In case you missed it, football’s biggest night happened on Sunday. While the game was an epic win for the Eagles, and everyone was left wondering if Justin Timberlake looked in the mirror before leaving his dressing room, we are still buzzing about our favorite commercials. As much as it was football’s biggest night, it was also one of the biggest nights for advertising, with companies paying upwards of $5 million for a 30-second spot. This year, the ads mostly focused on entertaining the audience, compared to last year when many took an active political stance. Here are the commercials we think took the top spots.

Doritos Blaze vs. Mountain Dew Ice

This commercial features an epic lip sync battle between “Game of Thrones” star Peter Dinklage and Morgan Freeman. They flawlessly pretend to spit rhymes by Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes while promoting two products from PepsiCo. Utilizing Dinklage was a smart move since “Game of Thrones” has recently been called the world’s most popular TV show, and let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to see Morgan Freeman rap to Missy Elliot’s, “Get Your Freak On.” It made us want to grab some Doritos and a cold Mountain Dew.

Alexa Loses Her Voice

Jeff Bezos himself makes a cameo in this ad, where everyone’s beloved Alexa loses her voice. Cue A-list celebrities to the rescue. Gordon Ramsey, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Cardi B and Rebel Wilson all make a cameo in this commercial as they ‘replace’ Alexa and it will leave you laughing.

Touchdown Celebrations to Come

How many times have you tried to re-create that famous Dirty Dancing scene from the end of the movie? Be honest, you’ve tried at least once. Well, Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. blew us all out of the water with this commercial where they flawlessly (if not a bit awkwardly) perform the dance, including the famous flying lift. Need we say more? This was downright entertaining and set the bar pretty high for touchdown celebrations next season.

It’s a Tide Ad

With one commercial during every quarter of the game, Tide went big this year and left you questioning if every ad you were watching was indeed a Tide ad. They brilliantly spoofed a variety of typical Super Bowl commercials using “Stranger Things” actor David Harbour. The series of ads did an excellent job of using humor to make you believe that if you saw clean clothes, Tide was likely involved. Bravo.

This is Getting Old

This commercial from E*Trade was both entertaining and sobering at the same time. While it was meant to draw laughs, featuring elderly lifeguards, firefighters, and D.J’s singing, “I’m 85 and I want to go home,” there was nothing funny about the statistic at the end of the commercial. Over one-third of Americans have no retirement or savings. This commercial did a great job of tackling a serious subject in a humorous manner, and if you were watching and were a part of that one third, chances are you are making a phone call to open a retirement account today. Mission accomplished, E*Trade.

Businesses with a cause

A theme we noticed across multiple advertisements was highlighting causes instead of products. Businesses have been going this route more often as research has shown that more consumers are choosing a brand who supports a cause they care about. More than ever, a brand’s social responsibility matters when people are making a choice, so it seems like a no-brainer that companies are highlighting their philanthropic endeavors. Companies like Budweiser, Hyundai, and Verizon all took this route and left us with all the feels.

 

-Rachel Dilling, Director of Public Relations

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