Students Review Best and Worst TV Ads of Super Bowl LVIII

Super Bowl LVIII was a star-studded affair, from the VIPs at the game to the celebrities appearing during the TV commercial breaks.

According to AdWeek, a 30-second spot cost as much as $7 million this year. Was the hefty price tag worth it? 

A group of students from the Carlson School’s Master of Marketing program reviewed this year’s commercials. They share their thoughts on who the big winners and losers were for advertising’s biggest night.

Overall Themes

“Most ads were OK ads—something that you usually see during any other normal day,” shared Giovanni Gallina, ‘24 MKTG. “This year, I got a sense that there were some repeated themes from previous years and a general lack of authenticity. In a country like the United States where diversity is part of everyday life, I was also surprised to still see a lot of commercials with white and male celebrities. Perhaps including diverse storytelling is something that will become part of most Super Bowl ads very soon, but not yet.”

“One theme I noticed was a number of alien commercials,” said Heather Thompson, ‘24 MTKG. “Likely inspired by our nation’s increased conversation surrounding potential alien sightings in the past few years, companies drew on the salience of this cultural phenomenon to capture viewers’ attention. Two ads of note related to this theme were Squarespace and Apartments.com.”

Best Super Bowl Commercials

State Farm

“We all love a funny Super Bowl commercial featuring an iconic celebrity, and State Farm’s ‘Like a Good Neighbaaa’ absolutely nailed it,” said Thompson. “While poking fun at Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signature accent, State Farm was able to emphasize the most important word in their slogan—neighbor—through repetition to stay in viewers’ minds long after the ad.”
 

Verizon

“I like the humor of the advertisement which emphasized the strength of the company, which is the connection is never broken,” said Yu-Cen Lin, ‘24 MKTG. “Moreover, using a celebrity like Beyonce can help with the brand by highlighting the concepts and awareness.”

Doritos

“Jenna Ortega might capture people’s attention, but the rest of the ad undoubtedly revolves around the new Doritos Dinamita,” said Gallina. “The storytelling alternates moments of humor and 'dynamicity' which makes the commercial feel fresh, fun, captivating, and memorable.”

Worst Super Bowl Commercials

Temu

“It’s cute and memorable for seeing it for the first time, but the ad appeared three times within 30 minutes, which might be a little over-advertising towards the audience,” said Lin. “Also, the slogan, ‘Shop like the billionaire,’ might let people consider the price and the quality together, but Temu’s prices are too cheap for people to connect with being a billionaire.”

TurboTax

“To me, this was the average ad with the average execution seen during an average day,” said Gallina. “What made it worse, however, was the fact that they tried to sell you their service in a pretty boring way. Humor was present only at the very end, and I asked myself if they even wondered if they first had to build excitement or curiosity around the brand.”

M&M's

“While the M&M’s commercial checked the boxes of including top-notch celebrities and football-related humor, the connection of peanut butter and diamonds is unclear to the viewer, as is how these peanut butter-originated rings actually provide comfort to the 'almost champions,'" said Thompson. "I liked the premise of the commercial, but the lack of logic created a missed opportunity for what could have been a very funny ad.”