Let’s be honest, the Super Bowl game itself is not for everyone! We might not care which teams play or know Joe Burrows’ incredible redemption story. But there are two things that can bring both NFL fans and non-NFL fans together on the second Sunday of every February in the U.S., and those are homemade appetizers and Super Bowl commercials and also maybe a delicious cocktail. At a mere 6.5 million dollars for 30 seconds of airtime, the Super Bowl commercials of 2022 are worth discussing.

Let’s get into the best of them!

Legalize Sketchers with Willie Nelson

One of two commercials featuring Willie Nelson by Skechers this year, this ad struck a more humorous note. It features Nelson campaigning to legalize Skechers, as he figured they must be illegal because they are just so darn comfortable. Nelson’s closing line is, “well pass the Skechers,” after explaining that he figured Skechers were safe to wear to a concert — but not to a kid’s soccer game. As both an old-school country music fan, and a fan of comfortable shoes this commercial was my favorite! I preferred this more humorous bit over Skechers other commercial because it touched on Nelson’s work as an activist. This commercial, in my opinion, also had a little more nuance to it. The “On the Road Again” idea has been done before.

Cutwater Spirits “Here’s to the Lazy Ones”

Cutwater Spirits of San Diego made their Super Bowl debut with a mostly black and white commercial for their canned cocktails. It features a series of people working ‘smarter’ not harder. As an avid at-home-DIY-solution-ist, this commercial paid homage to genius/lazy people like me. I loved it and coincidentally also love their Spicy Bloody Mary! I think this commercial is effective because it is relatable. Ever since I was a little goldfish-eating kid, I’ve found ways to make life easier for myself and a little harder for the people who have to clean up after me. In my humble opinion, being a little lazy is very human.

Amazon’s “Rings of Power” Teaser

Amazon Studios released a teaser for their upcoming series “The Rings of Power” to their hungry audience as a commercial during the Super Bowl. This series will be the most expensive television show to date and premiers on Prime Video on September 2nd. As a Tolkien fan myself, this “commercial” though nontraditional made the cut for best Super Bowl commercials of all time. My brother, who is the confirmed biggest LOTRs fan of all time, made me do it.

Toyota’s “Keeping Up with the Joneses“

Toyota brought on Tommy Lee Jones, Leslie Jones, and Rashida Jones to show off the speed and power of their new Tundras, ending the bit with Nick Jonas who was trying to “Keep up with the Joneses” the entire time. The twist at the end of the commercial made me smile. Keeping up with the Jonases definitely has a more 21st-century ring to it!

T-Mobile with Miley Cyrus

One of the numerous advertisements for feuding wireless connectors, this T-Mobile commercial poked fun at their competitors’ 5G phones. Miley Cyrus sings a song pleading with Verizon and AT&T customers to save their 5G phones and switch to T-Mobile.

Polestar “No Compromises”

Though I was disappointed not to see a commercial from the Super Bowl veterans, Coca-Cola and Tide, I was happy to see commercials from many first-timers like electric vehicle company Polestar.

The spot, titled “No Compromises” is visually sleek and the idea is straightforward. It shows angles of the Polestar 2 electric vehicle with the word “No” followed by negative words directed at other electric vehicle companies. They slyly fired shots at both Tesla and Volkswagen with their stylish commercial. To me, this spot is reminiscent of Apple’s iPhone 8 reveal video.

Honorable Mentions

Marvel Studios’ “Doctor Strange 2: Multiverse of Madness“

Teasing the Marvel fans with a new dimension of Strange, Disney+ also released a trailer for their hottest new release. Generating more than 50 million views across their platforms already, Doctor Strange is sure to satisfy their “patients” when it releases on May 6th. I really enjoyed the dramatic camera movements used in the commercial. The spiral transition at 0:17 seconds is reminiscent of the original Doctor Strange movie. Camera moves like this are meant to disorient the viewers and, if done correctly, can encapsulate an audience. How maddeningly adventurous! As with all of the Marvel commercials it was full of details that fans are gushing and theorizing about. Check out this Buzzfeed article on just that.

Planet Fitness’ “What’s Gotten Into Lindsay?”

What’s better than an early 2000’s celebrity that is ready to make fun of themselves? There are plenty… But! Planet Fitness‘ Super Bowl commercial featuring Mean Girls‘ iconic Lindsay Lohan that lightly touches on her… well troubled past wasn’t a bad way to go. This commercial hooked, lined and sunk all millennials in one fell swoop.

Coinbase’s Nostalgic QR Code

Perhaps the most memorable of 2022’s Super Bowl commercials was Coinbase‘s floating QR code. The commercial was reminiscent of the bouncing DVD logo that we all know and love. They were so successful in their advertisement, that offered fifteen dollars in free bitcoin to all who joined their cryptocurrency platform, that their site crashed shortly after the spot aired. The best part about the commercial? The floating QR code actually hit the corner flush at the end. Now that is satisfying.

That’s a wrap on the best Super Bowl commercials of 2022. Drop a comment on our Facebook and tell us which Super Bowl commercial was your favorite!