My Super Bowl Ad Takeaways: Winners: 11 Winners, 1 Loser

No one asked, but here are my faves and takeaways from this year's Super Bowl Ads:

State Farm & Dunkin

Dunkin and State Farm were both funny, well-written, perfectly-executed, extremely on-brand, and most importantly, used their celebrity investment perfectly.

Poor use of Celebrity and/or Celebrity as a crutch is my biggest issue with most SB ads. But Dunkin(g) and State Farm both knocked theirs "outta the paahk." I literally stood up and yelled "GET TO DA CHOPPAH! when Arnold showed up on screen"

Kristyn Cook Alyson Griffin Jillian Nelson

Duolingo

The sheer creativity and efficiency were impressive. Building on their "unhinged" campaign and unexpected collab with Duolingo owl getting a "BBL" on TikTok, their spot was great and had the whole room talking, despite only taking up 3-seconds of air time.

Emmanuel Orssaud

Cetaphil

Most brands went for humor and celebrity, Cetaphil went for the heartstrings and tapped into the perfect cultural phenomenon and insight to do so. Referencing the Taylor Swift Effect on NFL Fandom was a risky proposition, but it was perfect, had me tearing up, and resonated with so many dads and daughters who have found new common ground this year.

Craig Elimeliah

Verizon

Did Beyonce just announce her new album in the Verizon Ad? Yes she did. 'Nuff said.

Kristin McHugh Leslie Berland

CeraVe I've been a Michael Cera fan since his Arrested Development days, and this was another case of using a Celebrity in a great way. It was super weird, in the most Michael Cera way, and both clever and self-aware.

Pringles

I personally liked this one. The whole thing was clever, but the "Blink-if-you-miss-it" moment of Chris Pratt unlocking his phone using the guy on the Pringles was really slick and funny.

Mauricio Jenkins Diane Sayler

The NFL

Knowing one of the NFL's priorities is international expansion, it shouldn't be a surprise to see them emphasize global fandom. But highlighting young Kwesi as the only NFL Fan amidst a village of Fútbol fans, and being able to make his dreams come true by introducing him to the NFL stars he'd only previously been able to conjure up in his imagination...I loved it SO much.

Add to that their spots addressing Bullying Children's and Mental Health and tapping into players who understand what these kids are going through more than most people realize, they really did a fantastic job.

Tim Ellis Glenn Cole Marissa Solis Damaune Journey

Microsoft

I really liked the ad, and appreciated the message of optimism and empowerment, as it pertains to AI. In a big week for the technology, one in which Microsoft launched CoPilot (which is super impressive) and Google rebranded Bard into Gemini, using the spot to say "here's our stance" was a good use of the airtime, and an inspiring and uplifting one to boot.

(Microsoft's AI tool is natively integrated into Linkedin and I used to generate the cover art for this post!)

Kathleen Hall

Paramount

This one was talked about a lot before the game, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it. Anytime you have the one and only Sir Patrick Stewart, The Captain Picard, Professor Charles Xavier, interacting with cartoon characters like Peppa Pig and Arnold, you're going to have a hit. Including Creed, referencing Tua's inability to make a deep throw, and the other self-referential elements were all great, especially for us Elder Millennials.

James Stewart Cullen Robert Stecklow

Speaking of... Elder Millennials

It's not fun getting older, but building on Eminem's performance last year, Usher - featuring Lil' Jon, Alicia Keys, and H.E.R. - had everyone 35-45 years old jumping up and dancing like we were in our 20's again. It's nice to be the target audience!

Bonus Winner: The Kelce's

Travis, Jason, Kylie, Mamma (and maybe a future in-law whose named rhymes with Shaylor Shmift)... The NFL has a new First Family. The sky is the limit for them, truly. They are lovable, relatable, and endearing. How can you not root for them? Every brand and media outlet already wants to work with them. I'm excited to see where they go and what they do with the opportunity.

Danielle Salzedo

Shout Outs

I also liked Mars whole "almost champions" thing, it was really clever and fun. I also enjoyed Hellman's Mayo Cat, especially the joke winking at Pete Davidson's dating history. BMW's Christopher Walken spot had us chuckling too.

Temu

The only ad I really disliked, all 3 times.