My Picks For The Best Ads Of Super Bowl LVI

Super Bowl LVI will kick off on February 13 at SoFi Stadium just outside Los Angeles, and lots of people are spending, making and betting money on this year’s event – more than in any previous year.

According to?TicketIQ data, the “cheap seats” for the game cost about $6K, but you can spend $10K or more if you want a closer, more comfortable seat with a better view of the action. And that’s not the only place where financial transactions are taking place. The amount of money that will be spent on betting on this year’s matchup between the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams will also break records, thanks to the increase in the number of US states that have legalized betting in time for this year’s game. According to as.com, “23.2 million Americans will place a bet on the Super Bowl, representing around?$6 billion.”

But that’s not the big-ticket stuff that’s most interesting to me. This year, as every year, I’m focused on the ads. And they too are setting spending records. It seems that advertisers are predicting we’ll likely be doing what we’ve been doing for the last two years—staying at home with the TV on. The price of a Super Bowl ‘22 ad experienced the biggest jump in the history of Super Bowl ads, hitting $7M for a 30-second spot. That’s sixty times the average cost of a 30-second commercial that airs in prime time. But the price tag didn’t scare away advertisers; the entire ad inventory sold out more than a week before the big event.

With that kind of outlay for the media spend, advertisers didn’t skimp on production (although getting production spend figures from the agencies or advertisers is challenging). Surely it can’t be cheap to cast A-list celebrities like Jim Carrey, Scarlett Johansson, Seth Rogen, Lindsay Lohan, Paul Rudd, Serena Williams and William Shatner, feature songs from Lizzo and Salt-N-Pepa and include high-end special effects (featuring lots of talking animals).

It’s also no surprise that after two really challenging years for most people living on this planet, the overarching mood for this game’s crop of commercials is lighthearted fun—less sentimental, more humorous. Less meaningful message, more high-entertainment value.

Of course, the amount of money spent on an ad is not directly proportional to its quality or success. In other words, not all multi-million-dollar spots are winners. Here are the ones I think are brilliant—with strong potential ROI for their brands:

Flamin’ Hot Doritos - Push It

What happens when you mix a beatboxing fox and a jungle filled with animals with Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It!” and some Flamin’ Hot Doritos? You get a delicious combination of fun and festivity.

Carvana - Oversharing Mom

Created by Carvana’s in-house team, their first Super Bowl ad is cleverly executed—replacing the dread, complaints and venting around car shopping with effusive praise and excitement. I hope their Net Promoter Score reflects the opinions of this ad’s main character (the only person with a speaking role in the ad).

Square Space - Everything to Shell Anything

Alliteration and a big Hollywood star make this ad for Square Space memorable. It is consistent with their previous ads, which always feature celebrities—this time, Zendaya. It’s another example of a spot that was produced by an inhouse creative team.

Uber - Don’t Eats

The message of this ad, featuring Jennifer Coolidge, Trevor Noah, Nicholas Braun (from HBO’s “Succession”) and Gwyneth Paltrow: Don’t mix up your Uber Eats with your Uber Don’t Eats. It gives us many reminders that Uber Eats isn’t just for breakfast, lunch, or dinner anymore.

Alexa - Mind Reader

The Amazon Alexa ads are consistently innovative. The 2019 Not Everything Makes the Cut, The 2020 “Before Alexa,” and the 2021 “Perfect Vessel” ads all made it to my previous Best Of lists, and 2022’s spot is no exception. Mind Reader, featuring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Jost, convinces us that we shouldn’t wish for Alexa to anticipate and act on our thoughts.

BIC EZ Reach - Pass It

This tongue-in-cheek concept features the fascinating odd couple of Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart discussing a product they’re both passionate about, but for very different reasons. We learn that there are many different uses for the BIC EZ Reach.?

I love Super Bowl Sunday because the ads always include a game changer for the industry, unveiling new approaches to brand strategy. And I love it because I'm passionate about clever advertising!

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William Arruda is an entrepreneur, motivational speaker and trainer. He’s a personal branding pioneer and the bestselling author of the definitive books on the topic: Digital YOU, Career Distinction and Ditch. Dare. Do! William has appeared on the Discovery Channel, BBC, CBS and NPR and?has been featured in 1,000+ publications, including Time, the WSJ, Fast Company, GQ, Inc. and the New York Times. He’s a senior contributor to Forbes, where his column has received over 17 million views.