Every year, Super Bowl commercials battle for attention, aiming to be the funniest, the weirdest or the most heartwarming. Some succeed, leaving us entertained and talking about them for weeks, while others miss the mark so badly that we’re left questioning how they ever made it past the brainstorming phase. Super Bowl LIX was no exception, delivering a chaotic mix of brilliance, absurdity and questionable creativity.
One of the most unsettling commercials of the night came from Coffee-Mate, featuring a bizarrely sensual dancing tongue. Promoting its cold foam creamers, the ad kicks off with a man sipping his coffee, only for his tongue to take on a life of its own, moving disturbingly while belting out lyrics about its love for cold foam.
Rather than being entertained, I found the ad disturbing, and it left me wanting to steer clear of Coffee-Mate. The sight of a giant animated tongue moving like that was an image I never wanted to see, yet now it’s burned into my brain.
Nike, on the other hand, delivered a slam dunk. Its ad, celebrating women’s sports, introduced the new tagline “So Win.” Narrated by rapper Doechii, the commercial pushed back against common criticisms female athletes face, with lines like “You can’t win” juxtaposed against footage of stars like Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson and Sha’Carri Richardson proving otherwise.
Nike’s message was powerful and effective, highlighting the resilience and strength of female athletes. This was a refreshing departure from the usual over-the-top, gimmicky Super Bowl ads, and Nike proved that it is still on top of the game 27 years after its last Super Bowl commercial.
Tubi took weirdness to another level with its bizarre concept featuring a baby born with a flesh cowboy hat. As he grows up, the child faces relentless bullying from his peers. Honestly, I would bully him too; the flesh hat was horrifying. The entire commercial left me confused and vaguely unsettled, making it one of the night’s biggest misses.
Ram Trucks attempted to put a rugged spin on the Goldilocks fairy tale, casting Glen Powell in a long blond wig as a woodsy, adventure-seeking Goldilocks. Instead of porridge and beds, this Goldilocks searched for the perfect truck, testing out different models while slaying dragons, carving statues and even jumping over a volcano. While entertaining, it didn’t make me want to buy a truck. But then again, I probably wasn’t going to, anyway.
Mountain Dew delivered one of the most absurd yet delightful ads of the night, enlisting Seal to transform into an actual seal, singing a parody of his hit song “Kiss from a Rose.” The ad follows Becky G as she takes a sip of Mountain Dew Baja Blast and is transported into a dreamlike world where seals belt out “Kiss from a Lime.” Despite its weirdness, it was funny and has stuck in my brain all week.
Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck and Bill Belichick teamed up for Dunkin’s Super Bowl ad. This was one of my favorite commercials of the night, packed with Boston humor, ridiculous one-liners and a cameo from Jeremy Strong emerging dramatically from a vat of coffee beans, prompting the Afflecks to joke that they should have paid for Matt Damon. The best moment? A pointed jab at Starbucks:
“How much to wait a half-hour to get my name misspelled on a cup?” Dunkin once again nailed its brand identity, proving that it knows exactly what its audience wants.
Liquid Death made its Super Bowl debut with a clever parody of classic beer commercials by showing professionals from surgeons to bus drivers chugging Liquid Death’s canned water while a ‘90s-style jingle played. It was funny, catchy and got people talking.
“Liquid Death did a good job at building brand awareness in a clever way,” Villanova senior Lindsey Nemeth said. “Before the commercial, some people thought that Liquid Death was a beer company.”
This ad was a win for the brand, effectively clearing up misconceptions while embracing its edgy, rebellious image.
While some commercials, like Nike’s empowering campaign and Dunkin’s comedic gold, were clear winners, others, like Coffee-Mate’s dancing tongue and Tubi’s flesh hat, left me questioning what I had just witnessed. The Super Bowl always brings a mix of hits and misses. This year was no different.
One thing is for sure: these ads will be talked about for a long time, whether we like them or not.
