One of my favorite traditions is watching the Super Bowl with my family. Before I began college, every year we would get together and make game day foods — among my favorites were my father’s crispy chicken — get on the couch and start the game.
Every year I get so excited for this day, because, in addition to the countless memories with family and friends, I get to watch some of the most entertaining, influential commercials of the year. In under 60 seconds, a simple advertisement can have you laughing, crying, looking up the name of that movie from the trailer you just saw, whistling a jingle or repeating a catchy slogan. Commercials are compelling — and for good reason. Their purpose is to tell you a story about how their products and services can best serve you and our greater society.
This year, I celebrated the Super Bowl at Vanderbilt by piling into my friend’s apartment and having a girl’s night! We all brought something for a big potluck dinner and watched the game together. In honor of the recent Super Bowl festivities, here are my ratings for 10 of the most memorable Super Bowl commercials of 2024.
Pluto TV
Celebrity Endorsement: Couch Potatoes!
My friends told me that the Pluto TV couch potatoes had to be included, so here it is. While I found it a little odd to be advertising a television channel by portraying it as something that is often regarded as having a negative connotation, I did find the advertisement to have unique social commentary and some very funny one-liners about TV, including, “I like anything where a hot person throws a glass of wine at another hot person.”
Rating: 5/10
Pringles
Celebrity Endorsement: Chris Pratt
Chris Pratt has played a number of iconic characters over the years and now Pringles has brought him in as Mr. P, the fun little chip guy with the fancy mustache that you can find on any Pringles can. Sporting a thick fluffy mustache for the commercial, the resemblance between Pratt and Mr. P is uncanny, as even the Pringles can itself unlocks Pratt’s phone using the facial scan. I thought this idea was very clever, but I was left with an important question: Was the mustache real?
Rating: 6/10
DoorDash
Celebrity Endorsement: NA
Before the Super Bowl, DoorDash announced that it was going to DoorDash items from all of the ads that were featured in the Super Bowl to one winner who was selected by entering the promo code found on their very own Super Bowl commercial. I found Door Dash’s commercial particularly funny because it completely fooled one of my friends who was trying to type in the initial promo code, only for it to immediately branch off into the longest, most complicated code I have ever seen. The code expanded throughout a house scene that contained all of the items the winner would receive such as peanut butter M&M’s, Mountain Dew Baja Blast, a BMW i5, Popeyes chicken and more. Referencing the other Super Bowl commercials in the code, I found this to be a clever cross-advertisement that provided a recap of all of the products showcased throughout the game.
Rating: 6/10
Popeyes
Celebrity Endorsement: Ken Jeong
With another comedian to ramp up the funny factor, Popeyes made use of Ken Jeong’s loveable silliness by having him react to modern technologies like Roomba vacuums, drone deliveries and Popeye’s new chicken wings after being frozen for over 50 years.
Rating: 7/10
Uber Eats
Celebrity Endorsement: Jennifer Aniston, Usher, David and Victoria Beckham, David Schwimmer and Jelly Roll
“In order to remember something you have to forget something else,” said Jennifer Aniston as she got her UberEats delivery and then proceeded to “forget” working with her co-star from “Friends,” David Schwimmer. Uber Eats took these celebrities and had them forget things that were extremely relevant to their career or identity in exchange for receiving their order — my personal favorite, Jelly Roll wondering if someone doodled on his face. I guess remembering to order food using UberEats is more important than remembering that you got face tattoos.
Rating: 8/10
Mountain Dew
Celebrity Endorsement: Aubrey Plaza and Nick Offerman
This commercial was hilarious, depicting “America’s sweetheart” Aubrey Plaza “having a Blast”— a Mountain Dew Baja Blast that is. The scenes ranged from her at a children’s party, getting stuck in an elevator and even riding on a dragon with past co-star Nick Offerman. The ad played into Plaza’s dry, sarcastic, deadpan humor and the special feature of Offerman made it feel like a Parks and Recreation reunion, which seemed like a “blast”— Mountain Dew really capitalized on the play on words with this one.
Rating: 9/10
Michelob Ultra
Celebrity Endorsement: Lionel Messi, Dan Marino and Jason Sudeikis
As a long-time soccer fan I was excited to see representation from the sport by one of the best players of all time, along with some special features from the entertainment world. Lionel Messi brought the footwork while waiting for his drink on the beach, as impressed onlookers joined in on the game. Jason Sudeikis, who plays Ted Lasso in the Apple TV+ special “Ted Lasso,” and Dan Marino added to the fun with their references to soccer and football. Overall, this commercial had a great summer feel to it, and “Quando Quando Quando” really added to the laidback vibe of having a Michelob Ultra beer on the beach.
Rating: 9/10
Verizon
Celebrity Endorsement: Beyoncé
In this collaboration, Beyoncé broke the internet with her announcement and release of two new singles. Yet, despite several astonishing feats depicted in this advertisement — including running her own Lemonade stand, playing the saxophone, introducing the latest technology “BeyoncAI” and announcing that she is running for “Beyonce of the United States”— Verizon’s service could not be broken by her. That is a good thing though, because otherwise, I would not have been able to search for the release date of “Act II.”
Rating: 10/10
Kia
Celebrity Endorsement: N/A
Something I noticed this year about the Super Bowl commercials is that a lot of them utilized celebrity endorsement to build their appeal. However, what I really appreciated about Kia’s advertisement was its full reliance on storytelling. This touching commercial depicted a little girl at her figure skating competition who was sad that her grandfather was not able to come to see her. Driving up the snowy mountain to visit him, together the father and daughter were able to bring the performance to him, with their local pond lit by the Kia headlights. I might have gotten a little teary-eyed during this one, which is how you know it was good.
Rating: 10/10
NFL
Celebrity Endorsement: A plethora of football players
The NFL’s commercials highlighted how they are addressing important issues such as bullying, mental health and accessibility in the League and beyond. My favorite of their advertisements was the one with the adorable “Kwesi,” which depicted a young boy in Ghana chasing his dream of becoming a football player. Highlighting the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program, I found this commercial to be heartwarming and clever in its delivery.
Rating: 10/10
The intriguing thing about the Super Bowl is that there is something for everyone. Whether you are watching the game, waiting for the commercials, spending time with family and friends, singing along to the halftime show or a mix of all of them, the festivities share an opportunity to bring people together. I want to give a special thank you to my friends who helped me decide which commercials to include while we watched the game together. Tuning in with them brought back the fondness of my childhood memories and helped me make some new ones.
