The Top Ads From The Super Bowl 2024
After many years of pretty dry and righteous Super Bowl ads, I was pleasantly surprised to find the 2024 selection was much more upbeat and fun than previous years, thank the lord, and of course, Taylor Swift!
Below in order of YouTube popularity, I picked my top ten favourite ads from this year's Super Bowl. I’ve been doing this since 2012 and this was my favourite selection for many years.
I’ve also been judging the Webby Awards recently, and it looks like comedy is finally back in advertising 🙌
Let’s get started.
1. Tina Fey books whoever she wants to be - Booking.com (109+ million views)
Booking must have a healthy YouTube ad budget, as the view count is off the charts. Anyway, if you’re a 30 Rock fan or just love Tina Fey then you’ll enjoy this cameo packed fun ad.
2. Like a Good Neighbaaa - State Farm (33+ million views)
Everyone's favourite Austrian Terminator/Governor allows an insurance firm to make fun of his accent, and it’s pretty marvellous. You’ll notice a theme with many celeb ads this year. They all tend to be a bit self-deprecating. (Tip: If you ever want to win over a crown in a speech a little self deprecation at the start of your speech has been proven to help people warm to you).
3. Deadpool & Wolverine - Marvel (15+ million views)
Ok, this is possibly more of a trailer than an ad, but this has got millions of people talking about what will likely be one of the biggest movies of 2024 + ……Ryan Reynolds. Say no more.
4. Superior Beach - Michelob Ultra (9.8+ million views)
This will likely become one of the top football-themed ads of all time. It star’s Lionel Messi and it’s simple but fun and helps position Michelob Ultra as the classier choice for those wanting a light beer. Keep an eye out for the Ted Lasso cameo too.
5. Mr. T in Skechers - Skechers (4.5+ million views)
This one is pretty much pure ’80s nostalgia, so if you love the eighties or Mr. T, then you’ll love this ad too. Also, it clearly shows the product benefit and has a nice mental cue for the name too. I think this ad would make Les Binet happy!
6. Old School Deliver - Budweiser (3.5+ million views)
So, gun to my head, this is not really incredible, BUT it’s the Super Bowl, and you can’t have a Super Bowl without a classic Budweiser ad featuring the Clydesdale horses and a token Labrador! It is a feel-good ad with “Merica” written all over it. (Just read the comments, the vast majority are positive nostalgia related threads, people love things that remind them of their happy past).
7. Talkin Like Walken - BMW USA (3.3+ million views)
One of my favourites from this year. Huge respect to Christopher Walken for being totally ok with BMW taking the mickey out of him for the whole ad. It’s a classic, enjoy.
8. The DunKings - Dunkin’ (2.9+ million views)
Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and J-Lo star in this brilliantly self-deprecating ad for the company formally known as Dunkin Donuts. This was one of the top fan favourites from this year, and deservedly so.
9. An America Love Story - Volkswagen (1.3+ million views)
I’m a sucker for this one. Great storytelling, and it reminded me of the work we did in South Africa when I helped work on VW back in the day. It’s one of those incredible brands that can feel very local even though it’s very German.
10. Don’t Forget Uber Eats - Uber Eats (244K+ thousands views)
I loved this one; lots of brilliant celeb cameos and lots of humour, and it spoke to something we’ve all heard before (i.e. to remember something new, do we have to forget something we already know?).
That’s it for the top ten. Overall, it was a pretty good year for ads. It is so so nice to see a return to humour again!
I had a few more that I enjoyed but didn’t quite make the cut, because I know a lot of you reading this love ads I listed them quickly for you below:
Mayo Cat - Hellmann’s (Got to love a cat ad)
Doordash All the Ads - Doordash (A simple ad with an epic prize. I am sure people spent hours on this)
The Wait Is Over - Popeyes (Classic fun ad, a bit like if Demolition Man was a 30-second comedy ad for chicken wings)
Well Said - Disney (If you love copywriting or classic movie lines, this is the one for you)
Couch Potatoes Farm - Pluto TV (Just a really nicely executed funny ad)
Hard Knocks - Dove (It’s a Dove ad, simple, powerful, just seems a bit dated for some reason; maybe they need to turn up the formula?)
Duck Plump - NYX Cosmetics (Sadly/funnily probably based on real stories :) )
Look forward to doing this all over again next year!
Big Love,
Chris x
