The stage is set for an all-out superstar showdown, and we’re not talking about the on-field action. With Super Bowl LVIII exploding onto television screens on Sunday 12 February, the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs will lock horns in a battle for the ages, but elsewhere, the real spectacle has already begun. Kicking off as early as last week, the best of the best Super Bowl ads for 2024 slowly started infiltrating our feeds, arriving on streaming platforms, YouTube and of course, TV. A proverbial buffet of big-name celebrities offering their cameo services to the highest bidder, the 2024 Super Bowl ad roster is as stacked as the sporting event itself. And for the amount of money some brands are paying, you’d expect nothing less.
Building on last year, advertisers have once again upped the ante for the best Super Bowl commercials. Littered with A-list stars, cameo appearances and pop-culture references, these big-budget clips are worth a watch. Here’s a roundup of the best commercials and high-profile misses for Super Bowl LVIII.
Table of Contents
- 1. Don’t Forget Uber Eats
- 2. Squarespace Marty & Francesca Make a Website
- 3. M&M’s Almost Champions Ring of Comfort
- 4. Superior Beach
- 5. Coors Light Chill Train
- 6. Pluto TV Couch Potato Farm
- 7. MTN DEW Have a Blast
- 8. NERDS Big Game Commercial (Gummy Clusters)
- 9. OREO Imagine a World Where the Twist Could Change Everything
- 10. BMW Super Bowl “Talkin Like Walken” (ft. Usher)
- How Much is a Super Bowl Ad in 2024?
- Why are Super Bowl Ads So Expensive?
- General FAQs
1. Don’t Forget Uber Eats
Brand: Uber Eats
Starring: Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer
In order to remember something, you’ve got to forget something else. Whoever came up with the premise for this Uber Eats commercial deserves a raise – it’s brilliant. Filled with an abundance of high-profile celebs, we witness the downside of knowing all that the delivery service has on offer.
2. Squarespace Marty & Francesca Make a Website
Brand: Squarespace
Starring: Martin Scorsese
When your catalogue includes hits like Raging Bull, Goodfellas and The Wolf of Wall Street, you pretty much get a pass to do whatever you want. This year, film legend Martin Scorsese, fresh off an Emmy Award-winning run with his latest effort Killers of the Flower Moon, teams up with his real-life daughter Francesca to bridge the gap between galactic bodies. In this sightly feeble attempt at plugging connection through Squaresquare, the duo work together to build a website for Marty’s (presumably fictional) new short film, which centres around aliens, friendship and high-quality typography. While it doesn’t make a heap of sense and falls short of the traditional Scorsese mark, it’s worth it just to hear old eyebrows himself shout ‘This website slaps, kid’.
3. M&M’s Almost Champions Ring of Comfort
Brand: M&M’s
Starring: Dan Marino, Terrell Owens, Bruce Smith
Not winning a ring is a tough pill to swallow for sports stars. There’s this prevailing notion that an athlete’s greatness is somehow diminished if they haven’t led their team to victory. Luckily, the chocolate champions at M&M’s have now crafted a unique solution for those who have come agonisingly close but fell short. Hosted by former superstar quarterback Dan Marino, who famously lost in the Super Bowl, this commercial unveils the brand’s jewellery designs tailored for these near-winners. Joining Marino are other high-profile “losers”, including former NFL stars Terrell Owens and Bruce Smith, along with Scarlett Johansson, a two-time Oscar nominee who fell short in both races.
Join Our Exclusive Community!
Keep up with the latest trends, best stories, and crucial updates from Man of Many direct to your inbox.
4. Superior Beach
Brand: Michelob Ultra
Starring: Leo Messi
Leo Messi is a master of seizing the moment. While the bar staff swap out a keg, the football wizard takes it upon himself to school an entire beach packed with fans. The commercial even features a cameo from former quarterback Dan Marino, adding a – potentially unnecessary – extra touch of star power, along with some coaching wisdom from Jason Sudeikis of Ted Lasso.
5. Coors Light Chill Train
Brand: Coors Light
Starring: LL COOL J, Lainey Wilson
After shooting to stardom as part of the breakout Western soap Yellowstone, country crooner Lainey Wilson now has her own Coors Light Super Bowl commercial. This one tackles the challenge of meeting your new girlfriend’s dad for the first time and finding out you are on opposite sides of the sporting support spectrum. How, in god’s great name, will we ever overcome this issue? Apparently, with a case of moderately priced light beer and a speeding locomotive helmed by ’90s rapper LL Cool J, of course.
6. Pluto TV Couch Potato Farm
Brand: Pluto TV
Starring: Person as a potato
More entertaining than it has any right to be, this Super Bowl ad for streaming service Pluto TV pokes fun at the bizarre binge-worthy series we simply hate to love. Taking the form of a wholesome, middle-America farming documentary, the commercial explores how true ‘couch potatoes’ are grown. From blockbuster movies and action-packed series to murder mysteries and romance journeys (sometimes all mixed into one), the endless swathe of content is making us receded further and further into our sofas, and Pluto TV has no issue reminding us of that fact.
7. MTN DEW Have a Blast
Brand: Mountain Dew
Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Nick Offerman
Nobody does apathy on screen better than Aubrey Plaza, but when it comes to Mountain Dew she’s “having a blast”. Better yet, she pulled in fellow Parks and Recreation co-star Nick Offerman for a little parody of Game of Thrones action.
8. NERDS Big Game Commercial (Gummy Clusters)
Brand: Nerds
Starring: Addison Rae
American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and TikTok mega-star (88 Million followers) Addison Rae stars in this quick ‘Flash Dance’ inspired burst for NERDS new gummy clusters. It’s about as cringe as you’d expect as the giant red gummy gets covered in our beloved NERDS.
9. OREO Imagine a World Where the Twist Could Change Everything
Brand: OREO
Starring: The Kardashians
“Cream on the left we get outta here, cream on the right we stay with those guys.” OREO cookies are taking the coin flip to a whole new level for this Super Bowl ad. There’s everything from dinosaurs to a Trojan Horse and “Kardashians” clan chief Kris Jenner in this nearly 2-minute commercial that encourages you to make critical life decisions based on the twist of an OREO. “So every detail about our family would be on TV? Who would watch that?”
10. BMW Super Bowl “Talkin Like Walken” (ft. Usher)
Brand: BMW
Starring: Christopher Walken, Usher
The new all-electric BMW i5 is “the real deal,” according to Christopher Walken (The Deer Hunter, Catch Me If You Can, A View to a Kill). He’s caught running errands around the city while onlookers, waiters, and valet attendants replicate his unique talking style and Queens, New York accent. Towards the end of the commercial Usher pops out of the blue, “did someone say yeah?” before Walken promptly reminds him that he has somewhere to be… the Super Bowl. According to BMW “there’s only one Christopher Walken, and there’s only one ultimate driving machine.”
How Much is a Super Bowl Ad in 2024?
Over the last decade, the cost of a Super Bowl ad has exploded into the millions, however, for advertisers, the unique opportunity is still an enticing deal. CBS, one of the networks responsible for the 2024 Super Bowl broadcast announced in November last year that it had sold out of Super Bowl commercials, with multiple 30-second placements selling for a record USD$7 million.
The figure, while astounding, merely follows an upward trajectory for the sporting event, which regularly drags in over 100 million viewers. Similarly, Fox ad sales chief Mark Evans told Deadline that the average price of a 30-second ad this year on Fox’s broadcast is between USD$6 million and USD$7 million (AUD$8.7 million to AUD$10.1 million).
“The fractionalization of attention because of streaming and social media makes the Super Bowl more important than ever,” Patrick Crakes, a former Fox Sports executive turned media consultant told CNN Business. “If you’re in business with the NFL and you’re advertising during the Super Bowl, you’re a real player…Think about a company like GoDaddy. GoDaddy invested in the Super Bowl for years, did a lot of crazy things to get attention inside it, and it helped their business,” he said. “I think it’s a great investment, even at this price tag.”
Despite the enormous value placed on the TV spot, it only makes up a portion of the total sum. Advertisers go all out in the pursuit of Super Bowl commercial perfection, tapping celebrities from across the globe for guest appearances, cameo performances and unique parodies, driving production costs to eye-watering amounts. Take Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant commercial from 2022, for example. The ad placement, headlined by Creedstar and all-around sex symbol Michael B. Jordan cost a whopping USD$26 million to produce, making it the most expensive advertisement in Super Bowl history.
For Super Bowl LVII, the production costs are likely to swell even further, with external economic factors such as inflation driving up expenditure. Throw in a dazzling halftime performance by Rihanna, her first major appearance since 2016, and you’ve got a recipe for a blockbuster bottom line. With a number of famous faces already attaching themselves to major brands, the sheer value of a Super Bowl ad in 2024 is only growing.
Why are Super Bowl Ads So Expensive?
Put simply, the Super Bowl is one of the most-watched entertainment spectacles on television each and every year. Broadcast across 225 different stations in more than 180 different countries, alongside around 450 radio stations, the sporting event is a perfect place to reveal a new brand messaging, product or tagline. In the past, classic ads like Wendy’s 1984 hit Where’s the Beef? and Budweiser’s Whassup? from 1999 made their debut at the Super Bowl before transcending the sporting arena and entering the cultural vernacular.
Last year, Super Bowl LVI was viewed by a staggering 99.18 million people, however, fell short of the all-time viewing record. The most-watched Super Bowl ever belongs to Super Bowl XLIX in 2015, which saw the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks do battle in front of 114.44 million viewers. Needless to say, with numbers like this, it’s little wonder brands are eager to jump at the lucrative, albeit very expensive, advertising opportunity.
General FAQs
A 30-second Super Bowl ad placement on CBS in 2024 will cost upwards of USD$7 million according to the brand.
At last count, Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant commercial from 2022 was the most expensive advertisement in Super Bowl history, costing a whopping USD$26 million to produce.
You’ll also like: