Super Bowl 2023 ads that got us super bowled!
Ads this year were high on nostalgia with major actors reprising beloved movie and TV roles
If anything stole the show from Kansas City Chief's win and Rihanna's second pregnancy revelation at the Super Bowl 2023, it was the ads.
For the uninitiated, Super Bowl commercial breaks are as celebrated as the tournament itself. It's the time of the year when brands empty their marketing coffers, cranking out their most creative ads. The coveted ad spots for the event sell for as much as $5.84 million a pop.
This year for Super Bown 2023, brands from Pepsi to Dunkin Donuts to Squarespace lined up their super best for the NFL finale night. These ads brought some nostalgic tropes alive and hinged on star power and humour. Here's our pick of the best Super Bowl ads of 2023.
Pepsi
Pepsi's Super Bowl ad this year was a PSA on what acting really is. The quirky commercial saw Stiller takes on various roles, telling the audience that his job as an actor is to make the viewers believe what they are seeing is real. Zoolander fans were also in for a treat after the actor revisits his "Magnum" face.
General Motors
Will Ferrell starred in a funny 60-second spot for General Motors that was heavy on Netflix references. The comedian waxed about the carmaker's association with the streaming giant, saying how GM will feature more electric vehicles in shows and films. There were references galore with Ferrell finding himself in mock scenes from The Walking Dead, Stranger Things, Bridgerton and The Squid Games.
PopCorners
In what would give Breaking Bad fans an aneurysm from excitement, Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul reprised their roles from the hit series, peddling PopCorners snacks instead of meth this time.
Rakuten
"As if!" would have been a Clueless fan's reaction if we said we spotted Cher Horowitz in a Super Bowl ad. Alicia Silverstone went back to her beloved role as the ditzy rich girl from the 90s cult movie for the shopping app Rakuten.
Squarespace
The Squarespace ad titled "The Singularity" with actor Adam Driver gave us a bit of Matrix, 2001 Space Odyssey and Multiplicity. Driver goes metaphysical with his mind blown at the possibility of "A website making websites."
UberEats
We weren't kidding when we said Super Bowl ads went high on nostalgia. The UberEats commercial brought beloved 90s and 2000s artists like Kelis, Montell Jordan, Donna Lewis, Diddy, Ylvis and Haddaway in search of the perfect jingle. It's part nostalgic and part hilarious!
Dunkin Donuts
Dunkin Donuts brought together "Bennifer", probably the most important couple of the early 2000s zeitgeist. But there's a bit more to the association. Affleck's love for the brand has been chronicled by the paps over the years. There are numerous pics of the actor digging into a Dunkin Donut treat or sipping on the iced coffee. For internet watchers, this was an association waiting to happen. The brand has not only cashed in on Affleck's longstanding love for Dunkin Donuts but also roped in wife Jennifer Lopez for a hilarious denouement.
