Growing up in a football and sport-watching household, the Super Bowl has always been something that I looked forward to watching every February. We’d always have a party with family, friends, and of course snacks. There isn’t time to peel yourself away from the screen between the game, the halftime show (Rihanna. Did. That.), and of course, the commercials. Companies pay millions of dollars to have their ads run for just thirty seconds to a minute during what is America’s most-watched sporting event. They put on their thinking caps and try to think of ways to sell their service or product, whether it’s through sentimental moments, events so strange you can’t help but remember them, or scaring everyone into thinking somebody switched the channel (Tubi, you got us). If it gets people talking, the companies usually count that as a win. While there was plenty to choose from, here are some of my notable commercials from this year’s big game.
- Dunkin’
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I’m sure amongst New Englanders, this one was a fan favorite. Ben Affleck, while he wasn’t born in Massachusetts, grew up there and tries his hand at working the drive-thru at one of Medford’s many Dunkin locations. He is recognized by some, questioned by others, and ultimately seems to just be having a lot of fun in an otherwise stressful environment. Finally, his wife Jennifer Lopez pulls up to the window and questions him. While simple, its celebrity factor as well as comedic value made it a pretty solid ad. Also, I think the Dunkin’ lover in me tends to be a bit biased and a bit sad I didn’t get to experience this.
- Tubi
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Streaming service Tubi had a few ads that ran during the Super Bowl, one that was just plain strange and the other that sent viewers everywhere into a frenzy. Their first full-length commercial featured large rabbits abducting people from their homes, work, cars, etc. and tossing them down a rabbit hole filled with Tubi shows. It was certainly interesting to watch and creative, so in my opinion Tubi would’ve been pretty memorable with this alone. But the ad that really got people talking was only fifteen seconds. It seemed as though the game was coming back onto the screen and as the announcers were talking, someone was changing the channel and putting on Tubi instead. There are viral videos everywhere of people scrambling for the remote and accusing each other of changing it. In my opinion, Tubi won the commercial game.
- Amazon
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If you’re looking for a heartwarming commercial, you almost can’t go wrong by featuring a dog. Amazon understands this and uses it to its fullest potential. This ninety-second ad features a family and a dog that has gotten used to them being home from the pandemic. But as life transitions back to normal, he finds himself bored and alone all day, where he becomes destructive. The family seems to not know what to do, and finally, they are seen on Amazon searching for a dog kennel. They receive the kennel and instead of putting their dog in it when they leave the house, they open it up to reveal another dog, giving him a friend instead of a punishment. There were a few dog commercials in this year’s ad line up, but this one was my favorite.
- Bud Light
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Now, I’m not twenty-one just yet, but Bud Light knows what my generation is looking for in terms of an ad. Miles Teller had a rock star year in 2022 after the release of Top Gun: Maverick and his stellar performance as Rooster, and his wife Keleigh has also jumped on the train by feeding us all of the Miles content on social media. Fans are fond of the whole family, including Bugsy their dog. During the commercial, they all have a dance party while on hold for a call. They crack open a few Bud Lights and seem to enjoy a time that most people hate. It’s simple, cute, and effective. And they definitely had a target audience with this one. Nothing too special, but felt just like the right mixture of celebrity and relatable content.
- Rakuten
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I love the movie Clueless, so seeing Alicia Silverstone reprise her role as Cher was something that was quite the treat for me. In some of her most iconic outfits from the film, Alicia tells us about Rakuten and how it can get cash back when shopping, which she is an expert in, clearly. She goes on to talk about the benefits of the service while presenting in class, shopping, and crashing her jeep, all iconic Cher moments from the movie. Her ditzy, valley-girl persona is just as good as it was twenty-eight years ago. Such an icon would be the only choice to be the face of Rakuten’s fashion-based market. This one may have gotten lost in the amount of strangeness and cuteness, but it was a personal favorite of mine.
While there were plenty more commercials to chat about, these were some of my favorites and showed that companies are still capable of getting me to buy services and products that I know I don’t need. I’m not sure if any of these will go down in Super Bowl commercial history (looking at you, Budweiser: bring back the Clydesdales), but overall I think it was a solid group of performers to compliment a great game and an entertaining halftime performance.
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