Last night, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos handily beat the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. But, as marketers know, there’s more than just one winner of the night—Super Bowl commercials also vie for top honors.
This year, there were a lot of newbies (PayPal, Marmot), the car commercials were dominated by Hyundai, and there weren’t nearly as many beer commercials as past years. Overall, there were some good spots, but none that broke the mold. As one Twitter user put it, the golden age of Super Bowl ads might be coming to a close.
USA Today’s Ad Meter is the traditional determiner of Super Bowl commercial success. Here are the ads we enjoyed last night.
Most Heartwarming
Since there wasn’t a Dove or Always commercial to tug at our heartstrings last night, and the Pantene Dad ‘Do ads didn’t actually air during the game, the Heartwarming award goes to Audi’s ‘Commander’ commercial.
Best Pop Culture Reference
Sure, Steve Harvey tried to make his Miss Universe gaffe work for him, but the best reference of the night was when stuffy lawyers ask Drake if they can get in the Hotline Bling box.
Best Callback
In the search for a way to market their noodle stand, Po (the panda in Kung Fu Panda) and his adoptive dad, Mr. Ping, buy ambien fast shipping imagine ways to advertise using classic Super Bowl commercials, like the frog Budweiser commercial and Old Spice’s “I’m on a horse” spot.
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Best Celebrity Cameos
After a series of teasers for this Super Bowl commercial, Amazon delivered more than just a snack stadium. Alec Baldwin, Dan Marino, Missy Elliot, and Jason Schwatzman come together in a random-but-works ad for Amazon Echo. Anyone know where we can get a snack stadium for the office?
Best Non-verbal
Michelob Ultra’s ‘Breathe’ commercial was on-brand and reminiscent of Nike or Adidas commercials. A great way to convey how satisfying a cold one can be.
Best Musical
With a line like, “What makes the Super Bowl so super, a day we adore? / It’s a day so super, it’s why we were born / In the end, when our team won, Mom and Dad looked at each other / one thing led to another that night”, how could you not love this spot?
Best Commercial Set in Chicago
Probably the only ad set in Chicago, this one had some great shots of the city as the car races to get away from the cops.
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