We’ve survived another day and night of Hard Seltzers (Does anyone drink beer anymore?) wings, and stuffing our faces with more chips than can be found in any chip or snack aisle. We’re also a little deaf from all the cheering in our hotel suite for our home city, the Super Bowl champion Rams. Congrats Rams!
And we have discovered that our knees aren’t as solid as they used to be after dancing for 20 minutes straight to arguably one of the best Super Bowl Halftime shows ever. Stop trolling 50 Cent, too. Just because he came out after 2 quarters, is no reason to bring him down.
After flirting with the opposite sex, drinking, doing Icky Shuffles, and cheering the Rams (Sorry Bengals, maybe Mike Pence can overturn the loss) there was the celebration of the work of ad agencies, their creative directors, copywriters, art directors and producers.
What did we see this year? A lot of electric car advertising. We saw Kia’s new all-electric EV6, BMW’s fully electric BMW iX Sports Activity Vehicle, the GMC Hummer EV and Nissan’s 2023 Ariya.
We also saw cryptocurrency and sports gambling take their best shots yet at mainstream acceptance. According to USA Today’s AdMeter, Larry David’s first Super Bowl appearance helped crypto exchange, FTX, land in 17th-place. It’s notable that FTX was the only crypto/gambling brand to finish in the upper half of the 64 rated ads. DraftKings topped the bottom five.
Finishing in last place was Coinbase. We’ll get into that later. It was probably more fun to watch a bunch of drunk fans at Super Bowl parties fumble with their smartphones trying to capture the bouncing code.
At the end of the day though, with all of the stars from Arnold Schwarzenegger and Academy-Award nominee Salma Hayek Pinault to Eugene Levy to JB Smoove and Halle Berry, our favorite spots came down to what was the best concept? What made us laugh? Or think? Below are our 5 Super Bowl that hit us in the numbers like a pass from Matthew Stafford to Odel Beckham, Jr and our Not-So-Top:
Super Hits
“Dream House with Anna Kendrick and Barbie” Brand: Rocket Mortgage | Agency: Highdive
Chicago’s Highdive manages to top the Super Bowl for a third year in a row. Two years ago it was Bill Murray in the classic Jeep “Groundhog Day” spot. Last year, it was Rocket Mortgage with Tracy Morgan. This year, it is with Pitch Perfect’s Anna Kendrick, Barbie and He-Man.
Kendrick opens the ad alongside a young girl and her Barbie. She says, “Barbie really wants this Dreamhouse. It’s got stunning views and a slide,” before adding, “and Barbie found out about this Dreamhouse with an alert from Rocket Homes.”
The line stops and confuses her co-star, “She did?”
Kendrick explains, “Well, it’s a super competitive market. Everyone wants to buy the Dreamhouse.” That’s when the madness happens. Watch below:
“Mindreader” Brand: Amazon | Agency: Lucky Generals
In the spot created by Amazon and Lucky Generals, Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost are at home in awe of Alexa’s functionality as they put their game-day routine into action, and imagine a world in which Alexa could read their minds. The couple playfully shows how they interact with Alexa at home by saying, “Alexa, it’s game day,” and “ask” everything from scheduling and setting reminders, to playing music. Watch below:
“Robodog The All-Electric Kia EV6” Brand: Kia | Agency: David&Goliath
Created by our friends at David&Goliath, Kia’s 13th Super Bowl spot, entitled “Robo Dog,” opens on an electronics store where a lonely robotic puppy stares out the window as a “real” dog is lovingly petted by a passerby out for a walk. Robo Dog then notices a young man unplug his Kia EV6 from a charging station and drive away, leaving Robo Dog even more dejected. But the AI four-legged friend knows what he wants and the chase is on set to Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler:
“Zeus & Hera” Brand: BMW | Agency: Goodby, Silverstein and Partners
BMW debuted a new 60-second ad during the Big Game to showcase its All-New, fully electric BMW iX Sports Activity Vehicle, which arrives in the US next month.
The star-studded spot features legendary actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Academy-Award nominee Salma Hayek Pinault, and was directed by two-time Academy Award-nominated director Bryan Buckley.
Schwarzenegger stars as Zeus, the Greek god of lightning, and Hayek Pinault plays his wife, the goddess Hera, as they retire from Mt. Olympus to a quiet life in Palm Springs, California.
However, the monotony of retirement quickly weighs on Zeus, who becomes frustrated by his struggles with earthly electronics and his nagging mortal neighbors’ constant requests to charge their electric golf carts and hedge trimmers.
Meanwhile, Hera, the hero of the story, has fully acclimated and is thriving in retirement. In an effort to bring some excitement back into Zeus’s life, she gifts him with an all-electric BMW iX, which quickly helps reignite her husband’s electric mojo.
The spot closes with the happy couple rocking down the road in their new BMW iX to Eddy Grant’s Electric Avenue while Zeus uses his electric power to change the traffic lights to green. Watch below:
“Uber Don’t Eats” Brand: Uber | Agency: Special Group US
Uber topped itself this time. Both disgusting and funny AF, Uber Eats debuted an ad informing viewers that it has expanded its delivery service to non-food items. Starring Jennifer Coolidge, Gwyneth Paltrow and Trevor Noah, the post features them trying to figure out how to eat their non-food items, ranging from a stick of deodorant to lipstick to Paltrow’s infamous Vagina candle.
“This candle tastes funny,” Paltrow admitted as she took a large bite from the side. “Not bad, but funny.” Watch below:
Honorable Mentions: NFL “Bring Down the House,” Chevrolet “New Generation,” Lays “Golden Memories,” Toyota “The Joneses,” Michelob Ultra “Superior Bowling,” Budweiser “Clydesdales Journey.”
REELated: Complete list of all our Super Bowl coverage. Enjoy!
Super Misses
WeatherTech “We Never Left”
WeatherTech can spend as much money as it wants on Super Bowl advertising and the company has for years. But the spots never, ever land emotionally. Maybe floor mats are not that exciting to watch on the Big Game. Even with helicopters.
Coinbase “Less Talk, More Bitcoin”
The ultra-minimalist Coinbase spot, created by Accenture Interactive, featured almost an entire minute of a QR code bouncing slowly on our flatscreen, changing color each time it hit the side, like it was playing a game of Atari Pong with itself. Scanning the code led viewers to a Coinbase site where they could sign up for $15 in Bitcoin. But who really took the time to do it? Yes, the spot was unexpected, but it was also boring.
T-Mobile “Miley Sings for the Phones”
T-Mobile returned to the Super Bowl for the ninth consecutive year with three :30s. Aside from the charming third spot which featured Scrubs’ Zach Braff and Donald Faison singing about T-Mobile home internet, the other two were meh. Created by Panay Films, the two entries featured Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus doing it for the phones.
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It goes to show you can have many stars such as Lindsay Lohan, Larry David and more in your Super Bowl spot, but it doesn’t mean it will be a great spot.
Until another February, we are out! Unless you want to know the recipe for Brown Sugar Air Fryer Drumsticks.
Colin Costello is the West Coast Editor of Reel 360. Contact him at colin@reel360.com or follow him on Twitter at @colinthewriter1
