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The Best Commercials from the 2020 Big Game

Football’s biggest night is all about the long-awaited competition between the NFL’s two leading teams of the season. But let’s be honest… ...

Football’s biggest night is all about the long-awaited competition between the NFL’s two leading teams of the season. But let’s be honest… for us (and for millions of viewers at home), it’s all about the commercials, the memes and the social media buzz. Every brand out there is vying for our attention, and the competition to stand out on TV and across social media is fierce.

This year was no exception, and while the athletes were working hard day in and day out to prepare for the big game, creative teams were sweating bullets off the field and behind the scenes. These teams and brands worked overtime to produce stunning visual content and big-budget video campaigns.

Now, we want to take a moment to honor them. Here’s a look at some of our favorite Super Bowl commercials and video projects seen before and during the game.

Pregame ‘Appetizers’

Before the big game even started, brands flooded our social media feeds to reveal their video campaigns, with memorable moments and celebrity cameos to build the hype.

Check out this impressive lineup of last night’s most anticipated commercials, posted on social media before Super Bowl Sunday.

Doritos

Doritos always brings their A-game for the Super Bowl. This time, they pulled out all the stops, combining arguably the biggest song of the last year, Old Town Road, with arguably the best flavor of Doritos… Cool Ranch.

 

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Can’t nobody tell Sam Elliott nothin’

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Bring in Sam Elliot and Lil Nas X himself for an old western themed dance-off, and you’ve got another winning commercial. Doritos’ creativity and oddball sensibility never disappoint.

 

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Yep. The ranch just got cooler. #CoolRanchDance

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OLAY

“Is there enough space in space for women?” Cue the empowering outer space-themed commercial from Olay, featuring several fantastic women, including Taraji P. Henson, Busy Philipps, Lilly Singh, Katie Couric and astronaut Nicole Stott.

We love this campaign, not only because of its inspiring message, but because of its charitable social media campaign, too. For every tweet, OLAY promised to give $1 to Girls Who Code. Now that’s a campaign we can get behind. Well done, team – we hope it continues to soar!

Hyundai

We may not be from Bahston, but boy do we know a thing or two about wicked smaht features. This pre-Super Bowl spot from Hyundai highlights their new “Smart Park” feature and of course they took advantage of Boston accents.

Pahking the cah has never been so easy, and Hyundai called upon three New England celebs to talk it up. We can’t get enough of this Boston banter between John Krasinki, Rachel Dratch and Chris Evans.

Mountain Dew

This past year we saw the release of Doctor Sleep, a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s legendary horror flick, The Shining. With the murder movie top of mind, Mountain Dew stepped up and decided to recreate an iconic scene or two featuring Brian Cranston, Tracee Ellis Ross and their new sugar free soda.

You know the line… just replace “Johnny” with “Mountain Dew Zero” and there you have it. Did you miss the quick shot of soda pouring from the elevators, or Bryan Cranston starring as the two scary twins? We love a good movie spoof. It made an even bigger splash when the ad played live on TV, too.

Microsoft

You have to see this powerful tribute to Katie Powers, Offensive Assistant Coach for the San Francisco 49ers. It’s a childhood dream come true and a motivating message for women and aspiring leaders everywhere.

“People tell me that people aren’t ready to have a woman lead, but these guys have been learning from women their whole lives. Moms, grandmas, teachers…”

Cheers to Katie Sowers for paving the way and for inspiring so many girls and young women to pursue their dreams. This pregame piece was a perfect video to get us hyped for game day and for all the hardworking people that put in work for a moment like this.

Amazon

We’ve all become quite accustomed to shouting commands aloud to our smartphones, smart homes and even our cars. Alexa, what would we do without you? In this ad from Amazon, we take a journey through time after Ellen Degeneres and Portia DeRossi ponder what life would be like without voice activated commands.

We love this funny take on what life was like before “smart assistants.” What’s smart is pairing up the irresistible Ellen Degeneres with the ever-popular “Alexa,” alongside notable moments in history, a dragon (because who doesn’t love a dragon?) and a classic Lil Wayne song right at the end, too.

Jeep

 

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Sunday isn’t just game day, it’s Groundhog Day and it’s going to be a doozy! #JeepGroundhogDay #02022020

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Since the big game happened to fall on Groundhog Day this year, and we’re in the era of reboots and nostalgia, this next commercial from Jeep was everything we could’ve hoped for. Bill Murray returns for a very special Groundhog Day, with a replica of the original set and an old supporting character too (other than the groundhog, himself)!

Well done to the team behind this one! They really pulled out all the stops to match the old movie, while bringing a spark of something new – the 2020 Jeep Gladiator and a catch phrase that’s sure to stick: “No day is the same in a Jeep Gladiator.”

Gametime Moments

After all the pregame hype and one too many buffalo wings, everyone’s eyes are drawn to the TV, awaiting the over-the-top commercials, big-time celebrity cameos, world premiere movie trailers, and, of course, the game itself.

Here are a few of the best mid-game moments we caught from the small screen and across social media. Kudos to the creative teams behind these videos, who worked to create an impactful, buzz worthy commercial spot.

NFL

What a way to start the show. This kick-off commercial from the NFL was easily one of the best of the night. The clip followed a young aspiring athlete as he ran through a myriad of cities, obstacles and football legends to bring it all “home.”

“Take it to the house kid!”

Not only was this video an incredibly well made homage to the NFL’s long history, it was also an exciting and uplifting look at the future. When the star of the clip actually ran out onto the field, we got goosebumps. Professional football has a bright future with little superstars like this bunch taking the field by storm.

New York Life

According to New York Life and their moving Super Bowl commercial, the Ancient Greeks had four words for love: Philía, affection that grows from friendship; Storge, the kind of love you have for a grandparent or brother; Eros, the uncontrollable urge to say “I love you;” and Agape, love as an action.

Combine a short history lesson with a tug on your heartstrings and you’ve got a video campaign that sticks. Commercials created by those who care are always winners in our books, and this is a great example of an insurance ad that shows the impact and long-lasting service of a brand like New York Life.

Planters (#BabyNut)

Another cute baby meme has been born!

It all started nearly two weeks ago when Planters tragically announced the death of their big time snack mascot Mr. Peanut.

Fictional characters, snack brands, news outlets and peanut fans across the internet showed up with messages of love and support. After the devastating news made its rounds, we knew Mr. Peanut’s memorial service would take place live on Sunday evening.

Yesterday when their commercial ran, Planters came ready to make some noise. The literal rebirth of the peanut brand was trending last night, as #BabyNut rose from the ashes – with a little help from the Kool Aid Man’s magic tears. 

Watch out Baby Groot and Baby Yoda… Baby Nut is here and the action continues on social media! There are now tons of memes, merch and more rolling out as the tale of Baby Nut continues. We can only imagine where he’ll go from here.

Google

We’re not crying, you’re crying. Amongst the loud music and the rowdy cheers, it seems the world stood still for this moving commercial from Google. It tells the story of a man remembering beautiful and heartwarming details about his wife, Loretta. With more reliable and responsive smart assistants available these days, a simple reminder is just a few words away.

And while memories fade with old age, this powerful commercial shows that technology is often here to help.

Your turn!

Which commercials caught your eye? Let us know your favorite video campaigns from this year’s big game by tweeting at us @getlibris!

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