Ah, the Super Bowl commercials: where your favorite movies come back to life to sell products, and where the competition for attention is so high that companies essentially fire celebrities out of a cannon at their ad spots just so people notice. The Super Bowl 2021 commercials are a typical mixed bag – honestly, at a time where nothing feels particularly normal, these brazen efforts to sell stuff are oddly reassuring reminders of the Before Times for the most part.
Below, we've listed the best and worst Super Bowl commercials released this year – you'll find all of the ad spots from this year's big game below, along with pithy (and sometimes scathing) commentary, with occasional praise for the ones we enjoyed.
Let's binge some capitalism, baby!
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier trailer
Well, this one's a nice, easy sell. A whole year after we got our first look at this Captain America spin-off show at the Super Bowl, this time we get a much more comprehensive look at the series that'll see Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan reprising their respective roles as Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. We also get to hear from Daniel Brühl's Helmut Zemo, last seen in Captain America: Civil War. This six-part series kicks off on March 19.
Old trailer
Based on an excellent old French graphic novel called Sandcastle, director M Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense, Split) uses that book as inspiration for this horror movie. The book is about a trip to an island where its residents age so fast they only live for a day. Gael García Bernal and Eliza Scanlen star in this movie, which is due to release in July this year.
M&Ms, 'Come Together'
This generally inoffensive ad features a whole host of people apologizing with M&Ms, including Schitt's Creek's Dan Levy, who just hosted Saturday Night Live over the weekend. We're also reminded that being called 'Karen' is a fraught business in 2021.
Toyota, 'Jessica Long's Story'
Super Bowl commercials tend to have three angles to choose from: funny (or at least an attempt to be funny), annoying or inspirational. This one goes for the latter, focusing on the story of Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long, who has won 23 medals at the games to date.
TurboTax, 'Spreading Tax Expertise Across the Land'
Ah, now we're firmly back in the territory of 'attempts to be funny', in this commercial that focuses on the idea that tax expertise can be obtained no matter where you're living in the United States. How wonderful.
Mercari, 'Get Your Unused Things Back in the Game'
This blink-and-you'll-miss-it spot is a reminder that you can use an app to offload your old junk, if you've turned into a bit of a hoarder during the pandemic. Still, if you want to keep a stack of old magazines in your attic, that's up to you.
Logitech, 'Defy Logic'
Logitech showcases Lil Nas X and a host of 'content creators' in this video, which, every now and then, reminds you that the company makes PC peripherals. This one's perfectly fine – and if you're a fan of Lil Nas X, this features a little sample of his new song, 'Call Me By Your Name'.
Tide, 'The Jason Alexander Hoodie'
This is one of the better 'funny' Super Bowl 2021 commercials, featuring a still image (and eventual cameo appearance) from Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander. You can actually win the hoodie, if you live in the US – Tide is giving a few of them away. In retrospect, we're surprised there was never a Seinfeld episode about George Costanza wearing a hoodie featuring a giant picture of his own face.
Pringles, 'Flavor Stacking Space Return'
Many Pringles flavors get advertised in this elaborate advert, which, to be honest, we didn't laugh at. Astronauts return from space, only to find that NASA (or its legally acceptable equivalent for this commercial) eats Pringles now instead of doing space stuff. Meanwhile, a passing ship also ignores the astronauts, presumably leaving them to their deaths. Top stuff.
Skechers, 'Tony Romo for Skechers Max Cushioning'
Football guy Tony Romo and his wife Candice team up for this sneaker commercial. What if your shoes were full of additional cushioning? What if you ate a tall sandwich? These are the questions posed by this ad that left no impression on us whatsoever.
WeatherTech, 'WeatherTech Family Super Bowl Commercial 2021'
While this ad doesn't make it entirely clear what WeatherTech actually does, isn't it nice all those employees for the car accessories company are having such a great time doing their jobs? It's nice to just get a breather from celebrities selling stuff during the big game.
Paramount Plus, 'Sweet Victory'
This star-studded commercial advertises the upcoming rebranding of CBS All Access, Paramount Plus, which which will be the future home of all Star Trek TV shows in the US. Finally, the big guns come out in the form of Spongebob Squarepants, who'll feature heavily on the platform.
Indeed, 'The Rising'
This advert goes for hopeful but ends up landing on depressing, for us – especially with so many industries unfairly hit by the pandemic over the past year. Still, at least it doesn't feature a celebrity goofing off. Speaking of which...
State Farm Insurance, 'Drake From State Farm'
Paul Rudd and the real Drake appear in this commercial for insurance, which also features football players Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers (who we definitely know everything about). Imagine Drake working at State Farm and selling insurance! What a time to be alive.
Scotts & Miracle-Gro, 'Keep Growing'
This star-studded commercial for lawn-related products features a surprising number of cameos, including Martha Stewart and The Office's Leslie David Baker. This advertises a campaign to give 42 winners a bunch of money and a consultation with a gardening expert. John Travolta also turns up to do a dance.
Bud Light Seltzer, 'Last Year's Lemons'
This take on the old adage 'when life gives you lemons, make lemonade' is definitely one of the stronger ads at 2021's Super Bowl, with its Magnolia-esque image of lemons raining down from the sky reminding us of what a hard time 2020 was for basically everyone. That sure was a year we lived through. Still, we're not convinced that drinking Bud will make our lives any happier.
Dexcom, 'Official Big Game Commercial 2021 with Nick Jonas'
Handsome Disney Channel-grown lad Nick Jonas – himself living with Type-1 diabetes – advertises this wearable, which monitors your glucose using an app without the need for pricking your finger. That sounds useful, for those living with a similar condition.
Chipotle, 'Can a Burrito Change the World?'
A young boy ponders how a burrito can change the world in this ad for Chipotle, which is advertising the company's commitment to Food with Integrity, which includes committing $5 million to the "next generation of farmers" over the coming five years. That sounds nice.
Numerous 'legends', including Post Malone, team up to restore Bud Light to stores after an unspecified incident leaves a truck full of the beer tipped over. We'd probably have just suggested the two customers pick up a crate of Sierra Nevada pale ales instead.
General Motors, 'No Way Norway'
Will Ferrell stars in this commercial with Awkwafina and Kenan Thompson, which suggests (the horror!) that America might not be as good as another country at owning electric vehicles. Ferrell then heads to Norway, for some reason, with his new celebrity pals.
Inspiration4, 'Join the First All-Civilian Space Mission'
Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, this commercial advertises the Inspiration4 mission into orbit due to take place next year. Billionaire Jared Isaacman is giving away two seats to people who either donate to St Jude or set up their own store on a Shift4Shop platform. Here's the site if you're, er, interested in going into space.
DoorDash, 'The Neighborhood'
Sesame Street characters and Hamilton's Daveed Diggs team up for this ad, which is for food delivery app DoorDash. Even Cookie Monster makes an appearance, and the ad says a dollar will be donated to the Sesame Workshop from each order, which is probably no big deal to a company worth tens of billions of dollars.
Doritos 3D, 'Flat Matthew'
Experience the body horror of a 2D Matthew McConaughey turning 3D again in this good-natured but mildly disturbing commercial, which also briefly co-stars Mindy Kaling and Jimmy Kimmel. How did he get 2D in the first place? Is the real Matthew McConaughey still trapped in a vending machine? These are two of the questions we have after watching whatever this thing was.
Oatly, 'Wow wow no cow'
Oatly advertises its range of dairy-free beverages in this brain-melting ditty of a song. This one's more annoying than anything – but it's among the more notable choices this year because it actually aired in Oatly's native Sweden back in 2014, according to Ad Age. This was just an import for the 2021 Super Bowl.
When Universal delayed Fast and Furious 9 by a year at the start of the 2020 pandemic, some wondered if that was a little too extreme. Now, that May 28 release date almost feels a little too soon. Still, fans will no doubt be pleased to get a quick 30-second look at Dominic Toretto and company, including John Cena's Jakob, a new addition to the franchise who's apparently Dom's long-lost brother. Sure, why not.
Rocket Mortgage, 'Certain is Better'
Only in America would a mortgage commercial feature Tracy Morgan in the bath and a dad being forced to fight Dave Bautista in some kind of Fight Club scenario. 'Certain is Better' certainly gives us the urge to start a 30 Rock marathon again, anyway.
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