The year of 2024 brought us Super Bowl LVIII and, with that, Taylor Swift x Travis Kelce with the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the San Francisco 49ers. This clash of the titans brings some of the best (and most expensive) commercials every year, and 2024 is no exception. Evan Rosenthal, Setup’s Business Development Manager and the team’s biggest football fan, shares some of his favorite Super Bowl ads from this year.

“Football is a large part of my life, and although I have always been more of a College Football fan, the Super Bowl is the exception. I love the excitement surrounding the game, and, most of all, I love seeing the non-football aspects. The halftime show (especially this year’s love letter to Atlanta), the celebrity appearances (and the drama that comes with being a celebrity couple flying from Tokyo to show support), the Super Bowl parties and snacks with friends, and maybe my favorite part - the commercials.”

The following are Evan’s favorite ads, in no particular order, with some comments about what works and questions to ask yourself when creating a marketing campaign:

Super Bowl Ad #1 - Google Pixel

Google’s latest Pixel ad is a great example of how to show off your product’s features while also eliciting an emotional response from the viewer. Without alienating anyone, it also does a great job of showcasing how technological advancements help empower people with disabilities. In 2023, Forbes highlighted that inclusivity, purpose, and lifting up communities is a rising expectation for consumers. Google is continuing to push the barrier of what is possible, making their products accessible to all of their consumers.

Food for thought: How are you thinking about your entire consumer base? Do you engage with different types of focus groups to get different perspectives? Is your team representative of your target consumer? How often are your ideas challenged? Is your solution servicing a population based on what they want, or is it based on assumptions?

Super Bowl Ad #2 - Volkswagen

An ad that relies heavily on nostalgia fits perfectly into this year’s Super Bowl lineup, along with many other brands tapping into their heritage to take consumers back to “the good ol’ days.”

Year after year, marketers leverage nostalgia as a clever tactic to appeal to their audience’s pathos. We often see it in media with reboots and spin-offs (like Cobra Kai or Stranger Things). This marketing strategy connects and unites generations across the board. Super Bowl LVI really capitalized on this marketing tactic in 2022.

Food for thought: How is your content resonating with your target audience? Is it appealing to their ethos and logos? Most importantly, how does it resonate with their pathos? An emotional connection to a brand creates brand loyalty.

Super Bowl Ad #3 - A Quiet Place: Day One

I don’t really enjoy scary movies, and this ad definitely seems to indicate this movie will be just as scary as the original A Quiet Place, but this trailer for the prequel does such a great job of utilizing sound to tell a story. Along with Lupita Nyong’o’s expressive face, the trailer conveys a drastic change in the world without using more than a couple of words.

Food for thought: How are you creatively telling your story? What do you want people to walk away saying after they see your advertisement?

Super Bowl Ad #4 - Bic EZ Reach

With a smokin’ cast like Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart, and Willie Nelson, it's obvious that Bic is leaning heavily into the unspoken truth of what their lighters are mainly used for. A tongue in cheek way of marketing to a consumer group that is normally ignored.

Food for thought: Who is your audience? Has it changed over the years? How can you honor old consumers while addressing your new audience? Think about the Stanley Cup and how it was marketed to workmen and outdoorsmen for a century, and now it’s the hottest craze for women in 2024. Are you listening to your consumer?

Super Bowl Ad #5 - BodyArmor

This ad leans into the A.I. craze by using A.I. generated video clips to emphasize their anti-artificial sweeteners mantra. I am a huge proponent of the advancement of A.I., but this is an interesting use of current drawbacks to enhance the messaging of a product.

Food for thought: What is a relevant topic, and how can you use it to capitalize on your message?

Super Bowl Ad #6 - Booking.com

I am a sucker for anything 30 Rock related, so this ad had to make the list. Tina Fey, Jane Krakowski, and Jack McBrayer all make an appearance along with Glenn Close. A fun ad with recognizable faces always makes a great combo.

Food for thought: Think about your product’s purpose and what feeling the consumer can gain. If the goal is for the consumer to have fun, then let the ad lean into that specific feeling!

Super Bowl Ad #7 - CeraVe

My last choice for this Super Bowl is CeraVe because of the ridiculously clever collaboration with Michael Cera. This ad is silly, but in an endearing way. Using celebrities to market products and services for their appearance rather than relevance is so commonplace. This ad stood out because the celebrity has a connection to the product (like sharing a name) and was not a typical celebrity known for their appearance or “beauty.” The whole ad resonates more because it seems more personal and human.

Food for thought: How is your product relevant to your customer? Are your ads appealing to your consumer base?

Here are some standout ads that stood out to me for all the wrong reasons.

#1 - Homes.com

In contrast to number 7 on my list above, this is an example of how using a popular celebrity in your commercial does not necessarily indicate that consumers will connect with it. I love Dan Levy, but this commercial does not give me any information. I also don’t see a connection between Levy and the brand, so it is harder for me to believe that this is an actual endorsement from him.

#2 - Temu

Temu’s short ad ran over and over during the Super Bowl, and, in my opinion, lacks content and feeling. The animated spot shows a woman turning a town gold and showing prices for different items if you were to buy them on Temu. Lacking a story, a connection to the consumer, or really anything other than flashy animation, made this ad fall flat. Maybe the hope was to get the song stuck in people’s heads…which they definitely achieved.

There were a number of ads that could have made this list, and I’m sure you will see them on listicles for days to come. I am such a sucker for well-made advertisements that I can find good in just about all of them.

The main takeaway here is that people generally want to walk away with a good feeling when they see your ad. Audiences want to feel connected - whether it is from an emotional response, or an activated response, people find purpose in connection.

Rating and ranking advertisements is a sport of its own. And, although I have my opinions, it is also obvious to me that the marketers in 2024 have been hard at work coming up with unique and effective ads of all kinds to break through the noise and stand out.

I love the Big Game and can’t wait to make another list of my favorites in 2025! Cheers! (And, unlike the game, we only mentioned Taylor once. So that’s a win!)

We regularly comment on the marketing industry, as well as interview marketing professionals to get their thoughts on specific industries and what to keep an eye on.

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