The top 10 Super Bowl LVIII ads, according to creatives

Millions of football, Usher and Taylor Swift fans tuned into Super Bowl LVIII live on CBS on Sunday to find out who would take the Lombardi Trophy: the Kansas City Chiefs or the San Francisco 49ers.

In what turned out to be a close game, viewers were riveted by celebrity appearances and a Halftime Show that left Americans of all ages swooning for the King of R&B.

Fans also tuned into the ads — more than 60 of them.

Brands across all categories unveiled commercials throughout the game and into overtime, but only a few made a lasting impression.

Temu, for instance, ran the same ad four times, while BMW’s spot starring Christopher Walken drew the highest likeability score among viewers, according to data from iSpot TV. Meanwhile, State Farm’s spot featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Devito won USA Today’s Ad Meter.

Ad creatives have their own interpretation of which ads won the Super Bowl.

To choose the top 10 Super Bowl ads of 2024, Campaign US selected a panel of 10 creative leaders to vote on 25 pre-released Super Bowl ads, selected by the editorial team. The ad focused on consumer brands and did not include movie trailers.

The work was evaluated based on the idea, the craft and its ability to evoke that celebratory feeling — or “touchdown factor.” It is scored on a scale of one to five stars (think: Rotten Tomatoes). Judges were asked to recuse themselves from scoring campaigns they worked on.

Since creatives ranked the ads that were released before game day, we asked them to share their favorite ads that aired live during the game. These included Cerave, State Farm and YouTubeTV.

Sinan Dagli, executive creative director, BSSP, for instance said, CeraVe “took the gold,”  not necessarily because of the “final Super Bowl product, but the masterful playing of culture right up to the moment by covertly introducing Michael Cera and CeraVe via PR and social media,” he told Campaign US on Monday. “They took a gamble, and it paid off.”

Meanwhile, David Mackereth, SVP, group creative director at Digitas said Cerave felt like the winner because “it had a little bit of everything: A nice tease using TikTok influencers, gossip magazine coverage of Cera with the product before the game, a well-crafted long form of the spot before the game and a little surprise that they saved for the game — acknowledging the absurdity as they showed Michael pitching the idea to the brand to ultimately lean into the product benefit: CeraVe is developed by dermatologists, not Michael.”

Ross Martin, president and co-founder at Known, described YouTubeTV’s spot as “not yet getting the flowers it deserves.”

“The NFL Sunday Ticket campaign, which features Ravens, Seahawks and Falcons players flying through the sky, is a super fun concept executed incredibly well using CGI. The NFL [and YouTube] took that creative to the next level this year,” he said.

Now, sit back and watch the highest-ranked work below –- at least, according to the judges:

The Top 10 Super Bowl LVIII ads

1. Paramount+, A Mountain of Entertainment by Droga5

Score: 4.30

Paramount+ topped the creative ranks, as jurors praised the spot’s writing, play on personalities, tonality and commentary. According to Jason Wolske, executive creative director at David Miami, the spot felt improvised at times, “which made it all feel very authentic to each of the characters,” he said.

He added that the general conversation between the talent was “stellar.”

“It felt like I was watching a movie or hearing a great story, which is every ad’s dream.”

Here’s what other judges had to say:

“Wow. This is a masterpiece! Incredible writing, perfectly weaves together the unique personalities of all the celebrities, and even gets in Creed, which has made an odd resurgence in culture recently. Paramount+ could make an entire TV series with this type of content. It was two minutes long, but I wanted to keep watching!” — David Mackereth

“Weird and wonderful. The craft of the VFX could’ve been stronger, but I also know how hard that amount of work is.” – Lisa Bright, chief creative officer, Ogilvy California

“This is what I’m talking about! Watched it twice. This literally has it all, without being confusing or overdone. Tonally pitch perfect. Paramount+ is making it over the mountain with this one.” – Desmond “Dez” Marzette, executive creative director, Sports and Lifestyle Group, TBWA\Chiat\Day LA

2. Google, Javier in Frame by Gut

Score: 4.13

Jurors praised Javier in Frame for its storytelling, product demonstration and craft by representing visual impairment with out of focus visuals. Creatives praised the ad’s emotion and purpose.

“Goosebumps in frame. Excellent craft, making the viewer see what he sees, and showcasing the benefits of the AI on Google Pixel.” – David Mackereth

“Fantastic product demonstration that manages to be emotional without cheap tricks. What an ending! People will be talking about this one.” – Desmond “Dez” Marzette

“Excellent storytelling,  product demo and most of the spot was out of focus. It’s a great way to be inclusive and get the audience to empathize with those with vision impairment. I almost got a little eye-sweat from me. Well done.” – Terrence Burrell, executive creative director, Quantasy + Associates

3. Doritos, Dina & Mita by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

Score: 3.83

Doritos Dinamita made it among the rank and file as jurors praised its absurdity and fun, especially with the unusual protagonists.

Mackereth had this to say about the spot: “‘Go Ahead, Try Us’ is one of my favorite taglines I’ve seen amongst the Super Bowl spots as it’s about as hard-hitting as a CTA can be, and yet it’s funny given the ‘don’t mess with us’ attitude of the grandmas.”

4. Reese’s, Yes! by Erich & Kallman

Score: 3.73

Reese’s spot definitely had us at Campaign US exclaiming, “WTF is happening?” — but that’s exactly the kind of emotional resonance that made it a good spot, jurors agreed.

“This is one of those ads you want to watch over and over because every time you watch it you find another layer of funny. The grandma kissing the young man and the hula hooping dog!” Mackereth pointed out.

Meanwhile Ogilvy’s Lisa Bright said, “What was that? I don’t know but I love it. The absurdness and the commitment.”

And David’s Jason Wolske said: “Funny. Random. Entertaining. Easy to understand what the brand is doing.”

5. PlutoTV, Couch Potato Farms by Haymaker

Score: 3.67

PlutoTV’s Couch Potato Farms amused creatives who expressed satisfaction with the unusual premise and concept of the spot. Several described the spot as “fun” and “clever” with smart execution.

“As a couch potato, I can say I relate to this ad deeply. Love how they played off the traditional seriousness of farming and juxtaposed it with the funny of growing couch potatoes.”  – David Mackereth

“Another contender due to the clever premise, great writing and fun integration of the product. Nice entry from Pluto” – Desmond “Dez” Marzette

6. Kawasaki, Mullets by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

Score: 3.63

Kawasaki’s ad made the top 10 because of what creatives deemed as an unexpected and fun twist for the brand with the visual token of a mullet. According to creatives, the mullet encapsulates the tagline “Business in the front, party in the back” oddly well. The nostalgia element was also a plus.

“Mullets! What I love about this ad is that even if you’re watching at a loud party, it’s incredibly visual. Who doesn’t love seeing a cute lil’ turtle grow a rad mullet? The business in the front, party in the back end line perfectly sums up the product and mullet attitude of the entire spot. I’m ready to grow a mullet now…again.” – David Mackereth

“When the mullets first appeared, I was hooked. Instant smile. Stone Cold was a great cast addition, and the tagline was *chef’s kiss*.” – Desmond “Dez” Marzette

“The turtle is a nice touch!” – Leeann Leahy, CEO, The Via Agency

7. BMW, Talkin’ Like Walken by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

Score: 3.60

Aside from being funny, creatives felt BMW’s Talkin’ Like Walken cleverly connected a celebrity to the product while asserting that there’s only one original. While the Usher cameo seemed a bit jarring, creatives agreed the spot was fun.

“This is a smart way to connect the celebrity to the product, taking one of the most imitated celebs and comparing that to BMW and how there’s only one true original.” – David Mackereth

“We’ve seen Walken in commercials before, but this made me laugh. I don’t think Usher was necessary and that end bit, [that] felt like a bit of a stretch, but fun overall.” – Lisa Bright

“Great celebration of the brand heritage with the brand line revision, and memorable and purposeful casting.” – Desmond “Dez” Marzette

8. BetMGM, Tom Has Won Enough by HighDive

Score: 3.53

BetMGM broke the mold by changing the format of a typical ad and breaking the fourth wall while picking fun at Tom Brady in a relatable way, according to creatives. Cleverly including Brady in the Super Bowl in the first year of his retirement, BetMGM’s concept is something people feel unified in — Tom Brady, give somebody else a chance.

“Love that it broke the format.” – Lisa Bright

“Great use of celebrity casting and connecting the player insight to the product in a very clever way.” – Desmond “Dez” Marzette

9. Etsy, Try Gift Mode on Etsy by Orchard

Score: 3.50 

While creatives lamented the fact that Etsy’s full spot couldn’t air during the broadcast, they praised the fact that the ad was memorable, different and funnier than Etsy’s other work so far. Leaders praised the writing, concept, storytelling and craft.

“Memorable and funny, and definitely high in the craft department. Great storytelling and inventive product integration.” – Desmond “Dez” Marzette

“Unexpected, great copy. Great craft. Shows exactly what makes Etsy so great.” – Jason Wolske

10. MTN Dew, Having A Blast by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

Score: 3.30 

MTN Dew’s spot was a “blast” which smartly “put the name of the product in the line repeated over and over” Mackereth said the Baja Blast spot.

While the ad progressively gets more complicated, the tag line is simple, making the spot memorable, creatives agreed.

Meet the jurors

• Lisa Bright, chief creative officer, Ogilvy California
• Desmond “Dez” Marzette, executive creative director, Sports and Lifestyle Group, TBWA\Chiat\Day LA
• Ross Martin, president and co-founder, Known
• Leeann Leahy, CEO, Via
• David Mackereth, SVP, group creative director, Digitas
• Sinan Dagli, executive creative director, BSSP
• Myra Nussbaum, president and chief creative officer, Havas Chicago
• Terrence Burrell, executive creative director, Quantasy + Associates
• Toygar Bazarkaya, chief creative officer, 22squared
• Jason Wolske, executive creative director, David Miami