Super Bowl LVI ads: The best and worst commercials from the big game
The Super Bowl is in the books, and that means it’s time to close the door on this year’s crop of ads, too. We graded every single one of them as they aired last night, but here’s the greatest (and un-greatest) hits version: the best and worst of what we saw last night.
Best
Michelob Ultra, “Welcome to Superior Bowl”
This might be the most successful beer ad to run during the Super Bowl in years. With all those athletes, a Lebowski homage, and minimal talking, it's instantly iconic.
The NFL always turns it out for their Super Bowl ads, and this year was no exception. From Lamar Jackson dancing on a counter to Peyton Manning's ultra-large forehead, those tiny computer animated football players were magnificent and should be part of every NFL broadcast.
There was a lot of funny stuff in this commercial, but Jennifer Coolidge's face as she was eating lipstick topped them all.
I still can't get over the image of a dead man in a casket with a Pringles can on his hand. I may never get over it. Over the last few years, Pringles has run some thoroughly uninspiring Super Bowl ads, which is why this one sticks out so much.
A Lion King goat. An Up goat. A Bart Simpson goat gnawing at a Woody from "Toy Story" goat. That's just a small sampling, because every single one of them was great and unexpectedly cute. Yes, Disney now owns pretty much everything you've ever loved, but it feels less dystopian when expressed in goat form.
Worst
Oculus VR by Meta, “Old Friends, New Friends”
Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, paid a lot of money to buy a big chunk of ad time, and even more to create that commercial. Yet it was extremely difficult to figure out what it was selling, or if what it is selling even exists yet. It really wants the metaverse to become a thing, but a confusing and self-referential commercial isn't going to help it get it done.
If this ad was the cold open to an episode of "Black Mirror" or "The Twilight Zone," then it would be extremely effective. As an ad for a product, it's freaky and dystopian. Who in the world would want their smart devices talking to each other like that? They could be plotting with other smart devices all over the world, and we as the human race have way too much on our plate right now (COVID-19, climate change) to also handle a robot war.
Taco Bell, “The Grande Escape”
An escape from clown college soundtracked by a cover of Hole's "Celebrity Skin" isn't a good idea on paper, and it's not any better as a commercial for Taco Bell.
Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer, “Caddy”
Michelob's "Welcome to Superior Bowl" ad was fantastic, which is why it's so disappointing that this follow-up with Brooks Koepka was such an epic snooze. There were a lot of different directions it could have taken this commercial, and yet it settled on Koepka getting drinking advice from his caddy. It's not a "bad" commercial, but it's unbelievably boring, which is honestly worse.
It's really hard to believe that Kevin Hart shops at Sam's Club. Commercials don't have to be believable, but if a celebrity is in it, you do need believe what he or she is telling you. In this case, it's impossible.
