Super Bowl LVII: The Best of the Commercials
March 3, 2023
There is an annual tradition that most people celebrate every time it comes around. No, it’s not Christmas, Thanksgiving, or the 4th of July; it’s the Super Bowl. Fans of all ages gather to watch the big game, even those who aren’t that into sports. Many people believe that the best part of it all is not the game itself, but the commercial breaks in-between. The golden advertisements provide entertainment while also giving the companies behind them publicity. These time slots are bought by corporations for top dollar, this year averaging at about $7 million for a 30-second commercial. Though not all of them do as great as initially hoped, there are always those that shine through.
If you love Adam Driver, then you might just love an infinite amount of him! In Squarespace’s commercial, they take a heavy inspiration from The Matrix as Adam Driver suits up to create many copies of himself after finding out that Squarespace is a website that can create websites. He uses this logic to multiply himself indefinitely, creating what some may call the “Driververse.”
A Mountain of Entertainment| “Stallone Face” (Paramount+)
Paramount has had a running joke in the last few Super Bowl commercials, using the setting of Paramount Mountain as a place for all of their characters to interact with each other. This time around, Silvester Stallone is the main attraction, hanging off of his own face, carved into a nearby mountain, a reference to his film Cliffhanger from 1993. A sneeze from his counterpart soon brings him to the base of the mountain, as the onlookers watch in shock. These include Beavis and Butthead, Dora the Explorer, and Captain Spike from the Star Trek franchise.
One of the most popular commercials of this year featured Jack Harlow as he turned the triangle into the most incredible thing on the planet, gaining much attention from the world around him. Cameos from Missy Elliott and Elton John give this commercial even more to talk about.
Great Acting or Great Taste? (Pepsi)
Pepsi had two commercials this go around, one featuring Steve Martin, the other Ben Stiller. The latter of the two proved to gain more attention as it played along with the recent influx of memes from the Zoolander franchise, Stiller showing his acting skills as he tries Pepsi Zero Sugar.
It was announced before the Super Bowl that the candy spokespeople of the M&M company would be stepping down, allowing the talented comedian Maya Rudolph to take their place. Many were concerned over this news, not wanting to lose the memorable face of the candy giant, voiced by favorites like Danny DeVito (Red) and J.K. Simmons (Yellow). However, some people noticed how close the announcement was to the Super Bowl, and predicted correctly that it was all for a marketing stunt. Throughout the commercial, the people eating the newly named “Ma&Ya’s” looked uncomfortable, as if they were being forced to enjoy the candy. In the final moments, the yellow and red M&Ms can be seen eating atop a bush and holding a sign reading “HELP!,” respectively. The original M&M spokes-candies were later showed at a press conference announcing their return, providing a fun, albeit anticlimactic ending to the situation.
Will Ferrell starred in this commercial promoting General Motors’ electric vehicles as he drove through various Netflix shows, including Stranger Things and Squid Game. His comedy to each different setting made it an enjoyable watch, giving GM and Netflix both positive publicity.
Now You Can, Before Saving the Day! (Heineken X Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania)
Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang from Ant-Man makes an appearance, promoting an alcohol-free beer from Heineken before having to leave to save the day, as the title foreshadows.
Break Into Something Good (PopCorners X Breaking Bad)
Probably the most anticipated commercial of this Super Bowl season was the collaboration between PopCorners and Breaking Bad, reuniting Bryan Cranston’s Walter White and Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman to create something addictive and profitable, but not from the same method that can be found in the show. With references left and right, as well as a cameo from Raymond Cruz’s Tuco Salamanca, this is arguably the magnum opus of 2023’s Super Bowl commercial lineup.
