For many viewers who tune into the Super Bowl each year, the actual game is the toilet break and the Super Bowl commercials are a thing of beauty. With Super Bowl LVII (thatโs 57 for those who canโt be bothered with Roman Numerals) done and dusted, and Rhiannaโs 12-song mic-drop of a performance, weโre taking the liberty to round up the best Super Bowl ads so youโve got them all in one place.
While ads are annoying inconveniences most of the time, some of the biggest brands in the world have been known to pull out all stops and actually show some personality with their Super Bowl commercials. After all, the Super Bowl is one of the biggest yearly opportunities in the world of advertising. In 2022, a whopping 99.18 million viewers in the US alone tuned in, which means Super Bowl ads are also ridiculously expensive.
Put simply, the Super Bowl is one of the most-watched entertainment spectacles on television each and every year. Broadcast across 225 different stations in more than 180 different countries, alongside around 450 radio stations, the sporting event is the perfect place to reveal a new brand messaging, product or tagline. In the past, classic ads like Wendyโs 1984 hit Whereโs the Beef? and Budweiserโs Whassup? from 1999 made their debut at the Super Bowl before transcending the sporting arena and entering the cultural vernacular.
Last year, Super Bowl LVI was viewed by a staggering 99.18 million people, however, fell short of the all-time viewing record. The most-watched Super Bowl ever belongs to Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, which saw the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks do battle in front of 114.44 million viewers. Needless to say, with numbers like this, itโs little wonder brands are eager to jump at the lucrative, albeit very expensive, advertising opportunity.
Super Bowl commercials have become such a cultural phenomenon over the years, that now there are trailers for the trailers. Many spots have been released in advance, with brands taking advantage of the opportunity by pre-empting themselves and showing off their celebrity gets. Already, weโve got the likes of Alicia Silverstone reprising her Clueless role as Ms Cher Horowitz for Rakuten, and Dave Grohl reading a list of random things for Crown Royal.
The big ones, however, are saved for the Super Bowl itself and weโve rounded up the best (and worst) below. But first, letโs talk about money.
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How Much Does A Super Bowl Ad Cost In 2023?
As reported by Front Office Sports, broadcasters Fox has set the cost of a 30-second Super Bowl commercial at US$7 million (AU$10.1 million), up from last yearโs average price of US$6.5 million (AU$9.3 million). The last time Fox held broadcasting rights to the Super Bowl was in 2020, and the price for an ad slot back then was set at US$5.6 million (AU$8 million). As you can see, the price hike is significant over the years, so brands arenโt exactly going to waste their opportunity on just any old commercial.
Thatโs why weโve seen so much creativity with Super Bowl ads, mostly powered by celebrity collaborations and a heady dose of nostalgia, like when Uber Eats hooked up with Wayneโs World actors Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey or McDonaldโs tapping โYe for an appearance last year. Or now, when PopCorners roped in Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul to appear as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman to develop six flavours of the snack.
As we stated last year in our Super Bowl ads wrap-up, the NFL playoff championship is regularly treated as a global platform for both culture and commerce. And both are typically blurred by these ads, bringing in a whole heap of pop-culture references that relegate the match between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs as a mere support act.
Below, youโll find the best Super Bowl ads both of which were released before the game, and those that screened during the game.
How Many Commercials Are There During Super Bowl?
There are typically between 80 and 100 commercials during Super Bowl, some of which are released (or even leaked) in advance of the game. According to Statista that usually means there are 50 minutes of commercials in total. As you can imagine, itโs an incredibly lucrative venture for networks.
Why Are Super Bowl Ads So Expensive?
Simply put, viewers. This much is obvious, but itโs important to get around the size and scale of just how many people tune in to the Super Bowl each year. And this translates to one of the greatest marketing opportunities in history, which is why youโll see many of these big-name brands like McDonaldโs and Doritos just throw money at the sports event without question.
The Super Bowl is typically broadest across 225 stations in more than 180 countries. The event is also streamed live on around 450 radio stations, so a brand is pretty much guaranteed the largest captive audience they can possibly ask for. In the past, brands like Wendyโs, Budweiser and GoDaddy have benefited greatly from advertising at the Super Bowl so itโs perfectly reasonable that brands would want to use Super Bowl to make big announcements, change their messaging, introduce new products or just generally remind people of how much money they have to pay for celebrity appearances.
The most-watched Super Bowl of all time was Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, where the New England Patriots clashed with the Seattle Seahawks to a captive audience of 114.44 million viewers, in the US alone. Those are serious numbers on the board by any measure.
RELATED: Kansas City Chiefsโ JuJu Smith-Schuster Only Found Out He Earned A $1 Million Bonus On Live TV
The Best Super Bowl LVII Ads Of 2023
PopCorners โBreaking Goodโ
PopCorners used its time at Super Bowl LVII to let everyone know that the brand now has seven flavours via Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Raymond Cruz โ respectively, Walter White, Jesse Pinkman and Tuco Salamanca โ and a rather clever take on one of Breaking Badโs earlier scenes. I dare you not to crack a smile at Tucoโs reaction when eating the air-popped chips.
Michelob ULTRA โNew Members Dayโ
This is the kind of Super Bowl commercial we like. Nostalgia and comedy in equal measures, it doesnโt feel tacky or safe, no awkwardly worked in brand references and a rather smooth script overall. Youโve got Caddyshack, Succession, Peyton Manning, Tony Romo and Serena Williams all packed into the one commercial, with neither feeling overly hammy. Just a great job overall.
Dunkinโ Donuts โLive Your Best Lifeโ
While we werenโt overly amused (although there was a slight chuckle in the office) by Will Ferrellโs usual turn with General Motors, this time promoting EVโs, or Heinekenโs ham-fisted hook-up with Paul Rudd, Dunkinโ Donuts came out swinging hard with โLive Your Best Life.โ The commercial leans heavily on star power from couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez and is entertaining enough to qualify for this list.
T-Mobile โBradleyโs Mom Knows Bestโ
Bradley Cooper and his apparent mother star in T-Mobileโs latest effort to promote that the telco has Americaโs largest 5G network. Itโs fairly straightforward in terms of conceit, but Cooper sharing a hilariously tender moment with his mother helps get this one over the line.
Uber One โOne Hit For Uber Oneโ
Uber must have a monster creative writing team because this is so far one of the best Super Bowl commercials this year. Diddy, those guys from โWhat Does The Fox Say?โ and Kelis attempt to make a new jingle for the companyโs Uber One membership and end up cribbing Haddaway. Very funny.
Skechers โSlip-Inโ
It seems like all that publicity from denying โYe an audience last year has given Skechers a bit of a boost (no pun intended) and the confidence to throw some money at Super Bowl this year, as well as none other than Snoop Dogg. Showing off his footwear in various settings, Snoop manages to bring the laughs and, fortunately for Skechers, a bit of glory for the brand.
T-Mobile โNew Year, New Neighbourโ
T-Mobile get another shout out on this list, with โNew Year, New Neighbourโ starring John Travolta and โ getting into some Scrubs nostalgia โ both Zach Braff and Donald Faison. Like most of Travoltaโs Super Bowl turns, itโs a musical number thatโs entertaining enough. The humour isnโt there, but the vibes are immaculate.
Pepsi Zero Sugar โBen Stiller & Steve Martinโ
Hereโs another teaser trailer that was released just a few days before the actual game,, but itโs too good not to include here. Pepsi simply got Ben Stiller and Steve Martin to go back-and-forth to, somehow, promote Pepsi Zero Sugar. Weโre not huge fans of Super Bowl ads that present a funny scene and then randomly pull in the thing itโs meant to promote. It feels unnatural โ although it all does at the end of the day โ but this oneโs such an exception because Stiller and Martin are so charming together.
Squarespace โBackstage With Adam Driverโ
Itโs hard not to like Adam Driver so Squarespace was smart to rope the actor into its Super Bowl play. Featuring numerous Adam Drivers, a teaser for the ad was released ahead of Super Bowl and the actual thing doesnโt disappoint either. Not bad. Not bad at all.
The Worst Super Bowl LVII Ads Of 2023
Hellmanโs โWhoโs In The Fridgeโ
Whoโs in the fridge? Oh look itโs Jon Hamm and Brie Larson staring up as a ravenous Pete Davidson comes to dinner. Itโs silly, and silly generally works well for brands, but thereโs something about this awkwardly mismatched group of celebrities that rubs (or spreads) us the wrong way.
General Motors x Netflix
General Motors has hooked up with Netflix and, once again, Will Ferrell to try and push EVโs to the Super Bowl audience. It usually works, and we guess it does in a way, but thereโs a clear attempt to be as funny and big-budget as possible. Yet, the ambition and the actual results donโt align. Ferrell isnโt at his best, and the spoofs feel cheap and easy. This one could have used a better writing team.
Doritos โJacks New Angleโ
It was expected that some brand would try and hook up with Jack Harlow for Super Bowl this year. Considering the year of hype that has been sitting behind the rapper, it was a given. Doritos ended up snagging him, but they really wasted the opportunity on some cheap jokes that didnโt land. Donโt get get us wrong, Harlow has the charisma necessary to pull off something like this. Itโs just unfortunate the script wasnโt any better.
