More than one team grabbed an L during the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Outside of the cheeseless nachos, lack of good beer selections, and mediocre spinach and artichoke dip, there were plenty of other disappointments during Super Bowl 57.
Namely, advertisements.
Advertisers have searched for the best, most heartwarming and entertaining Super Bowl ads for years, and there have been some really big swings and really big hits — as well as massive puffs.
Super Bowl 57 didn’t exactly feature a number of “bad” ads. In fact, there were more good ads than bad ads. Even “bad” ads fit more into the “boring” bucket.
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There have been winners and more than a handful of losers. Here are five of the best and five of the worst Super Bowl commercials from this year:
Best Super Bowl 2023 Commercials
Bud Light:
Bud Light had become something of a meme of itself in recent years. The brand had become hyper-focused on bizarre imagery to create viral moments, rather than focusing on brand and fun.
This year, they took a significantly toned down approach with their Super Bowl spot featuring Miles Teller and his wife Keleigh Sperry. It’s an entertaining ad that emphasizes fun more than absurdity, and makes for a good, light-hearted ad that doesn’t attack your senses.
BENDER: 2023 Super Bowl winners and losers
Dunkin’
Bennifer is back in full force.
Putting “Gigli” firmly in the rearview mirror, Ben Affleck stars in a hilarious Dunkin commercial in which he poses as a drive-thru worker at a Massachusetts location. Complete with a thick Boston accent, Affleck serves up laughs with cream and sugar.
The Farmer’s Dog: “Forever”
The Clydesdales ran so the Labrador could… run too, or something.
Emotional commercials usually play well during the Super Bowl, in large part because you’re all into the light beers and more than a few handfuls of nachos away from spending more time at the gym on Mondays. They always have to be right, though, and The Farmer’s Dog has nailed it when it tugs at your heartstrings with this “Forever” big game ad.
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Samuel Adams: ‘A Brighter Boston’
Bizarro Boston is a scary place, but it’s good publicity.
Samuel Adams’ “Cousin” campaign has long been a hit, with Greg Hoyt portraying your Boston-accented cousin from Beantown. This year he has the help of Kevin Garnett, hoping to make Boston a better and brighter place. Whether or not it’s doable remains to be seen, but it makes for great Super Bowl advertising.
Pass the lahgahs!
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Rakuten: “Not so clueless”
Is this the best advertisement? Probably not, but Alicia Silverstone hasn’t aged a day as she steps into Cher Horowitz’s very expensive and iconic wardrobe once again, this time for Rakuten.
Alongside rival Amber (Elisa Donovan), Cher is here to save you money by using Rakuten’s cashback opportunities. We still wonder whether or not she found her collarless white shirt from Fred Segal.
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The worst Super Bowl 2023 commercials
Avocados from Mexico
While lawyers make a lot of things better, unfortunately Super Bowl ads aren’t one of those things.
Forget the fact that avocados have been a staple of Super Bowl advertising for a few years now, their ads have generally been more good than bad. While this year’s announcement isn’t necessarily bad, it was surpassed in concept by Sam Adams’ announcement from above.
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FanDuel’s “Kick of Destiny”
Months of speculation have led to…this.
Rob Gronkowski is known to be loud, brash, and fun-loving, which is why the business guy is a good fit. Still, it was totally and utterly unsatisfactory, and the notion that the ad was “live”.
There’s also a question of whether or not the balloon was legit – it looks a bit like CGI, doesn’t it? Also, didn’t the kick look good at first glance? Never mind. We don’t like to be deceived.
Tubi: ‘Interrupt interface’
Truth be told, the Tubi ad could also be in the “best” ads above.
Points for creativity, Tubi, but the last thing half-lost Super Bowl fans need is to be completely confused about what we’re watching. While the ad itself is new in concept, being enraged over whether your toddler nephew Johnny got his hands on the remote isn’t really a fun ad for anyone. Fortunately, it was short, much like Jalen Hurts’ Hail Mary at the end of regulation.
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GM: “Why not an electric vehicle?”
Will Ferrell is cool. Netflix is cool. Electric vehicles are cool (and good for the environment). So why is this ad failing?
It certainly feels like it was just random stuff tossed into a jar to make an entertaining commercial, but ultimately it fell very flat. There’s not much to remember other than a seemingly garish budget and decent fan service.