Super Bowl LVII: Best and Worst Commercials

In a forgettable conga line of celebrities, animals, beer, cars and (more) celebrities, the humble commercial without any of these usual turkey stuffing stood out on Super Bowl LVII. 

Let's put it this way: When a black-and-white ad praising Jesus, a couple others about the family dog and one about cancer were this year's most memorable commercials, then you know what kind of Super Bowl this was. 

To recap the rest of Sunday night, we saw ads with Steve Martin, Adam Driver, Ben Stiller, Elton John, Missy Elliot and Jack Harlow …

There were ones with Brian Cox, Diddy, Danny McBride, Alicia Silverstone, Maya Rudolph, Bradley Cooper and his mom.

 Blink once, twice or a dozen times and you missed John Travolta, Pete Davidson, Brie Larson, Jon Hamm, Meghan Trainor, John Cena, Paul Rudd, Danny McBride … 

Serena Williams starred in two, and so did Ben Affleck. Amy Schumer "erased her exes" for Google. Maya Rudolph had something to say about M & M's (not sure what.). 

The list goes on and on and on.

That's quite a list and a lot of celebrity firepower, really far too much, because does anyone remember what product they were associated with? Does anyone care?

 In a few days you may not remember that dog (The Farmer's Table) or Jesus (He Gets Us) either. But At least their ads stood out.

 Meanwhile, here are the winners and losers of an outsized, overdone — and disappointing — LVII: 

THE BEST 

1. THE FARMER'S DOG "FOREVER"

Talk about capturing the dog lover's lament so perfectly. This gem about a chocolate lab and the little girl who loved him (her?), as both grew through the years, while the dog (sob) got old and gray. This beauty came with a cherry on top: "Nothing matters more than more years together …" Moving and sweet and true. What more could we ask of a great SB ad? (No celebrities?)   

2. POPCORNERS "BREAKING BAD"

 This winner inverted a whole bunch of things — "Breaking Bad," its stars, reunions — but the reappearance of Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz) was the real magic. Who didn't (or couldn't) laugh when Tuco offered what appeared to be a positive reaction to the chip.

3. HE GETS US/WORKING WITH CANCER 

 Why not simply take some messages at face value, like "He Gets Us," rendered in black and white, with its plea for unity and peace? Or this sobering post-halftime message from Memorial Sloan Kettering. "Half of us will be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetime. All of us should give support at work." 

4. DUNKIN

After all that hyperventilating about celebrities (see above), there were some celebrity-stuffed ads that worked, like this one starring a well-known Dunkin fan (Ben Affleck) moonlighting at his favorite restaurant. It was capped by the appearance of J-Lo at the window, demanding "a glazed." Absurd, but in a good way. 

5. THE METS

This was so hokey that it was charming, and so inside baseball that it was almost irresistible. "It's not a real ghost" (Tomás Nido) was obviously a reference to new pitcher Kodai Senga's "ghost" forkball. A winner for Mets fans who'd (much) rather have a World Series win instead. 

6. MR. PEANUT'S ROAST

Mr. Peanut lives on, to be roasted by the famed roaster himself, Jeff Ross. "Wow," says the monocled legume. "That was brutal. Wish Planters had just killed me off again." Good punchlines can salvage even the most obvious of setups, with this as a case in point. 

7. BUD LIGHT/ MILES TELLER AND KELEIGH SPERRY

Good ads, like bad ads, defy logical deconstruction. Miles Teller and (spouse) Keleigh Sperry are drinking Bud Light while on hold with a customer service rep because it gives them an opportunity to dance to the most innocuous, maddening "music" ever created. Illogical enough? 

8. E*TRADE "Wedding"

 The surprise of a "talking baby" long over, E*Trade at least knew it'd been there/done that too, and so tried for something new(ish). The idea here was to present at least one of the talking babies as an "adult" presiding over a wedding where all the usual conventions of weddings unfold (with that obvious baby exception.) Good, if not great, talking babies do still have the power to at least amuse. 

THE WORST 

1. NFL SUNDAY TICKET ON YOUTUBE

Yeah, that really was a fake stuffed cat pounding out a song on the piano, and the scene really was as disturbing as it sounds (at the beginning of the game, no less. Hey NFL, next time get a real cat that knows how to play. 

2. AVOCADOS FROM MEXICO

Even Anna Faris couldn't save this commercial that explored what would happen if Eve (Ferris) got a hold of an avocado after biting into an apple. People would be nicer to each other and no one would wear clothes. Please send in your guesses about what this meant.

3. GM/NETFLIX 

In the most overstuffed turkeys of the game — and that's saying a lot — Will Ferrell stars in a "hybrid" ad that is not content to sell GM's electric SUVs, but has some Netflix series to promote too The idea here is that Netflix must be congratulated for putting more "e" vehicles in their shows. But, really, no congratulations are necessary. 

4. CROWN ROYAL: THANK YOU CANADA 

 Dave Grohl a spokesman for Crown Royal? Really? Yeah, plenty of music superstars eventually become Super Bowl pitchmen for something — Bruce Springsteen as recently as 2021 — but couldn't Grohl have settled for something else? Dave, you're better than this. 

5. BOOKING.COM 

A nearly two-minute version of this streamed online long before the day which only helped to compound what was wrong to begin with — too much of one site gag, Melissa McCarthy in various destinations and in various costumes. This had much more to do with McCarthy than those destinations, and not much to do with the real talent that she actually has.