Super Bowl Ads with Foreplay.co

There were a lot of memorable ads during this year's Super Bowl. We reviewed some of the standout ads - the one’s that caught our attention.

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The Super Bowl remains the ad landscape's biggest stage, where brands invest millions to capture attention and create a lasting impression. 

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Let's break down some of Super Bowl 59's most notable commercials and what made them either hit or miss.

Uber Eats: A Century of Cravings

• Uber Eats Super Bowl ad featured Matthew McConaughey 
• Presents a conspiracy theory about football being designed to make people hungry
• Leverages McConaughey's natural charisma
• Too long and lacked a clear connection to the core value proposition of Uber Eats
• The narrative, though star-studded, failed to effectively communicate why consumers should choose their service

Zack’s Rating: 5/10

Jack’s Rating: 6/10

Liquid Death: “Safe For Work”

• Played on the visual similarity between their canned water and beer 
• Created an engaging narrative about "drinking on the job." 
• Successfully maintained the brand's edgy personality while communicating its core product benefit
• Effectively used humor to challenge perceptions and create memorable moments

Zack’s Rating: 6.5/10

Jack’s Rating: 8/10

Bud Light: Big Men On Cul-De-Sac

• Featured Post Malone and Shane Gillis in a perfectly cast commercial about a cul-de-sac party 
• Balanced humor with authentic brand representation 
• Leveraged Post Malone and Shane Gillis' known affinity for Bud Light
• Demonstrated how celebrity endorsements work best when there's genuine connection to the brand
• Missed opportunity to use the cul-de-sac party as the common thing that brings together the left and the right after previous branding drama

Zack’s Rating: Probably 10/10

Jack’s Rating: 10/10 (it was his favorite ad)

Hexclad: "Unidentified Frying Object"

• Featured Gordon Ramsy (surprise) and Pete Davidson (actually surprising)
• Positioned HexClad pans as tools forged with alien spacecraft materials
• The story line felt disconnected from the luxury brand
• Failed to address pain points that people may have with their frying pans 
• MIssed opportunity to leverage Gordon Ramsy’s most famous “idiot sandwhich” line
  
  • That would have been pretty cool
• Used cute gimmicky little aliens for mascots

Zack’s Rating: 5/10

Jack’s Rating: 7/10

Hims & Hers: “Sick of the System”

• Addressed America's obesity epidemic head-on 
• Built on opposition to vague conspiratorial views of the healthcare industry
• Effectively built tension by highlighting healthcare outcomes before presenting their solution
• Successfully communicated its value proposition
• Tapped into consumer frustrations with traditional healthcare
• Photoshoot at the end was questionable 

Zack’s Rating: 7/10

Jack’s Rating: 8/10

Sketchers: Glide-Step Skechers Slip-ins

• Featured Martha Stewart - a charismatic and widely adored celebrity.
• Combined a catchy jingle with clear product demonstration
• Effectively communicated the product's key benefit of easy wear
• Product design could use some work

Zack’s Rating: 7/10

Jack’s Rating: 10/10

Hellmann's: When Sally Met Hellmann's

• Features Meg Ryan, Billy Crystal and Sydney Sweeney
• References famous scene from When Harry Met Sally
• Successfully reached 2 different demographics 
• Provided comedic relief with token “hot girl”, Sydney Sweeney at the end

Zack’s Rating: 6/10

Jack’s Rating: 10/10

Mountain Dew: Kiss From A Lime ft. SEAL, Becky G

• Featured SEAL and Becky G
• Created a unique storyline with Becky G entering a surreal world where Seal, as a singing seal, performs a humorous "Kiss from a Lime" remix alongside swimming orcas and an erupting volcano.
• Demonstrated how humor and visual elements can create highly shareable content while maintaining brand recognition.

Zack’s Rating: 7/10

Jack’s Rating: 5/10

Key Takeaways

1. Does this feel real? (or is it just AI again?)

Our favorite ads featured authentic connections between celebrities and brands, as seen with Post Malone and Bud Light.

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2. Why should someone buy from you?

Sketchers' clearly communicated their product's benefits without getting lost in complex narratives.

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3. Do people share your ads?

The best Super Bowl ads create moments worth sharing, whether through humor, surprise, or emotional resonance.

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4. Music and Jingles work, why not give them a try?

Both Sketchers and Mountain Dew demonstrated the lasting power of catchy jingles

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5. Timing is everything - at least it’s something

If there’s anything advertising on Facebook has taught you, it’s that shorter, punchier ads can be extremely effective. Whether that’s a 5, 10 or 30 second video, or even a static image ad.

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The Super Bowl ads show us that even with big budgets, brands can miss the mark. Creating memorable moments that live longer than the initial broadcast is about everything we like to watch, and nothing we don’t want to see.

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Whether you're planning your next Super Bowl ad or a Facebook campaign for an app or ecommerce brand, these undying principles are a vital piece of taking a product to market successfully.

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If you’re ready to do more of what works and less of what doesn’t, start using Foreplay identify best performing ads, perform automatic and hands-free competitor tracking, generate creative briefs at lightning speed, and scale your ads with confidence.