Super Bowl 2023 - The best commercials, and not so, as seen by Australian creatives

By AdNews | 14 February 2023
 
Adam Driver for Squarespace.

Lots of beer, celebrities, gags, Adam Driver and more celebrities.

The Super Bowl, American football's big game attracting a television audience of more than 100 million and where advertisers pay $US7 million for a 30 second spot, has its own genre of commercials.

David Kennedy, partner @WiredCo: “If last year was Crypto Bowl, this year is Celebrity Hole.

“Every brand and their dog is taking shelter under the umbrella of celebrity and humour.

“No disputing that we’ve found love in amusing celeb ads; I’ve worked on a few myself. No denying that celebs in ads - when done right - drive impact and effectiveness. And there’s no denying that the Super Bowl is historically all of those things wrapped up.”

Vince Lagana, co-foundert and CCO, It's Friday: "I was tempted to pick a big monster Super Bowl ad with heaps of A, B and C grade celebrities. But while everyone was trying to out celeb each other, Tubi stood out more than most by making Americans freak the hell out and search frantically for their TV remotes. All this is in a small 15 seconds. 

"I didn’t know much about Tubi. I do now. 

"As for the worst. Sketches. I hope Snoop Dogg doesn’t read this, but it wasn’t his best Super Bowl moment."

Sally Joubert, CEO of Luma Research: “This year’s Super Bowl had the usual suspects – humour, celebrities, music, nostalgia and lots of beer ads (more than ever before now that Budweiser’s owner AB InBev has given up its exclusive rights after 33 years).

“Although there were a few notable differences - like no crypto ads, no sentimental ‘tug at the heart strings ads’ and no ads from Super Bowl regular advertisers like P+G, Hyundai, Audi and Toyota.

“The changing economic conditions may have kept some brands away, but it certainly wasn’t a focus of the ads. It was clear that the advertisers were really trying to have an upbeat tone that tickled the funny bone and to leave consumers feeling positive. The use of light-hearted humour was evident in our favourite ads like Popcorners Breaking Bad

"and Ram Premature Electrification

“The celebrity line up also dominated. The majority of ads had multiple celebrities and Serena Williams appeared in two ads (for different brands)! Just paying for talent doesn’t guarantee cut-through success! It is their appeal and fit with the story and the brand that makes or breaks. Uber One’s clever integration of multiple celebrities help to engage us.

“It was wonderful to see Rihanna back with an amazing performance and incredible dancing on some hugely scary platforms. However as far as music in the ads go we didn’t see any really embrace the power that music apart from a few nostalgic soundtracks like used in the Turbo Tax 

"and TMobile spots

“We can’t wait to find out to see what the US audience thought through our research.”

Sebastian Vizor, executive creative director at The Royals: “The Squarespace ad featuring Adam Driver (and many clones of himself) has to be my draft pick.

“It's the perfect Super Bowl ad, a great choice of celebrity for distinction, and feels epic but not too try-hard. And such a good line – a website that makes other websites – which amazingly is repeated seven times, so there'll be no way of it not landing what it's for.

“Notable mentions: Workday's 'Rock Star' offering is what we've come to expect from Super Bowl ads, with the mandatory use of celebs and a humorous script amping up the entertainment value.

“Jack's New Angle for Doritos, featuring rapper Jack Harlow and a cameo by Sir Elton John, is not as funny as previous years (namely the GOAT Super Bowl ad) but it's no doubt a well-produced ad making the most of its famous brand icon of the triangle.

“There's not much of an idea in UberOne's spot with Sean 'Diddy' Coombs, but hey, it's the Super Bowl, so it can be forgiven. Overall, it's fun, packed with interesting celebs, and the line 'Diddy don't do jingles' has now become attached to my brain.

“Finally, for a pure product demo I thought Google Pixel played it well.

“Room for improvement: Sketchers got Snoop Dogg but then created an instantly forgettable ad in 'All Walks of Life', which shouldn't be an easy thing to do.

“I loved the concept of hands getting stuck in Pringles cans when the brand first aired it last year because it was centred around a lovely product insight. This year, unfortunately, they haven't pushed it on. Shame because there would be lots of funny, memorable ads based on that concept.”

Aldo Ferretto, creative director from The Hallway: “Super Bowl 57 is here and with it comes the inevitable barrage of brands (around a 100 of them at last count) all willing to throw $6.5 million for a 30 second chance to nail it. For me though, this year’s winner didn’t spend a cent during the Super Bowl. Let me explain.

“Most of the brands who spent a lofty $6.5 million have been building their campaigns for a few days. And don’t get me wrong, a few of them did put a smile on my face. But none of them made the cut to claim the big win.

“Squarespace has been a solid contender for the last few years. Adam Driver and their Singularity campaign is another hit.

“A website that makes websites is a feast of fun, though the best part of the campaign is the behind the scenes film which is hilarious, please watch it.

“It was good to see Mr. White and Jesse Pinkman back with Popcorners. I also did not mind the Crown Royal ‘Thank you Canada’ campaign with their new front man Dave Grohl.

“But let's talk about the real winner (for me).

“Mischief@NoFixedAddress is doing a lot of things right and one of them is their latest campaign for Anytime Fitness where viewers of Super Bowl 57 got a chance to win free memberships and a grand prize of a trip to anywhere in the world where an Anytime Fitness is located, every time the word “Anytime” is heard throughout the big game.

“The best part, they didn’t run a single ad during the Super Bowl 57, saving themselves millions but no doubt gaining millions in return.

“A big round of applause goes to Anytime Fitness, Mr. Greg Hahn and everyone at Mischief.

“Bonus: Congrats Rihanna!”

Jay Lee, senior creative Host/Havas: “Hits: Some great ones this year. Adam Driver’s behind-the-scenes for Squarespace was hilarious, the Blue Moon spot was a delight to watch from beginning to end, the NFL’s Run with It (despite the weird Mr. Beast cameo) was a refreshing ode to female athletes. But for me, Aviation Gin took the W.

“The contrast between Ryan Reynolds’ star power with the low-budget production of 2ginutewarning made for a very entertaining minute and a half of hilarious self-awareness. It had pop culture, relatability, live audience interaction, gamification, and Ryan Reynolds. What’s not to love?

“Misses: There were a few misses this year, from spots that didn’t live up to their teasers to ones that just fell flat.

“Not to mention Amazon’s weird take on curing your pet’s separation anxiety (Let’s get our neglected dog another neglected dog?). But for me, none left a more bitter taste than Tubi’s interruption stunt. In the battle between entertainment and interruption, they chose to go full obnoxious and made a misleading pop-up ad. Although I won’t lie, it definitely had me fooled for a bit. And I’m still talking about it now, so obviously something worked.”

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