Super Bowl 2024: The Best And Worst Commercials
While most of the pre-game hubbub surrounding Super Bowl LVIII was focused on the potential presence of Taylor Swift at the game, there were still — believe it or not — other things going on. Beyond a pair of football teams competing for victory, there was also a slew of high-profile commercials dropping throughout the game. These advertisements continue a long tradition of companies dropping eye-catching and star-studded commercials during the Super Bowl. All eyes around the world are on this game, so what better place to showcase new products, food and drink brands, and tech companies than this television event?
The most beloved of these Super Bowl commercials in years past have made the annual arrival of new Big Game ads a must-see event for countless viewers. Of course, the best and worst Super Bowl LVIII commercials reinforced that every installment of this sporting event has its advertising duds. For every new classic promo, one brand gets a complete dud of a commercial that inspires more confusion than excitement. The best and worst commercials from Super Bowl LVIII reflect this inescapable imbalance ... but those best commercials will surely keep viewers coming back for more Big Game ads in the years to come.
Worst: Chris Pratt and Pringle's
Chris Pratt's bizarre career trajectory continued unabated with this Super Bowl commercial for Pringle's, in which Pratt's new curly mustache has everyone around the world claiming he looks like "the Pringle's guy." The ad mostly just has Pratt standing around reacting with a vacant facial expression to the world becoming obsessed with his facial hair and quasi-resemblance to a chips mascot. The handful of sight gags in the promo (namely the appearance of a youngster with a curly mustache in an in-universe Western movie starring Pratt as "the Pringle's guy") have been done way better in other places.
The weirdest part of the promo, though, is how it doesn't really offer much to justify its existence. It's not an ad promoting a new flavor of Pringle's nor a revamp of the packaging for these chips or even just an audaciously named sweepstakes involving Pringle's. It's just a reminder that chips people already are very familiar with exist. Equally egregiously, it's another piece of post-2014 media that opts to use Pratt as just a blank-slate straight man rather than leaning into the actor's comedic sensibilities that secured his stardom in the first place. This Pringle's Super Bowl commercial makes a lot of thoughts run through one's head, but it's not likely to make anyone crave the potato-pulp chips — it's far more likely to confuse customers than anything else.
Best: Beyoncé and Verizon
Beyoncé doing a Verizon commercial centered around the superstar trying to "break the internet" yet again doesn't exactly break new ground in terms of its writing or structure. Still, it's hard to deny the endlessly charismatic screen appeal of Beyoncé, who remains compelling even when she's shilling for Verizon and doing obvious puns like opening a lemonade stand. She's just got that star quality that immediately gets your attention. Compared to other celebrity cellular service spokespeople like Zach Braff, she's got endless charisma.
What really makes the ad memorable, though, is pairing Beyoncé with the last person anyone ever thought this singer would rub shoulders with: Tony Hale. Who knew Buster Bluth and one of the most beloved singers on the planet would end up working together under any circumstances, let alone in a Super Bowl ad? Hale gets to nicely use his comic chops reacting to the grand achievements of Beyoncé (namely in his breathless delivery that the singer's sax playing broke his heart). Hale turns out to be the perfect everyman foil for such a larger-than-life icon. This Verizon ad is really nothing special on paper, but letting two great performers play to their strengths puts it heads and shoulders above weaker star-studded ads from this year's Super Bowl.
Worst: Apartments.com and Jeff Goldblum
Jeff Goldblum has made a career out of being "quirky," so of course he'd hitch his promotional wagon to, of all companies, Apartments.com. This edition of the Super Bowl included a splashy expansion of Goldblum's Apartments.com presence as the fictional character Brad Bellflower. This time, Bellflower interrupts an exchange between U.S. military personnel and two massive aliens. The exchange is initially contentious, but Bellflower's apartment-savvy knowledge makes the aliens feel welcome in our galaxy. The whole ad is obviously a pastiche of Goldblum's role in the "Independence Day" films, where he dealt with slightly more vicious otherworldly visitors.
Leaning so heavily on an older motion picture without coming up with much new already makes this Apartments.com ad a pretty lackluster ordeal. It's all just a nostalgia grab, with Goldblum trotting out a reminder of one of his vintage movies rather than delivering something new and eccentric. The forgettable designs of the aliens (which make them look like beefed-up grey versions of Edgar the Bug from "Men in Black") also undercut the potential spectacle of this commercial. Taking Brad Bellflower to the domain of sci-fi storytelling doesn't make for a good commercial, nor does it make a convincing argument for why Goldblum has been doing these ads for nearly a decade.
Best: State Farm and Arnold Schwarzenegger
Initially, the Super Bowl 2024 State Farm commercial seemed like it was just going to run one not-especially-novel comic idea into the ground. Famed action star Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to be a State Farm spokesperson in the ads, but while shooting commercials, he just keeps fumbling the "like a good neighbor" slogan in his Austrian accent. It's not exactly a groundbreaking observation that certain words sound odd coming out of Schwarzenegger's mouth — it's been a gag in a handful of his movies decades ago. That tired familiarity seemed destined to sink this merging of movie star and insurance company.
But then the commercial takes a welcome final turn in its closing moments. At the premiere of Schwarzenegger's State Farm commercial, it's revealed his "Twins" co-star Danny DeVito is now performing alongside him and he gets to say the "like a good neighbor" slogan. It may have just been a cheap ploy playing on residual love for "Twins," but DeVito is a welcome presence in any context. Plus, the suddenness of DeVito coming in as the "savior" of the State Farm ad makes his presence all the more amusing, since there's really no prior indication this commercial is about to turn into a "Twins" reunion. Thanks to this "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" veteran's presence, this State Farm Super Bowl ad goes from scoring shrugs to laughs.
Worst: FanDuel and Carl Weathers
Gambling company FanDuel technically gets to claim one of the last acting credits by legendary performer Carl Weathers in its Super Bowl ad, which features Weathers among a slew of different performers reacting to a kick from Rob Gronkowski. A continuation of a series of ads dropped in January 2024 that feature Gronkowski and Weathers, the new commercial has Weathers watching this play on a TV and nodding approvingly at the player's actions. The commercial ends with an extra piece of footage of Weathers and Gronkowski, and some on-screen text pays tribute to the recently deceased actor.
While it's nice that the FanDuel Super Bowl commercial tipped its hat to a legend, the ad is basically incoherent for those who are unfamiliar with the couple of preceding videos on the FanDuel YouTube channel that have less than 150,000 views each. It also feels extra insulting for a company currently in the middle of fraud-based lawsuits to try and wring extra sentimental points by playing on the demise of Weathers. An actor of this man's caliber deserved better than being associated with a gambling company in one of his final on-screen performances. This FanDuel ad would've been a poorly crafted concoction under any circumstances, but tragic real-world circumstances just make this promo feel extra icky.
Best: Dunkin' and Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck has shilled for Dunkin' Donuts before, but for this year's Super Bowl, he turned up to perform a Dunkin'-themed rap song for his partner, Jennifer Lopez. This is hardly breaking new ground — Super Bowl commercials have been using and poking fun at Boston celebrities and their accents for years, most memorably in the 2020 Hyundai "Smaht Pahk" ad featuring Chris Evans and Rachel Dratch. Still, Affleck's commitment to delivering this wacky material with such a straight face is shockingly entertaining. Affleck's work in movies like "Extract," "The Last Duel," and "Air" shows he works best with a little dose of wackiness and levity. These Dunkin' ads have been a great demonstration of his talents.
However, the real stand-out of the commercial has to be Matt Damon as a reluctant partner-in-crime for Affleck's musical shenanigans. His belabored delivery of lines like "How do you like ... them ... donuts?" followed by a hasty apology to Lopez is terrifically funny, and his dripping reluctance making a great contrast to Affleck's unabashed enthusiasm. Affleck and Damon have always been a great combo, dating back to the days of "Dogma" and "Good Will Hunting," and their natural rapport makes this ad a lot of fun to watch. This newest iteration of Affleck hawking Dunkin' Donuts products isn't an unprecedented piece of advertising, but the commitment from the actors involved makes all the difference.
Worst: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Political Ad
Right there in the middle of the Super Bowl was a commercial for Robert Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign in 2024, hailing from a Super PAC dedicated to the political candidate. This commercial is clearly reminiscent of vintage Kennedy political ads (specifically one ad John F. Kennedy ad from 1960) and keeps reminding viewers of the political dynasty this man comes from. It's a bizarre and derivative piece of promotion, as the ad keeps urging viewers to "vote independent" (Kennedy is not officially affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties) while the commercial tries to drum up enthusiasm for the right-wing-leaning candidate by being anything but "independent" from the past.
Reminding viewers solely of vintage political ads connected to much better-known Kennedy politicians just made the presence of a Kennedy commercial during the Super Bowl inexplicable. The rest of the event's adverts stayed far away from anything political, with advertisers instead hinging commercials on things like sassy chocolate candies and a "Twins" reunion. So on just a basic level, an ad for a politician blatantly reveling in transphobic rhetoric and racist behavior brought bad vibes to the sporting event, completely missing the memo on this year's fairly good-natured, fun, apolitical ads. Prejudice and derivative political advertising make for a lethal combo, ensuring that this Robert Kennedy Jr. campaign ad is one of the worst Super Bowl commercials of 2024.
Best: Volkswagen
The 2024 Volkswagen advertisement gets off on the right foot with a flashback to the early 20th century. While just filtering any visuals through a tight 4:3 framing and black and white won't automatically turn your commercial into a piece of art, it is a distinctive visual choice that immediately separates this commercial from the visual norms of other Super Bowl 2024 ads. Plus, that aspect ratio brings some interesting framing and blocking in the early moments of this ad as viewers watch a depiction of the nascent days of the Volkswagen company.
From there, a montage takes viewers through various decades of Volkswagen-related material, including a cute clip from the Darth Vader Volkswagen Super Bowl 2011 commercial and a "Simpsons" bit where Bart punches Lisa after bellowing "punch-buggy!" It's a nicely expansive montage that makes a fine case for just how prominent this company's automobiles have become. As the icing on top, the ad concludes with on-screen text that emphasizes how much drivers of Volkswagen cars bring the "soul" of this company to life, while setting the whole commercial to Neil Diamond's "I Am ... I Said" is a fantastic touch. Super Bowl 2024's car ads are largely disposable fare, but Volkswagen made some big swings in its commercial that pay off.
Worst: Bud Light Genie
In 2023, Bud Light drew an avalanche of right-wing controversy for acknowledging trans people existed by having model and performer Dylan Mulvaney appear in its promotional materials and cans. After that pointless brouhaha, Bud Light returned to the 2024 Super Bowl with an ad that seemed designed to cozily reassure the worldview of "outraged" cis-gender people. The commercial focuses on a Bud Light genie granting the wishes of conventionally attractive cis people, including allowing them to meet celebrities like Peyton Manning, Post Malone, and Dana White. The latter figure admitted to physically abusing his wife, but apparently, that's a more palatable Bud Light spokesperson than a trans person. Bud Light personnel have touted this commercial to The Hollywood Reporter as a "reboot" of the company's image after the Mulvaney controversy, so it's impossible to detach the commercial from how it caters to people who spouted transphobic rhetoric in 2023.
Even taken on its own terms, though, this commercial just isn't very interesting or fun, with its whip-fast pacing never giving room for the various wacky wishes, celebrity cameos, or zippy atmosphere to really feel tangible. It's all moving so fast yet not giving anything exciting to viewers to make them want to keep up with the mayhem. The Bud Light genie doesn't even have an interesting costume! Missing out on the opportunity to at least lean into a whimsical attire for this character is just one of the many ways Bud Light's newest Super Bowl ad is a dull disappointment.
Best: Michael Cera and CeraVe
One disappointing aspect of the 2024 Super Bowl ads is how many of them saw celebrities shilling for products while doing unimaginative and predictable renditions of their default star personas. What a lovely departure from the norm, then, that Michael Cera showed up to push himself as the new face of CeraVe products (his name is in the product name, after all!) while trying to pass himself as a confident male model full of bravado. It's a long way away from the default personalities of classic Cera characters like George Michael or Allan, but it's also a kind of role Cera nails with lots of laughs.
The precise editing choices also effectively mimic the visual style of overblown skin care commercials. That attention to detail is extra humorous when juxtaposed with a spokesperson like Cera who doesn't seem like a natural fit for CeraVe products. Ending things on a meta note (with Cera shown trying to sell the commercial to unenthusiastic CeraVe executives) could've been too obvious, but Cera's comedic line deliveries as he tries to sell the unsellable make this concluding scene work. While other celebrities seemed to be going through the motions in their Super Bowl 2024 ads, Cera's unexpected push as a skin-care cream spokesperson is full of verve and fun.
Worst: Microsoft Copilot
If there was any nadir of Super Bowl 2024 commercials that didn't involve Robert Kennedy Jr., it had to be the commercial for Microsoft Copilot, an AI chatbot meant to be an evolution of Microsoft's "Cortana" software. Microsoft didn't let on that viewers were watching a commercial for AI initially, though, as this cursed ad began with showing a bunch of souls from disadvantaged backgrounds talking about the ways people underestimate them ("I'm too old," "I won't write my movie," etc.). Once one of these figures turns to the camera and says "watch me," though, all bets are off. These underdogs are then shown using Copilot to achieve their dream and create the kind of "amazing" "art" only AI can create.
This Copilot commercial is already a dreadful experience simply because the act of utilizing AI isn't very visually engaging. The ad builds up to some cathartic sight of these underdogs beating the odds, but instead, it all culminates in strings of code, an assortment of bad-looking images for potential storyboards, and other underwhelming images that only AI could produce. Meanwhile, Microsoft positioning Copilot as a "savior" for folks with limited resources and external societal problems keeping them down is incredibly dystopian. Other technology ads suggest a new laptop or phone will make you "cool", not the sole mechanism through which your dreams can come true. That concept is the crux of this creepy Microsoft Copilot ad, the absolute worst commercial from the 2024 Super Bowl.