And this year, they delivered.
DoorDash
It was hard not to love the company’s Super Bowl commercial, which served as an ode to neighborhoods everywhere. It also featured singing Sesame Street characters and Daveed Diggs. How could we resist?
General Motors
This commercial wins for sheer storytelling ingenuity. Will Ferrell stars in it as someone who hates Norway because it sells more electric vehicles per capita than the US.
The ad takes an opportunity to show off GM’s new ultium battery and advocate for alternatives to gas-guzzlers, all while following Ferrell’s journey to Norway, featuring cameos from Awkwafina and Kenan Thompson. With those three, this advertisement was destined to be a winner.
State Farm
This State Farm commercial, like many State Farm commercials, was star-studded — it featured Aaron Rodgers, Paul Rudd and Patrick Mahomes (right after we’d just seen him playing!).
Then Drake showed up, introducing himself as “Drake from State Farm.” This may be the most interested in insurance we’ve ever been.
Toyota
Toyota’s commercial featuring American Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long is one that’s sure to pull at the heartstrings. Long, a 13-time Paralympic gold medalist, shows the “hope and strength in all of us,” Toyota says of the ad, depicting Long’s adoption story. And though we’re not really sure how it’s related to cars, we did feel our eyes briefly welling up.
Huggies
Babies are, obviously, incredibly cute, so they’re guaranteed to win us over. The Huggies ad shows just how universally loved babies are by showing short clips of babies doing things like pooping, licking their toes and eating. In a way, Huggies had an unfair advantage. Who doesn’t love babies?
Honorable mentions
