The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl — but which Super Bowl commercial came out on top?
For 28 years, MSU College of Communications Arts and Sciences faculty members have been ranking Super Bowl ads. This year, Robert Kolt, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations, says they picked a pickleball-themed Michelob Ultra ad featuring Willem Dafoe and Catherine O'Hara as the best.
“The beer guys get it,” Kolt said. “They know how to really create something that’s fun and funny and memorable and will make a sale long after the game.”
He says the commercial was good for several reasons.
“I don’t play pickleball, but it was cute,” Kolt said. “It was a great hustle. It was fun. It was funny. It had everything in it that makes a great Super Bowl ad.”
Faculty members chose a Mountain Dew ad featuring singer-songwriter Seal as an actual seal as their second favorite. Kolt says that approach was unusual but effective.
“I would hate to be the creative director going into a pitch meeting saying, ‘Oh, here’s an idea, let’s get Seal as a seal,'” Kolt said. “But boy, was that a great ad.”
Kolt’s group chose a commercial for WeatherTech featuring grannies who were born to be wild as its third favorite.
Fourth place went to an ad for Google that tells the moving tale of a father's relationship with his daughter. And Novartis was voted fifth best, with a commercial that put a spotlight on breast health.
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.