Best & Worst Super Bowl Commercials 2024

The Suspense. Overtime. Taylor Swift. Nope...

We're just here for the commercials.

So, which Super Bowl 58 commercials wowed us? Which ones disappointed?

Let's dive in.

#3 - Arnold in "Good Neighbah"

We all know State Farm comes to play (no pun intended) when it comes to advertising. As one of the biggest ad spenders on planet earth and with ongoing endorsement deals with Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, and Travis Kelce, we knew that the Super Bowl would be, well, their Super Bowl, and they did not disappoint. The concept for "Agent State Farm" was a well-executed play on Arnold Schwarzenegger's action star persona and the overlap between 'insurance agent' and 'secret agent'. The real brilliance of this ad was the lift it would generate in brand recall by getting Arnold to repeatedly say "Like a Good Neighbor" (State Farm's tagline) in his patented Austrian action hero accent, which sounds like "Like a Good Neighbah". If you don't believe me, ask 5 people today if they saw the commercial, and see how many respond by saying "Like a Good Neighbah" in their worst Arnold impersonation.

#2 - LL Cool J and Coors Light

This commercial had every element of a classic, memorable, Super Bowl beer commercial. First, the classic Coors Chill Train, freezing everything in its tracks while distributing ice-cold Coors Light (Ah, refreshing). Second, a jab at a global competitor in Corona. You'll notice about halfway through the ad, the Coors Chill Train rolls through a familiar sandy beach freezing out a couple of Coronas and the people drinking them. Then, the chef's kiss. Who's the conductor of the Coors Chill Train? None other than the chillest of them all, LL Cool J. Well played, Coors.

#1 - Cerave. Developed with Dermatologists, not Michael Cera

At #1, we have a true cinematic masterpiece. A revel of plays-on-words turned Super Bowl commercial. The entire premise of this commercial is Michael Cera pitching Cerave (yes, the lotion company) that they should make him the company spokesperson, claiming that Cerave is developed with Michael Cera. After a series of hilarious shots of Michael, the board room at Cerave looks slightly awestruck and VERY concerned with the idea. The commercial ends with the tagline, "Cerave, developed with Dermatologists, not Michael Cera." The commercial has been touted by many as the best Super Bowl Commercial of the past decade, and with numerous news articles and social media shares, the clip is also generating millions upon millions of dollars in earned media for Cerave.

Our Super Bowl Bust

Last on our list is our Super Bowl Bust - Temu. Temu is a Chinese-owned e-commerce app with growing market share in the US. However, on Super Bowl Sunday, they put on a masterclass in wasting ad dollars. At $7M per 30-second ad spot, the placements are not cheap, so you'd think marketing teams would be working diligently to make sure their ads are memorable and address their target audience. Temu decided to go a different direction, though, sporting a Hello Kitty meets Wish App animated commercial that was, without question, the biggest commercial bust of 2024. To further amplify their lack of creativity and audience research, the ads also missed the mark in another key area - they did not even clearly communicate what Temu is, missing an entire segment of the audience who have never heard of them.

Conclusion

As with everything in life, there are winners and losers. Michael Cera, Cerave, Coors, and the Kansas City Chiefs will reap the rewards when it comes time for earnings reports and contract renegotiation. For the 49ers and Temu... Well, better luck next year.