Best and Worst Ads of the Super Bowl? Top Creatives and Execs Make Their Picks!

In the advertising world, Super Bowl Sunday is about anything but football. It’s about the commercials! Ad agency pros from throughout Chicago chatted with Screen about highlights and lowlights from the epic event…

SCREEN: What was your favorite spot of the Super Bowl?

Havas Head of Production Vincent Geraghty: I’d have to say my favorite spot of the night was the Lay’s Seth [Rogen] and Paul [Rudd] spot.  While the spot used celebrity, it didn’t rely on it.  The spot creates a great story line of friendship and misadventures tied together through potato chips.  Seth and Paul also have great chemistry. Click here for all of Vincent’s faves from the night.

Sarofsky Creative Director Erin Sarofsky: That Kia robot dog spot gave me all the feels. Reminded me of the IKEA lamp spot from a million years ago… Here are all of Erin’s picks and pans from the Super Bowl!

Quriosity Executive Producer Qadree Holmes: Coinbase hands down. It was simple and literally stood out from all the competition. Like everyone else I grabbed my phone to find out what it was for. What else did Q love and not love? Click here!

Executive Producer Keith Jamerson: The ad I personally enjoyed the most was Rocket Mortgage. Funny, entertaining, unexpected, and really smart. Here are all of Keith’s picks from the night!

Director Justin Casselle: Maybe I’m biased because of my connection to Northeast Ohio, but by far my favorite spot of the night was LeBron James Crypto.com commercial… Here is more of what Justin loved and didn’t love!

SCREEN: What was your least favorite spot of the night or a spot you felt could have been more successful?

Optimus Editor Randy Palmer: Hated the Meta spot. Its takeaway was that they are buying up your memories and using them as false guideposts to a fake future. It made me cry, for reasons they didn’t intend. Click here for more from Randy.

Edelman VP Dani Jackson-Smith: The one that really tried too hard for me was Google Pixel. My friends and I were still cracking jokes today with the thought that a person of dark complexion couldn’t be photographed until Google Pixel came along to save us all. Here are all of Dani’s picks!

Tessa Films Executive Producer Lisa Masseur: Salesforce – with Matthew McConaughey – I know what they were going for with the misdirect, but I guess I didn’t buy it, and either way, thought it was pretty boring. Click here for more from Lisa!

SCREEN: What would you like to see more or less of in terms of advertising in next year’s Super Bowl?

HighDive Executive Creative Director Patrick Burke: It was nice to see comedy come back strong. I think we were all tired of brands pandering to us “in these trying times.” More from Patrick right here!

Cinematographer Christopher Rejano: More: Paul Rudd… Less: Total Eclipse of the Heart. Here are all of Christopher’s picks and pans.

Another Country Composer Peter Erazmus: I feel many brands did a good job of just trying to keep things fun. Hopefully this continues into next year. Click here for all of Peter’s picks!

Yessian Associate Creative Director Jarrett Farkas: For next year I would really love to see more of these anti-spots. The Coinbase QR code and Polestar ones stick out in particular as really interesting and inventive ways to change up the game…. Here are all of Jarrett’s faves from the night.

Casting Director Virginia Anello: Overall I thought the ‘celeb spot’ game was much stronger this year than most years. Zendaya selling seashells (Squarespace), Larry David being wrong (Crypto), Paul Rudd fainting (Lays), Jim Carrey and Geraldine Viswanathan Cable Guying (Verizon), Jennifer Coolidge getting tricked (Uber Eats), the Austin Powers cast reuniting (General Motors)… I could go on. Solid year. Click here for all of Virginia’s faves and not-faves!