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If you had an urge to dub last year’s Super Bowl the Crypto Bowl, nobody would have stopped you (though they probably would have warned against actually investing in crypto, but that’s a different matter altogether). With four somewhat polarizing spots in the ad lineup, it seemed like everyone walked away weighing the pros and cons of FTX or, at minimum, still reeling from Coinbase’s bouncing QR code, which broke the internet in all its bizarre simplicity.
This year couldn’t be more different.
The crypto industry, still dealing with the ramifications of a shaky summer and a notable crash, abstained from Super Bowl 57 entirely. Its glaring absence from the festivities left room for quite a few major first-time Big Game advertisers like Dunkin’, Popcorners and Crown Royal, to name a few. In fact, a sizable portion of this year’s freshman class made some of the most memorable creative of the night.
This was also a big year for streamers. Netflix, Tubi, Peacock, and Paramount+ made splashes with mostly favorable results, though we’ll have to wait and see if it has any impact on the decline in subscriptions across the grid.
To shake things up, this list will have a new addition with Regional Standout, a nod to our favorite regional Super Bowl ad of the night.
Here are this year’s top 10 national Super Bowl spots (and one regional darling), as selected by Adweek’s editors:
10. Uber One | “One Hit for Uber One”
P. Diddy is behind a lot of hits, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that football fans are ready to accept just any jingle from him at the drop of a hat. It’s a good thing that he recruited his deep, eclectic bench of musician friends, including Montell Jordan, Donna Lewis, Kelis and Haddaway to make an unexpected bop. Diddy doesn’t do jingles, but Uber knows how to live up to the potential of its partnering talent.
9. Doritos | “Jack’s New Angle”
In an instantly notable improvement from last year’s Flamin’ Hot showing, Doritos handed a wonderfully absurd premised—one superstar’s sudden obsession with triangles— to music tentpoles Jack Harlow, Missy Elliott and Elton John. Harlow in particular leans into the bit and manages to visibly have some fun. The only complaint: it still needed much more Missy.
8. Crown Royal | “Thank You Canada”
Super Bowl is usually the time for American flags, bald eagle iconography and more American beer than anyone can legally stomach. So, Crown Royal’s enlightening ode to Canada stands out for a couple of reasons—namely, its litany of fun facts and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl. It’s a bold, fitting entry into the Big Game.
7. Popcorners | “Breaking Good”
A number of pop culture reunions took place tonight, but Popcorner’s revisit of Breaking Bad reigned supreme. Distilling a decidedly adult show into a family-friendly spot without making it cringeworthy is no easy feat. This hits familiar beats for longtime fans while still centering on the product.
6. Dunkin’ | “Drive-Thru”
By now, Ben Affleck’s devotion to Dunkin’ is a well-known meme. Dunkin’ elevated that love to a full-blown takeover with Affleck assuming drive-thru duty in the brand’s first-ever Super Bowl spot. The J.Lo kicker at the end only amplifies up the joyous mash-up. Hopefully he managed to steal her a glazed doughnut on the way out.
5. NFL | “Run With It”
We’ve seen the football chase before. What we haven’t seen is women placed so firmly at the center of its biggest ad of the year. The action is sharp, the dialogue is funny, and the promise for a better, more equitable industry landscape is something to look forward to.
4. Netflix/GM | “Why Not an EV?”
Not all brand partnership work in this arena, but the team-up between GM, Netflix and Will Ferrell is a must-see event. Netflix’s commitment to using more electric vehicles in its major shows is an interesting (and hopefully trendsetting) move, though that detail admittedly gets a little lost in Ferrell’s fish-out-of-water moments with some of the streamer’s more recognizable properties. Still, it’s a great reminder of what the platform has to offer, but to its streaming public and the environment.
3. Molson Coors | “High Stakes Beer Ad”
After 30 years away from the Game Day fray, Molson Coors fights for our attention with a high-octane spot that shows Miller Light and Coors Light in a bar-busting brawl. In a winning twist, both brands lose to Blue Moon. Will they ultimately kiss and make up? Maybe knowing that it was one of the most effective ads of the night will help mend fences.
2. Workday | “Rock Star”
Are most of us guilty of tossing out the “rock star” accolade a little too liberally? Of course. But that doesn’t make this hilarious call-out courtesy of software brand Workday and agency Ogilvy any less gratifying. Some of the best ads have a way of taking an ostensibly mundane human truth to outrageous levels, and nothing’s more outrageous than seeing legendary rock rebel Ozzy (or Oswald, in this case) Osbourne sequestered to a cubicle. It’s a killer Super Bowl debut, for sure.
1. Tubi
Tubi had one clear strategy: Get America to notice us. Then get America to remember us. Its first 60-second ad was utterly bizarre, leaving viewers wondering what the deal was with these giant rabbits abducting random people. Its second spot nearly broke the game as the 15-second spot made it appear as if Tubi hacked your TV and you were no longer watching the Super Bowl. Its final spot emphasized the rabbits again, cementing the image of Tubi’s new terrifying mascot into the nightmares of 100 million people.
Regional Standout
Sam Adams | “Brighter Boston”
A Brighter Boston? One where Yankees and Red Sox fans embrace each other. One where Bostonians don’t fight over parking spots. Can you imagine that? Sam Adams takes a peek into an alternative universe where Boston natives are actually…nice to each other. Every joke lands throughout the ad, with each actor nailing the delivery.
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