By Emmy Benton, Staff Writer

The Super Bowl and its ads brought a sense of normalcy to this not-so-normal year and people got the chance to see brand-new commercials between the touchdown passes and The Weeknd’s Super Bowl halftime show. 96.4 million people tuned into the game to catch the finale to this odd football season, but did the ads live up to people’s expectations? I think so. Here’s a list of some of my favorites: 

M&M’S

This funny commercial was an all-around favorite. The mocking of gender reveals and man-splaining were some of my favorite parts. It showed that anything can be made better with M&M’S. 

Toyota

This ad features paralympic swimmer Jessica Long and her adoption story. It was really inspiring and I loved how it showcased her journey to get to where she is today. It’s definitely one of the most heartwarming commercials of the Super Bowl. 

Bud Light 

This ad exemplifies the “lemon” nature of 2020. It puts a comedic spin on making lemonade out of lemons that life hands you. It sparked lots of memories of things that happened in 2020, like at-home haircuts and cardboard cutouts at sports games. It’s target audience was people over 21, but everyone knows that 2020 was definitely a “lemon of a year,” as the commercial puts it.

Rocket Mortgage

Tracy Morgan, Dave Bautista and Liza Koshy made cameos in this Rocket Mortgage ad to show that being “certain” is definitely better than being “pretty sure.” I loved the part about the parachutes and thought the clip about the hornets was really funny. 

State Farm

This State Farm ad featured two NFL quarterbacks with stand-ins who were far from the perfect fit. I thought it was really clever that they got Drake to be the stand-in for Jake from State Farm. Paul Rudd, who is a Kansas City Chiefs superfan, also made an appearance alongside Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers. I mean, who doesn’t love Paul Rudd?

Cadillac

Winona Ryder got to reprise her role in this ad that’s a play on the old “Edward Scissorhands” film. It tells the story of Edgar Scissorhands, Edward’s son, who wishes he could drive and then gets a Cadillac that has hands-free steering. It had some funny clips showing where having scissors for hands is less than ideal, to say the least.

Michelob ULTRA

This commercial makes you do a double take with its celebrity doppelgängers who look scarily similar to their famous counterparts. It’s geared toward our parents and people over 21, of course, but everyone was confused whether the person they showed was the actual celebrity or their doppelgänger. 

Cheetos

This catchy ad brings Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher together. It’ll get you singing “It Wasn’t Me” all around the house. 

Anheuser-Busch

This ad all about unity shows people coming together and being there for one another. I loved the message and thought it was great to show people coming together. It was targeted towards people over 21, but I think everyone can relate to the wholesome message, even if we’re just grabbing a coffee or a smoothie together.

Sophomore Emmy Benton can be reached at 23bentonem58@daretolearn.org.