Contrary to popular belief, the best Super Bowl commercials can be seen without turning on the big game. Yes, if you’re the kind who is thinking about skipping the Super Bowl live stream this year, know you can see all the Super Bowl ads without even finding CBS.
Proving our point, many of the best Super Bowl commercials have already hit the internet. The early winner out of the gate stars Michael B. Jordan as a hunky version of Amazon’s Alexa, while Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are on his tail thanks to a retooled version of Shaggy’s hit song.
Robinhood tries to do some damage control
After getting pummeled recently in the GameStop stock brouhaha, Robinhood is trying to repair its image as the the stock trading app for regular, every day people. “We are all investors,” its Super Bowl commercial says. Well, as long as you’re not buying up stonks as part of a Reddit campaign.
Michael B. Jordan is Alexa’s Body
Imagines a world where the smouldering Michael B. Jordan (Creed, Black Panther) is the latest Alexa-powered smart speaker. It all takes place when a designer is admiring the sleek new design of the Amazon Echo (4th gen), and before she can finish the sentence “I literally couldn’t imagine a more beautiful vessel for Alexa to be… inside,” inspiration strikes. Specifically, she sees a bus drive by with a sign for Jordan’s new Prime Video series Without Remorse. And that’s when her imagination runs wild with a new Alexa speaker that looks fit challenge for the throne of Wakanda.
Cheetos feat. Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and Shaggy
Yes, we’re having throwback Thursday on Super Bowl Sunday. What starts out as a cute celebrity couple dispute over leaving neon orange crumbs everywhere turns into a micro music video. Yes, they got Shaggy to perform a rewritten version of his song “It Wasn’t Me” from back in 2000, and this time he’s speedily waxing poetic about Cheeto dust.
Uber Eats: Wayne’s World reunion
Mike Myers and Dana Carvey are still broadcasting from Wayne’s basement after all these years. They’re ordering Uber Eats for the “big game,” which for legal reasons, they cannot name.
Paramount Plus has Patrick Stewart and Colbert at the summit
At the top of an ad for the rebranding of CBS All Access, Dora The Explorer and her friends found … more ViacomCBS representatives! This spot should not work as well as it does, but Patrick Stewart and Stephen Colbert have charm for days. A bit of self-awareness of the absurdity of it all helps too.
Squarespace: 5 to 9 by Dolly Parton
Because it seems like you need to work two jobs to get everything you need, Squarespace contracted the legendary Dolly Parton to take a break from funding Covid-19 vaccine studies and put a new spin on her classic “9 to 5.” This time, we’ve got a little tribute to the entrepreneurial energy, where people are creating a neat-looking website for their side-hustle. We’re not sure the “5 to 9” rewording was necessary, but maybe that was cheaper for Squarespace than licensing the original song.
Tide says “wash the Jason Alexander hoodie”
A photo can say a thousand words, but a dirty sweatshirt bearing the Seinfeld star’s face mostly gives you one long extended scream. As the Joey Scarbury song “Believe It or Not” plays in the background, we meet a teen who refused to clean his hoodie. And that garment is showing how upset it is, as it jumps from one exasperated photo of Jason Alexander to another.
Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercial that isn’t
Anheuser-Busch is notably not spending the money for Super Bowl ad time this year. Instead, the company made this ad about how the country is trying to work together to stop Covid-19. Instead of playing this ad during the big game, Anheuser-Busch is taking money from its ad budget and putting it towards “COVID-19 vaccines awareness and education.”
Sam Adams lets loose Budweiser’s Clydesdales
Since Budweiser didn’t employ the iconic Clydesdales this year for a Super Bowl, Sam Adams cheekily frees them to rampage around Boston.
Pringles asks “where is everyone?”
These days, we’re all wondering where everyone’s going to come back. The astronauts at the start of this Pringles commercial have a different question: “where is everyone?” And in this ad, it’s revealed the world is too busy stacking their snacks. That’s right, the quest to find more combinations of Pringles is enough to keep NASA (or its non-union equivalent) from paying attention to the latest crew returning home.
Scotts & Miracle-Gro make us cringe with Travolta
In a moment of intentional cringe, we’ve got John Travolta dad-dancing it up in this blink-and-you-miss-them ad packed full of celebrities. From Martha Stewart to Leslie David Baker (Stanley from The Office), Scotts & Miracle-Gro have teamed up to get a bunch of stars to get your attention for their contest. In the ad, the younger Travolta (Ella) tries to show her dad how to do a TikTok dance, and Baker is not exactly thrilled.
Michelob Ultra ponders a ‘happy’ Super Bowl
The beer brand hits you in the feels with this compilation of big-name athletes including Serena Williams, Peyton Manning and Anthony Davis. They’re playing darts, drinking with friends and generally enjoying life. “Are you happy because you win, or do you win because you’re happy?” the ad asks.
M&Ms are the way say ‘sorry’
This year’s M&M’s Super Bowl commercial riffs on cultural touchstones du jour by featuring people apologizing for everything from mansplaining to calling someone Karen (though it is her actual name) to throwing a gender reveal party. Dan Levy from Schitt’s Creek makes a disturbing cameo at the end.
Doritos 3D with Matthew McConaughey
Doritos has released several teasers for its Super Bowl commercial, which presumably will reveal a “new look” for Matthew McConaughey. You can hear him off-screen in one teaser, while Jimmy Kimmel and Mindy Kaling react with shock at seeing him in another.
Hellman’s Mayo Magic transforms Amy Schumer
In this teaser, Amy Schumer steps into her fridge full of Hellman’s mayonnaise bottles and somehow … becomes a bird? We’re curious to see how the full Super Bowl commercial turns out.
Bud Light Legends are the Avengers of beer
Bud Light’s Super Bowl commercial teams up regular people (and Post Malone) to save the day when a beer shipment goes awry. Beer drinkers, assemble!
Bud Light 2: When life gives you lemons …
Bud Light’s second Super Bowl commercial touts its new flavored alcoholic seltzers by dunking on how terrible things were in 2020. But in this case, things were even worse because it was raining lemons everywhere, from socially-distant weddings to spectator-less baseball games.
GM: Will Ferrell vows to crush Norway
GM continues its push into electric cars with this spot starring Will Ferrell, who gets all HULK SMASH when he learns that Norway produces more EVs than America. He even recruits Kenan Thompson to teach Norway a lesson.
Chipotle
Chipotle veers away from pandemic commentary and jokes, choosing to focus on the environment. Its ad highlights the fast food chain’s responsible sourcing of ingredients, at a time when customers are concerned about climate change.
Frito-Lays ‘Twas the Night Before the Super Bowl’
Marshawn Lynch reads this tale (next to bowls of Lays, Tostitos and Doritos chips), which recreates the “Immaculate Reception” and features the Manning brothers in matching pajamas.
Toyota spotlights Paralympic swimmer Jessica Long
For its Super Bowl ad, Toyota has a tearjerker that focuses on Jessica Long, an elite Paralympic swimmer. The spot is meant to tie in to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which were delayed to this year and still may not happen.