While my team ended up losing the super bowl (yes, I’m very distraught), I always look forward to watching and ranking the super bowl ads.
The criteria for what makes a good super bowl ad
For me, I always go back to my tried and true methodology – did the ad evoke an emotional response. I want to laugh, cry, get pissed off, and more. A good ad pushed me to take action. E.g. I want to buy Doritos nacho cheese because the dog in the commercial was hilarious (an ad from years ago), and it put Doritos top of mind for me; or I want to be an Apple hipster, because I think differently and I should be part of the think differently conversation; or I want a VW bug because slapping a surf board on the roof and heading the beach are important social norms for me.
And don’t we all just want to love brands? Don’t we want to love to wear Nike or Lululemon? Don’t we want to love our vehicles since we’re stuck in traffic in our Ford or Toyota? Don’t we want to love eating healthy food from Tyson or Foster Farms? We want to love brands and the super bowl is the perfect time to find some products to love. 😉
Here are the top ads that ran on super bowl 54 (the SF 49ers vs. KC Chiefs)
10. Top Gun: Maverick
Ok, I know this isn’t really a product tv spot… but wow, if you didn’t feel nostalgia – you might be a robot.
9. NFL 100 – Super bowl Intro
Again, stop thinking I’m cheating, this has deep marketing roots. And man was it cool! If you didn’t love the NFL for it’s major effort to push diversity and patriotism, you’re just a hater. The ad had TimTheTatman, Jim Brown, 49er legends, and so much more… Then, they played the outtakes as commercials! Brilliant.
8. Snickers Fix the World
This is hilarious – “…grown men ride scooters.” had me cracking up, but then this ad became legendary at the end (which I won’t spoil for you, just watch).
7. Bud Light Seltzer with Post Malone
The pre-super bowl ads were funny enough (a small town mayor makes bud light seltzer the town’s claim to fame), now ad post malone and a complete disregard for his spleen, and hilarity ensues. “Shut Up Spleen.”
6. Jeep Ground Hog
I don’t know if young millennials understand just how amazing Bill Murray is, AND if the super bowl cut isn’t enough, you need this lengthier cut.
5. Mountain Dew Zero
Brian Cranston as two psychopathic, murderous little girls mocking “The Shining.” What more could you possibly want?
4. Rocket Mortgage
In case you weren’t aware, Jason Momoa is kind of a big deal with the ladies. The way the creatives played off this stereotype is absolute gold!
3. Porsche Electric Car Heist
This is just fun. We all understand that electric cars are the wave of the future (they should have been the wave of the future with the EV1 came out, but that’s a different story. Porsche has an exciting and action packed spin on their all electric vehicle.
2. YouTube TV – Green Beret
This is pretty darn good (especially for us Uncle Rico’s who go out on Thanksgiving day and relive our glory years). The fact that age didn’t impact this guy, is insanely inspirational.
1. Google – Loretta
If you weren’t moved by this ad, you might be a robot (hmmm… I think I’ve said that before). I’m not the biggest fan of Google – far from it – but this ad is fantastic work and deserves the best ad of the super bowl crown.
So what do you think? The tide commercial was fun, but didn’t really get in my top 10. Same with the Alexa ad(s).