uber Eats built its 60-second spot (directed by Jake Szymanski) around that supposed cliché, with a host of celebs—Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer, David and Victoria Beckham, Jelly Roll and Usher—suddenly forgetting basic things in order to remember that Uber Eats delivers more than food. It’s a premise that feels a little convoluted for the Super Bowl, which requires simple storytelling above all else, and takes the focus off the brand a bit too much as well. Also, the humor works better when there’s at least a shred of believability—Aniston forgetting who Schwimmer is comes off as more goofy than charming, as does the Beckhams forgetting the name Spice Girls. (The Jelly Roll and Usher bits are better.) The spot also hit a snag when it was pre-released, when a scene with a man suffering a peanut allergy attack received backlash—it was cut from the in-game spot. On the plus side, at least there’s a concept here—it’s less formulaic than a lot of the celebrity soup tonight. Let’s hope viewers don’t forget to remember the brand.

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Apartments.com ‘Extraterrestrials’
Agency: RPA

Squarespace wasn’t alone in imagining an alien invasion during this year’s Super Bowl. Apartments.com also welcomed a hulking pair of E.T.s to Earth. It’s a bit optimistic to assume job one for these spacefaring beings would be finding a place to rent—versus, say, wiping us out pronto. But it turns out aliens, well, they’re just like us—looking for a reasonable place to shack up, with a spare room for the mother-in-law. With this setup established, the rest of the spot—directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon—doesn’t really go anywhere. (Half a minute sure zips by when you’ve spent $7 million on it.) And while Jeff Goldblum is always charismatic, even as the inscrutable Brad Bellflower, this won’t be a spot everyone’s raving about on Monday.

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Budweiser ‘Old School Delivery’
Agency: FCB New York

Budweiser is one of the few brands with a truly iconic Super Bowl asset: the Clydesdales. They’ve starred in many memorable Super Bowl commercials over the years. Unfortunately, this latest spot won’t be remembered as their best. The ad, directed by Henry-Alex Rubin, is visually rich—showing the majestic horses making an old-school equine delivery to a bar when a snowstorm keeps beer trucks off the road. But the story lacks any real emotional heft. And bringing back the golden Lab from the “Puppy Love” era of spots, a decade ago, feels like a failed grasp at old glories. The 60-second version, running online, is better—the story has more room to breathe. But this isn’t classic Budweiser by any means.

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Hellmann’s ‘Mayo Cat’
Agency: VML

Cute animal, check. Comic celebs, check. Absurdly overblown premise, check. This Hellmann’s spot, featuring a feline who becomes famous for being able to say the word “mayo,” follows the Super Bowl formula to a tee. And the results are ... about what you’d expect: adequate, but by definition, nothing special. Directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon (who also directed the Starry spot on this year’s game) get a typically solid performance out of Kate McKinnon. (We also get a glimpse of Pete Davidson, the brand’s longtime endorser, for two wordless seconds.) And the message about food waste—which Hellmann’s has been pushing, admirably, for a few years now to curry favor with Gen Z—is competently communicated. But competent isn’t enough to stand out on Super Bowl night. Also, did she have to eat the spoonful of mayo? 🤢

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Pringles ‘Mr. P’
Agency: Grey

Super Bowl LVIII’s hair game is strong. Pringles sees Kawasaki and its mullets and raises it a handlebar mustache—specifically, Chris Pratt’s handlebar mustache, which the actor supposedly actually grew for the role. The 30-second spot, directed by Jeff Low, tells of Pratt’s ups and downs with his old-timey facial hair. At the outset, a convenience store clerk says—admiringly or derisively, it’s hard to say—that he looks like the Pringles mascot, then snaps a pic of him that goes viral. The resulting maelstrom of social chatter is troubling for our befuddled hero, but soon his much-debated look helps him land the role of a lifetime in a period film. The clerk, chagrined at the turn of events, asks if she can get a cut of his success. The spot is funny enough in a cartoony way—it’s stronger than last year’s Pringles spot—but still lands firmly in the average zone among this year’s spots.

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Toyota ‘Dareful Handle’
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi and Le Truc

Of all the features you could focus on in a truck commercial for the Super Bowl, the passenger-side grab handle is pretty unexpected—but it’s a fun way to suggest that when you’re in the new Toyota Tacoma (“the most powerful Tacoma ever,” per the voiceover), you’d better hang on. Directed by Tarsem Singh, the spot goes on to present alternate names for the handle, based on the pleas of the freaked-out characters riding shotgun—e.g., the “Shut the front door!” handle and the “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” handle. (Our favorite is the “Seriously, Rob!” handle.) It’s a decent enough gag, and we appreciate not being pitched by yet another celebrity. But overall, the spot doesn’t really get out of second gear. On a night that had several strong auto ads—Volkswagen, BMW, Kia—this one lagged behind.

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BetMGM ‘Tom Has Won Enough’
Agency: Highdive

BetMGM’s spot has a decent enough premise: that Tom Brady has won enough in his life, so he should be barred from the online gaming app. And Vince Vaughn is a solid choice for our surly narrator, given his knack for comic insults and memorable Las Vegas history from “Swingers.” Still, the 30-second spot, directed by Jeff Low, doesn’t really get out of second gear. Its vignettes feel random and a bit pedestrian, and Wayne Gretzky’s cameo is the definition of tacking on extra star power just for the sake of it. Formulaic stuff like this can sometimes work on the Super Bowl, if done with energy and charm. This spot doesn’t have quite enough of either to break through.

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Coors Light ‘Return of the Chill Train’
Agency: Droga5

Anyone who’d been pining for a return of the Coors Light Chill Train (there has to be someone out there, right?) was surely thrilled to see this 30-second spot barrel into the Super Bowl. Directed by Daniel Warwick, the ad sees a woman bringing her new boyfriend home. His sports allegiances are a problem, but a mere mention of the brand name fixes things by summoning the locomotive from its icy sleep. (It’s been in hibernation since 2005.) The Chill Train—sort of like the Polar Express, except less magical and more alcoholic—is fun to watch as it careens through the countryside and along a beach, spitting frost in its wake. Eventually it crashes into the family’s house. But Dad, surprisingly, is thrilled to have his Silver Bullet in hand, despite the significant property damage. LL Cool J is charming as the train’s driver, firing up the 1972 O’Jays hit “Love Train” at the end. But despite its chill vibes, this return to yesteryear—something Bud Light is trying, too—feels a little warmed over.

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Crowdstrike ‘The Future’
Agency: In-house

Crowdstrike follows last year’s Trojan horse spot with a gunslinger parody, as a gnarly group of bots—looking like they just flew in from the outer rim of the “Star Wars” galaxy—arrive in a dusty yet futuristic frontier town. They’re here for a little cyberattacking, and they strike fear in the hearts of the townsfolk, including the saloon’s Liza Minnelli-ish holographic piano player. Luckily, Charlotte—the personification of Crowdstrike, who wisely dispatched the horse last year—saves the day again, launching Crowdstrike software with the click of a button and sending the bad guys scrambling back to Mos Eisley’s cantina. The spot, directed by Tarsem Singh, looks nice visually, but it misses the comedic moments from last year, and the storytelling is too clichéd to break through.

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Drumstick ‘Doctor on the Plane’
Agency: Opinionated

Ice cream sundae cone brand Drumstick has done fun stuff with Dr. Umstick, its suave doll character, since his 2022 debut in a charming, noir-inspired short film. However, his Super Bowl debut, opposite Eric Andre, doesn’t quite take flight. The 30-second spot, directed by Jim Jenkins, sees Andre fall ill on a plane. As the crew calls for a doctor, Umstick makes himself available—but only to give out ice cream treats. (He is not, he explains, a “body doctor.”) The plot, in the end, feels a tad grim for a brand devoted to playfulness. And Andre, reduced to a character in pain trying to be funny, doesn’t get enough of a chance to show off his talents. Dr. Umstick tends to thrive when the pace of the storytelling is a bit more languid—it’s possible 30-second comedy isn’t really his thing.

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M&M’s ‘Almost Champions’
Agency: BBDO New York

M&M’s eschews its traditional character-driven comedy for an odd idea centered around rewarding people for being runners-up. The 30-second spot, directed by Jess Coulter, opens with NFL legend Dan Marino—perhaps the greatest quarterback never to win a Super Bowl—explaining that M&M’s has developed a consolation ring: the blinged-out Almost Champions Ring of Comfort. Next, we get a bit of goofy pseudoscience about how the ring was supposedly made (by squeezing peanut butter into diamonds), followed by cameos from other noted non-winners Bruce Smith, Terrell Owens and Scarlett Johansson (who didn’t win the Oscar in her two chances so far). Meanwhile, M&M’s characters Brown, Yellow and Red are relegated to a few middling one-liners along the way. The concept feels random, even with its Super Bowl connection, and a little gloomy, too. The Mars brand has done memorable work on the Super Bowl before, but like the talent here that it lightly lampoons, this spot won’t win any big prizes.

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Microsoft ‘Watch Me’
Agency: Panay Films

Artificial intelligence has gripped the public’s (and the industry’s) imagination like little else over the past year. Microsoft makes it the center of its 2024 Super Bowl commercial with a 60-second spot—directed by the trio of Brian Klugman, Bradley Stonesifer and David Palmer—for Copilot, the Microsoft AI platform that helps people with everyday tasks. Given the company’s AI investments (including $10 billion in OpenAI), the focus makes sense. But the creative approach feels bland—indistinguishable from other rousing rallying-cry spots we’ve seen. Stepping back, it’s also just tough to talk about AI in a way that acknowledges how people really feel about it—at once intrigued and wary. Boiling that down to anthemic optimism feels too easy. On the bright side, the sample prompts in the spot do help the viewer understand Copilot on a base level. But functional isn’t what Super Bowl viewers want. We want something rewatchable—and this isn’t that.

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Nerds ‘Big Game Commercial ft. Addison Rae’
Agency: Digitas Chicago

Just as T-Mobile did in one of its spots tonight, Nerds takes inspiration from 1983’s “Flashdance” for its 30-second spot, featuring a cameo from TikToker Addison Rae. As Irene Cara’s “Flashdance … What a Feeling” plays, a giant gummy shimmies around a stage before pulling a chain—à la Jennifer Beals in the movie—and getting doused with Nerds. This is a visual metaphor, we soon learn, for Nerds Gummy Clusters—a combo of “fruity, sweet gummy and tangy, crunchy Nerds.” Directed by Noam Murro—in a significant departure from his typically evocative human stories—the CGI-fest has limited charm. And the wordless appearance by Rae feels tacked on and underwhelming, given what they must have paid her. In all, a missed opportunity to do something more fun and engaging.

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TurboTax ‘TurboTax Super Bowl File’
Agency: R/GA

Like DoorDash did, TurboTax turned its spot into a contest tonight, with Quinta Brunson from “Abbott Elementary” promising $1 million to a lucky viewer who starts doing their taxes early—right now, in fact, by scanning the QR code on the screen. Using the Super Bowl to directly generate leads is still rare, even after the success of Coinbase’s notorious bouncing QR code two years ago. It’s probably a smart play—let’s hope their IT department was ready for the traffic—but the supporting creative across the 45-second spot (directed by Taika Waititi) is disappointing. Brunson is as magnetic as ever, but the banter with “Connie” from TurboTax comes off as perfunctory. TurboTax would say they’re not in it for creative awards—they’re in it for the customers. Not doing more with Brunson is a missed opportunity.

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Lindt ‘Life Is a Ball’
Agency: Grey Toronto

Subtle, nicely executed ads can sometimes stand out on the Super Bowl, but Lindt’s debut on the game, directed by Michael Gracey, seems destined to get lost in the shuffle. Perry Como’s “Round and Round” from 1957 is a cool choice of track, but the rest of the spot lacks punch. It feels overly manufactured, with no real story to compel the viewer to lean in. In an environment like the Super Bowl, that kind of measured approach can be a misstep. Lindt is eager to communicate that its chocolate provides blissful moments. With this creative, though, the moment is all too fleeting.

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Skechers ‘Mr. T in Skechers’
Agency: SKX Studios (in-house)

You have to laugh—one way or another—at Skechers’ consistently clownish Super Bowl ads. There’s a certain purity in not giving a crap if your spot feels garish next to its better-crafted brethren. For this go-around, directed by AJ Mester, we get perhaps the brand’s most ludicrous setup to date. At the outset, Tony Romo reminds us, apropos of nothing, that there’s no “T” in the word Skechers (evidently, a lot of people think it’s spelled Sketchers). Suddenly, a fiery explosion reveals Mr. T, who begs to differ. There sure as hell is a T in Skechers, he yells—he’s in Skechers all the time! The joke is stupidly funny—as are the broadly farcical ensuing scenes, in which Mr. T does pull-ups on the beach, walks on hot coals and hooks a giant swordfish, while slipping into Skechers’ Hands-Free Slip-Ins over and over (and pitying the fools who don’t). Citizen Kane, this isn’t. But you may find yourself chuckling once or twice—at them, if not with them.

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American Values 2024 ‘Kennedy’
Agency: N/A

“Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy ...” We lost track of the number of times the jingle in this ad from American Values 2024, a political action committee, mentions that surname/brand. Given the old-timey style of singing, the simpler-times lyrics (“Do you want a man for president who’s seasoned through and through?”) and the retro graphics, the Kennedy that immediately comes to mind is John F. Kennedy—but no, this is a push for JFK’s nephew, fringe independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. What’s the point of this expensive curiosity? Not much, other than, “Well, it’s up to you, it’s up to you, it’s strictly up to you,” per the jingle. Well, that and Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy ...

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Astellas ‘Not Flashes’
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness

On a night that prizes creative advertising, there’s little to recommend this run-of-the-mill pharma ad from Astellas for Veozah, a medication for those experiencing hot flashes in menopause. Veozah, the spot says, replaces hot flashes with not flashes—that’s really the extent of the idea. The rest of the spot, directed by The Queen (the duo of Daniel Lumb and Crinan Campbell), is standard pharma fare—a voiceover going into detail about the medication over generic footage of women enjoying their lives. There’s nothing wrong with the spot’s straightforward approach, as far as it goes—it just feels out of place on the Super Bowl.

Bass Pro Shops ‘Making Memories on the Water’
Agency: In-house

Bass Pro Shops uses its 30-second spot—the outdoor retailer’s second time on the game, after a 2021 appearance—to highlight Tracker boats, which it sells factory-direct. We get a fairly straightforward pitch about why you should buy a boat in general—so you can make “lifelong memories” on the water with your family. Unfortunately, you won’t make many memories watching this ad. With its bland visuals and voiceover, the spot is quite forgettable amid the more attention-getting ads on the Super Bowl telecast. Many viewers may assume it’s a local commercial when it comes on—not the creative performance you want to see when spending $7 million on the media buy.

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FanDuel ‘Kick of Destiny 2’
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy

Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski’s pregame attempt at making a 25-yard field goal on live TV for FanDuel—a reprise of his first, botched attempt to do so for last year’s Super Bowl—was a weird, fleeting bummer of a way to set the stage for this year’s game. A follow-up first-quarter spot chronicling Gronk’s failure didn’t help, given that it featured John Cena, the leader of “Team Miss” (i.e., fans rooting for Gronk to miss) celebrating, while Carl Weathers, the leader of “Team Make,” appeared mournful. Cena and Weathers both appeared in teasers for this campaign, and then Weathers died unexpectedly at 76 on Feb. 1—and so FanDuel flashed an Oscars-style “in memoriam” card on screen (“Thank you, Carl / 1948-2024”) to close out the spot. To recap: repeat failure, mean-spirited celebration, pretend mourning and real mourning. We’d wager FanDuel wasn’t trying to leave us feeling confused and sad—but that’s where we netted out.

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Squarespace ‘Hello Down There’
Agency: In-house

We were excited for Martin Scorsese directing his first Super Bowl commercial. What a surprise—and a disappointment—that the spot isn’t just underwhelming, it’s borderline incoherent. The plot sees aliens arriving on Earth but going unnoticed, as humans are glued to their smartphones. OK, mildly promising social satire. But the rest of the spot feels muddled. Frustrated at being ignored, the aliens beam their own website, “Hello Down There,” to everyone’s devices—and people finally take notice. It ends with Scorsese himself, immersed in his iPad in New York traffic, finally looking up and seeing a flying saucer. “I told you to take Broadway. This always happens,” he mutters, incongruously. “A website makes it real,” adds the onscreen text. That line hints at how they reverse-engineered the story, but it’s still confusing. Staring at websites is ... a bad thing? But also ... a good thing? Martin Scorsese plus an alien invasion should have added up to a whole lot more than this.

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Temu ‘Shop Like a Billionaire’
Agency: In-house

Well, that was surreal. Chinese shopping platform Temu served up a 30-second animated spot (think: cheesy mobile game ad aesthetics) featuring happy shoppers scooping up deals on the Temu app while an autotuned singer instructed us to “shop like a billionaire.” Look, we’ve met a few billionaires in our day, and we’re pretty sure this is not how they ... acquire ... things. Also, if the “Ooh, ooh, Temu” refrain/earworm didn’t sufficiently lodge itself in your brain, Temu paid to air the ad again—and again!—during the Super Bowl. Some commercials are so good they deserve near-instant replays. This decidedly wasn’t one of them.