Top Ten Super Bowl LIV Commercials
February 5, 2020
There are two types of people when it comes to the Super Bowl: those who bet on one team to win, go all out, yell and scream and the ones who could care less who wins and are there to watch the halftime show. The only parts that seem to entertain everyone are the infamous commercials.
In 2020 alone, companies spent an average of 5.6 million dollars to have their 30-second ad played during the Super Bowl. From car companies to fast food, each unique ad incorporates its own levels of ethos, pathos, and logos in order for the viewer to purchase whatever the company is trying to sell.
10) Hulu
Days before Super Bowl LIV, quarterback Tom Brady sent fans into a tailspin when he posted a photo on Instagram showing him in a stadium tunnel. Many fans thought it could’ve signaled his decision to retire or continue to play in the NFL.
In this Hulu ad, Brady appears as though he was announcing his retirement — with his comment “They say all good things must come to an end. So to my teammates, my family, and my fans, you deserve to hear this from me”— but in reality, he just explained the benefits of the television streaming service.
9) Bud Light
Being one of few alcohol commercials, Bud Light presents one of music’s biggest stars that had blossomed over the past few years: Post Malone.
It’s also been no secret that Post Malone enjoys drinking Bud Light, so there was no better match for an advertisement for Bud Light’s new Seltzer line. The commercial shows an operating system controlling Malone as he ultimately decides to purchase both regular Bud Light and Bud Light Seltzer after knocking over almost every snack in the store. His closing line of “got any pretzels?” seemed to tie the ad together.
8) Planters
This was one of the most interesting commercials that were played. Planters had originally planned to kill off Mr. Peanut but ended up not fully going through with the plan following the tragic death of Kobe Bryant.
In Sunday’s spot, Mr. Clean, the Kool-Aid Man, and others were attending Mr. Peanut’s funeral when tears from the Kool-Aid Man fell and sprouted a baby Mr. Peanut.
With the success of Baby Yoda in recent months, perhaps that’s what Planters was going for. It was a little strange with the dolphin noises, but it certainly got the attention of many.
7) Kia
Leading up to the 2019 NFL Draft, the story of running back Josh Jacobs was talked about often. He was homeless at times in his life and went through a lot to make it to the professional ranks.
In this Kia commercial, Jacobs has some advice for his younger self in a message of never giving up and proving what you can do on the football field. This was definitely another one that tugs at the heartstrings.
6) Doritos
One of the biggest stars from 2019 in the music world was Lil Nas X. In this hilarious Doritos spot, Lil Nas X is dressed up as a cowboy and participates in a dance-off against “The Ranch” star Sam Elliott for a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos. The song Old Town Road plays while Elliott busts some CGI dance moves and eventually tips his hat to Lil Nas X towards the end. It gets even better with a cameo from Billy Ray Cyrus at the end.
5) Mountain Dew
Since the tv show, Breaking Bad became a cultural phenomenon, Bryan Cranston has been a fan favorite. In this commercial for Mountain Dew’s “Zero Sugar” flavor, Cranston plays the part of Jack Torrance from “The Shining” and is attempting to get to Tracee Ellis Ross through the bathroom door.
Just like the film, he uses an ax to get to her and hands her a Mountain Dew while saying the line “here’s Mountain Dew zero sugar” to play on the original “Here’s Johnny”. The commercial ends with the green Mountain Dew flowing from the elevators in a very hilarious callback to the 1980 film and Cranston dressed as the twins seen in the film.
4) Google
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xSxXiHwMrg
Being one of the more emotional ads, Google put together an emotional story that is sure to bring a tear to your eye. They assembled a commercial that showed an elderly man using the Google virtual assistant to remember things about his late wife following her passing. While not selling something, it shows you that Google can help you remember the little things in life while tugging at heartstrings.
3) Rocket Morgage
Actor Jason Momoa quickly began trending with this Rocket Mortgage commercial shortly after it aired. In fact, it became a meme that some compared to the 49ers’ third and fourth quarter performances with the final quarter being represented by the image of Momoa being bald. The “Aquaman” star definitely gave one of the bigger laughs of the night.
2) Jeep
With the Super Bowl taking place on February second, it was the perfect opportunity for actor Bill Murray to relive “Groundhog Day”. The commercial calls attention to the product in a fun way by having Murray take the groundhog on various adventures as the day repeats itself over and over.
Jeep includes actors like Bill Murray, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Brian Doyle-Murray all original actors in the movie Groundhog Day.
1) Hyundai
This was a no-brainer for the top commercial of the night with its creative and interesting use of the product and the actors.
Native New Englanders Chris Evans, John Krasinski, and Rachel Dratch went over the top with their Boston accents as they were discussing Hyundai’s new park assist feature “Smaht Pahk”.
On top of all that star power, former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz even made a cameo, in which he categorized the Sonata’s feature as “wicked smart.”
