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 

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?)   

 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.

 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." 

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. 

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. 

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. 

THE WORST