The Best and Worst Super Bowl LVIII Adverts - 9 minutes read




Hype is high for the NFL’s Super Bowl LVIII, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas, and that includes for America’s most expensive commercials expected to reach millions of eyeballs.

It helps that Chiefs’ player Travis Kelce’s girlfriend, TIME Person of the Year Taylor Swift, has brought an economic boost and new fan base to the already lucrative franchise. Fans can expect to shell out more than $12,000 on average for a ticket to this year’s Super Bowl.

With 115 million viewers watching the big game last year and even more expected this time around, advertisers are putting their best foot forward.

Here is a roundup of the Super Bowl LVIII adverts released so far. 

Most self-deprecating: David and Victoria Beckham for Uber Eats 

Power couple David and Victoria Beckham released a teaser for their commercial with food delivery service Uber Eats. Their son Brooklyn Beckham recently launched a pop-up restaurant with the company in London.

In the mockumentary-style clip, the former soccer star and ex-Spice Girl turned fashion mogul mimic a viral scene from David’s Netflix documentary, where Victoria said their families were “very working class” before her husband told her to “be honest” about which car her dad drove her to school in––a Rolls Royce. 

In the Super Bowl ad teaser, Victoria, wearing a shirt that reads “My Dad Had a Rolls Royce,”  says they are starring in a “little” commercial. David tells her to “be honest” that it’s for the Super Bowl, although the British couple pretends to get confused whether it’s for baseball or hockey. 

Social media users in comments on Instagram loved the teaser, calling it hilarious.

Funniest: Kate McKinnon for Hellmann’s 

In a Hellmann’s mayonnaise ad, actor and comedian Kate McKinnon, former Saturday Night Live (SNL) cast member and recent star of the Barbie movie, makes her cat famous after the feline meows––which sounds like mayo––inspiring McKinnon to make a meal with her leftovers.

The cat goes viral, inspiring mayhem in a supermarket and a media frenzy. In one scene, the animal appears on the red carpet with former SNL comedian Pete Davidson in a dig at his revolving dating life, while in another clip, McKinnon struggles to hold jars and the creature during a photo shoot.

The cat bears a resemblance to Swift’s feline that the pop star wore on her shoulders in her TIME 2023 Person of the Year cover shoot––a pose Swifties tried to recreate with difficulty.

Most nostalgic: Vince Vaughn and Tom Brady for BetMGM 

Gambling website BetMGM released its ad with actor Vince Vaughn poking fun at Tom Brady, seven-time Super Bowl champion who spent 20 seasons as quarterback for the New England Patriots. In the commercial, Vaughn says online betting is for everyone "but Tom Brady,” saying that “the truth is you’ve won too much Tommy, let others have their turn.”

Most star-studded: Suits cast for e.l.f.

Cast members of the TV show Suits, which experienced a resurgence this past year to become the most streamed show of 2023, have reunited for an e.l.f. cosmetics ad. In a teaser, members of the cast and other celebrities receive fake notices for “jury beauty” that say “you’ve been summoned”––except for one that quips “You’ve been e.l.f.ing served.”

The ad doesn’t feature former cast member Meghan Markle, who married Prince Harry in 2018.

Most global: Lionel Messi for Michelob Ultra 

Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi, who now plays for American club FC Miami, will star in a Michelob Ultra beer commercial. In a teaser for the ad titled “GOAT (Greatest of All Time) v. Dog,” Messi dribbles a soccer ball past a dog on a beach, ending with the line “Game on.”

Quirkiest: Kris Jenner for OREO 

In a teaser for an OREO’s ad, Kris Jenner, matriarch of the Kardashian clan, recreated her daughter Khloé Kardashian’s viral technique to stack cookies in a jar. Jenner then twists an OREO to reveal cream on only one side––a debate around for as long as the cookie itself––and says she better go warn the kids. “It all starts with a twist,” the ad says.

Most shocking: Reese’s 

Reese’s says in its teaser that it’s “making a big change to Reese’s peanut butter cups,” prompting the woman in the video to yell as her face gets pummeled by water from her garden sprinkler.  

Most comedic: Eric André for Drumstick 

The ice-cream maker’s first SuperBowl ad features comedian Eric André going through airport security with a bag full of NESTLÉ’s Drumstick, prompting the security officer to “confiscate” one treat by eating it. 

Most mysterious: Addison Rae for NERDS

TikTok influencer Addison Rae joins NERDS candy to give dance instructions to an unidentified student in their ad. The teaser leaves the audience hanging with the question “Who is Addison coaching?” 

Most cinematic: M&M’S 

Candy maker M&M’S released a mock cinematic trailer advertising its Peanut Butter M&M’S as the “ring of comfort” for “Almost Champions”––-who didn’t win the Super Bowl and get a champion ring––with one scene reminiscent of Peter Jackson’s movie adaptions of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. 

Most confusing: Bud Light 

Bud Light, which in recent years faced a boycott for its advertising featuring trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, released a heartwarming Super Bowl ad last year depicting actor Miles Teller and his wife, Keleigh Sperry, dancing to phone hold music.

The beer producer so far only released a teaser for its 2024 ad. The clip starts by showing an unrecognizable man with a Bud Light shirt, sunglasses and facial hair, before flashing to a stunned fan wearing a Denver Broncos jersey who exclaims “Are you?” before the video cuts.

Most straightforward: Chris Pratt for Pringles 

Actor Chris Pratt makes an appearance in Pringles’ ad teaser titled “Uncanny” with a mustache mimicking the signature facial hair of the cartoon figure on the chips’ can, ending in a staring competition. 

Most traditional: Budweiser 

The massive work horses that have become synonymous with Budweiser beer advertising will feature prominently this year after complaints that the company’s Super Bowl ad last year only featured a brief cameo of the creatures.

Most dramatic: Jenna Ortega for Doritos 

Doritos got Jenna Ortega, star of Netflix’s Wednesday, on board to act distraught by a clean sweep of the chip producers’ latest product Dinamita in a grocery store, in a teaser of the company’s ad.

Most boastful: Popeyes 

In a teaser for its ad, fast food chain Popeyes says that “52 years ago, one man chose to wait for perfection” before announcing that “the wait is now over.” 

Chillest: Coors Light 

Coors Light invites viewers to book a ride on the “chill train,” showing a can of its beer on train tracks in snow-covered mountains as a locomotive roars toward the camera. 

Classiest: Volkswagen 

The car maker is celebrating its 75th anniversary in the U.S. this year and released an ad paying homage to the arrival of its iconic Volkswagen Bug, called “An American Love Story.”

Most ironic: Arnold Schwarzenegger for State Farm

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will feature in an ad for insurance company State Farm. In a cinematic-style teaser, the actor stars as an action hero “Agent State Farm,” in a play on the company’s slogan of being a good neighbor. The ad is ironic given that State Farm announced last year that it would stop accepting new applications for business, property, and casualty insurance in California, citing high costs in a state devastated by wildfires.

Grungiest: Kawasaki

Kawasaki is advertising its new off-roading vehicle RIDGE in a spot where the vehicle causes men and even animals to grow mullets, with the tagline “business in the front, party in the back.” 

Most fantastical: Aubrey Plaza for Mountain Dew

White Lotus actor Aubrey Plaza is starring in a Mountain Dew ad where she rides atop a dragon who keeps interrupting her, breathing fire, until she says in her trademark deadpan tone, “You’re a terrible scene partner.” 

Most athletic: Miller Lite

Beer producer Miller Lite boasts in its Super Bowl teaser that it’s “literally running 1,000 ads” for the big game in a clip that shows people pretending to run a race wearing Miller Lite paraphernalia or with the brand name and logo painted on their chests. 

The company’s marketing campaign is calling on customers to sign up online, starting Feb. 1, to sport a Miller Lite ad during commercial breaks on game day. The first 1,000 eligible fans will get $100, a Big Game Ad Kit and a Miller Game Time jersey, the company said. Others who spot an ad or jersey on the big day can also scan a QR code and potentially win part of $170,000 worth of beer money and rewards the company is doling out. 

Most commercially savvy: Doordash

Doordash is playing up its status as a delivery service giant by introducing an online competition for a chance to win all other items being advertised in a dramatic teaser trailer.

Cleanest: J.J. Watt for Dawn Dish Soap

Former NFL player J.J. Watt teamed up with Dawn Dish Soap to promote the company’s deals to give away $1 million worth of Dawn Platinum and fly a fan and up to nine friends to a “wash party” in Scottsdale, Arizona, where they will watch the Super Bowl and Watt will do their dishes.

Throwback: Kevin Hart for DraftKings

Fantasy sports and betting site DraftKings unveiled its ad featuring comedian Kevin Hart acting out a twist on former Dallas Cowboys’ coach Jimmy Johnson’s famous post-game speech from 1992 when he proclaimed “How bout them Cowboys?” The ad ends with the tagline “The Crown is Yours.” 

Goofiest: Mr. T for Skechers

In an ad for shoemaker Skechers, former NFL player Tony Romo acknowledges that people misspell the brand name with a “T” in it before actor Mr. T appears to dispute him by wearing different models of the slip-on sneakers. 



Source: Time

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