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Super Bowl LV Commercials: Best, Worst, and WTF

This year’s crop of ad spots aim to serve as a sweet release from our twisted reality

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A ton of cameos, one Boss and two Don Cheadles constituted just some of the highlights and lowlights of this year’s Super Bowl commercials, which aired Sunday night during Super Bowl LV. Light on the schmaltz and heavy on the laughs, the vast majority of the 2021 Super Bowl ads ignored Covid, in favor of familiar themes about friendship, family and unity. Here are some of the best (and worst) commercials from Super Sunday.

From Rolling Stone US

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11

OFF-SIDES: Oatly’s “Wow No Cow”

Everything about this ad, from its earnestness to its natural surroundings and vibe of their CEO, along with the fact it was seemingly designed to be bland to begin with, was somehow the physical embodiment of everyone’s favorite pretentious non-dairy milk. At least it got us talking.

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12

TOUCHDOWN: DoorDash’s “The Neighborhood”

What happens when you combine the beloved cast of Sesame Street with a cast member from the beloved smash Hamilton, the beloved Daveed Diggs? This adorable ad kind of made us feel that basic but sometimes elusive human emotion known as… happiness? Is this what that feels like? Taking a walk around the neighborhood has never been more enjoyable than this jaunt with Big Bird and Daveed.

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13

FUMBLE: Cheetos’ “It Wasn’t Me”

The only thing more obnoxious than eating a single stupid Cheeto and getting that orange dust all over your hands, and everything else in your living room, is this commercial. As we said last week when the ad was unveiled before the Big Game, a group of professional creatives staked their entire careers on this multi-million dollar spot only to settle on… Ashton Kutcher singing? We know he’s a super handsome movie and TV star who is also a tech giant, but the entire point of the convoluted spot was you being super annoying, and both the good and bad news is that you delivered.

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14

TOUCHDOWN: T-Mobile’s “Adam Levine Sets Up Gwen Stefani & Blake Shelton”

Imagine being in a real-life relationship and monetizing it. Not only are you with someone you love, but you’re making money! It’s a win-win scenario for Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, with Shelton goofing on his public persona and Stefani looking like she’s 20 years younger. With Stefani’s recent comeback single bombing (perhaps dubbing it a “go-back single” would have been more appropriate?), at least she and her country love can still count on some sweet T-Mobile cash.

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15

TOUCHDOWN: Jeep’s “The Middle”

Attempting to heal the country with a car commercial sounds like a fool’s errand, but then this Jeep ad came on the horizon like a sunrise on a barren prairie and, well, tried its darn best. Boasting visuals of rural Americana and featuring a swelling score, the emotional spot was designed around a poetic string of thoughts delivered by Bruce Springsteen himself. The company’s “ReUniting America” campaign is a great excuse for the rocker, typically averse to commercial tie-ins, to agree to participate, because we could have just as easily had “Hungry Heart” in a Doritos spot. Shot on location in Nebraska, the ad was one of the few that had actual heart in a sea of idiocy, and has so far garnered heaps of both praise and detractors; a concept that doubles as a metaphor for the times we live in.

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16

TOUCHDOWN: Cadillac’s “ScissorHandsFree”

From one legendary artist’s first Big Game commercial to an acclaimed actor’s debut. In this promo for a hands-free driving, the Cadillac team somehow pulled off an Edward Scissorhands sequel, complete with none other than Timothée Chalamet and original co-star Winona Ryder. As Edgar, the son of Edward, Chalamet nails originator Johnny Depp’s creepy cadence and by the end of it, we kind of want to check out a feature-length version. Plus, scissors for hands are the perfect contraption to cut up all those Call Me By Your Name peaches instead of, um, doing other stuff with them.

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17

FUMBLE: State Farm: “Drake from State Farm”

How much money do you think State Farm paid Drake to be in their Super Bowl ad, wearing their red polo as a stand-in no less? Do you think they shelled out one million dollars? Two million? Would it be an amount of moolah that would make even Jeff Bezos blink? Or perhaps it wasn’t that much at all, and maybe like, Drake’s grandma worked at State Farm, and he has a soft spot for the brand? Or maybe Drizzy’s just in debt? Or was Covid-bored? Anyway, this was cute, we guess.

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18

TOUCHDOWN: Amazon’s “Alexa’s Body”

One of the most viral and effective ads of the weekend (see: nearly 80 million YouTube views and counting), this funny, sultry ad stars Michael B. Jordan and his glowing blue eyes as a living, breathing Alexa. Look at it this way: Amazon might be killing small business, but at least they gave us a shirtless Michael B. Jordan. OK, maybe that’s the wrong way to look at things.

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19

FUMBLE: Michelob ULTRA Organic Seltzer’s “All Star Cast”

The first lesson in Commercials 101 is that cameos are king. Whether you have a good idea, bad idea, or no idea at all (like in the case of this Michelob ad), the biggest way to distract viewers is to just throw in cameo after cameo after cameo and hope that people don’t notice that you’re actually not saying much of anything. From a cameo narrator (Christopher Walken!), to a cameo action star (Sylvester Stallone!), to a cameo music star (Maluma!), a cameo sports star (Serena Williams!), and a cameo actor and a look-alike (two Don Cheadles!), it proves that when all else fails: throw in a cameo and see what happens. (It’s also a concept UberEats is well aware of.)