Super Bowl LVII was an absolute thriller from start to finish. But while Patrick Mahomes was leading the Kansas City Chiefs to their second title in four years, us Celts were paying close attention to what was going on during the breaks in the action. Here are our takeaways from this year’s batch of Super Bowl commercials:
Rock Star
Do you think you're a "rock star" at your job? The real-life rock stars have something to say about it. During the 2023 Workday Super Bowl commercial, you'll see appearances from well-known musicians, including Billy Idol, Paul Stanley, Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, and more. While making fun of corporate employees for using the term so loosely, Gary Clark Jr. cracks a joke while performing his guitar solo – "Hey Liz in HR, can you do this?" It was entertaining to watch, and seeing the musicians in a corporate setting was hysterical.
-Sienna C.
Disney – Where Nostalgia Meets Imagination
As probably one of the more passionate Disney fans you’ve ever met, I feel compelled to choose the Disney 100 commercial as my favorite ad. From highlighting their most historic/iconic scenes and phrases to beautifully capturing the magic that Disney has brought to the lives of ordinary people, this ad had me engrossed from start to finish (topped off by a couple tears at the end, of course). It evoked the perfect balance of nostalgia and imagination, leaving me to wonder how much it might cost to book a flight to Orlando, Florida by tomorrow.
-Audrey K.
Not a Team Player
Remi Martin wanted Serena Williams to bring about a connection with the audience, but having a singles tennis player, albeit iconic, talk about teamwork seemed disingenuous. There's too much happening in this ad. And, next time make sure your spokesperson isn’t doing two ads in the same Super Bowl. Didn’t hit it out of the ballpark.
-Marlene B.
Busch Guide - Sarah McLachlan
The Busch Guide to surviving in the wild centered on the essentials: food, drink (Busch Beer), and shelter. I loved when Sarah McLachlan came in and stated that just dollars a day can help shelter a helpless animal. Busch was paying homage to these heart-breaking commercials and putting her in a different environment - the great outdoors. Hilarious how Sarah was in a tent with a wolf and the main character in the commercial cuts her off by cracking open a can of Busch.
-Jim D.
NFL Women in Football
This is an inspiring NFL ad in which the supporting characters are football stars like Jalen Ramsey (posing as stadium security), Cam Heyward and Aidan Hutchinson (dressed as hotel staff), as well as Davante Adams (disguised as a minor-league parrot mascot). If that's not enough, there's even a cameo from Mr. Beast, who is my son's favorite YouTuber. But the stars of this NFL ad are WOMEN. Yes!!!! Erin Andrews, Billie Jean King and especially former ballerina turned flag football quarterback, Diana Flores. As a girl growing up in a big sports family, I often spent days working on tackling with my brother, running around in his football helmet and playing catch with my dad, trying to perfect my spiral. Seeing that commercial brought a tear to my eye. We've come a long way.
-Lori D.
The Squarespace Singularity
If nothing else, the message of “Squarespace is a website that makes websites” comes across loud and clear. Unfortunately, that’s about all that this ad did for me. The premise of multiplying Adam Drivers getting sucked into “the singularity” was a bit too much concept to pack into 30 seconds, and ultimately a waste of Driver’s star power.
-Jeremy H.
Tubi Channel Change Fake Out
For anyone with a TV, the feelings of shock and frustration of someone changing the channel during a show you're invested in is pretty universal. Those feelings were cleverly elicited when the Tubi home screen popped on the TV and was scrolling through the shows. I don’t even have Tubi as a streaming service, and I still thought someone sat on the remote.
-Ayah P.
An Iconic Half-Time Performance
My favorite ad of the night was not any of the 30-second commercials, but the halftime performance itself! How brilliant and subtle-but-not-so-subtle of a move for Rihanna to mid-performance, touch up her makeup with her own Fenty Beauty setting powder, generating more buzz and excitement around the brand than any single commercial could have on its own. Successful product placement can be a tricky feat to pull off well, but for a brand centered on inclusivity and empowerment, executed by an icon herself, Rihanna’s performance (and having to resist the temptation to add it to my own shopping cart) is a prime example of influencer marketing done right.
-Rachel M.
