Upon asking family, friends and work colleagues about their favorite and least favorite Super Bowl commercials, I received several interesting reviews. It was Feb. 11, 2024 when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers, taking the game into overtime (25-22).
Out of the 15 people I asked for reviews about Super Bowl LVIII, the reviews varied. The most popular commercial, according to family members, friends and colleagues, at six out of the 15 polled, was Ken Jeong’s feature in the Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen commercial. In this commercial, Ken Jeong is released from a cryogenic chamber to be told by scientists that there is finally a better item on the menu at Popeye’s: chicken wings, Hilariously, Ken Jeong adjusts to his new world while obsessing over chicken wings, such as falling off of a Segway, hiding in the corner from a Roomba vacuum, and being shaken violently in a massage chair while saying “Everything’s better at Popeye’s,” the slogan for the food chain, with crumbs all over himself.
The second most popular was the Drumstick commercial featuring Eric Andre, who has a diverse background of being a popular actor, TV show host, comedian, musician and more. In this commercial, which five out of the 15 voted to be their favorite, Eric Andre is on a flight with a severe stomach issue requiring medical attention. When the flight attendant asks for a doctor, one passenger says he is a doctor, but the camera focuses on the action figure in the seat in front of that passenger saying he is also a doctor, “Dr. Umstick.” He provides everyone, except Eric Andre, drumsticks on the plane and Eric Andre asks him “Am I going to be okay?”, to which Dr. Umstick responds to by saying “I don’t know. I’m not a doctor.”
The following commercials averaged 1-2 favorites apiece. Dunkin Donuts’ commercial featuring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jennifer Lopez, Jack Harlow and Tom Brady, makes the cut. Ben Affleck wants to impress Jennifer Lopez by showing up to her work with a flash mob, the “DunKings”. He dances and hilariously enough, does not impress his wife, Jennifer Lopez, while making a bit of a fool of himself with Tom Brady playing electric piano and Matt Damon being his friend who supports his decision but is embarrassed to be there. It was in promotion of new menu items named after them. E*Trade’s commercial featuring babies that can talk also makes this list. Playing tennis, two baby friends are destroying their competition and talking some trash in the process, while also talking about the advantages of using E*Trade.
Budweiser brought back the Clydesdales and a labrador retriever in one, which in my experience has always been one of the most favorite commercials from friends and family surrounding me. In this commercial, set in a blizzard-hit town inside a bar where people are drinking and a Labrador retriever is laying in his bed, the power goes out. It cuts to a scene of a man inside his truck listening to the radio saying that major roads have been shut down. On a farm, asking his friend what to do, a Clydesdale and its “friends”- if you will – approach from behind the man. This prompts the man to say, “Alright, let’s do it the old-school way.” He then loads up beer kegs onto a trailer/sled, and the Clydesdales haul it through the shut-down roads through the blizzard. Getting lost in the storm, the labrador retriever exits the bar, tracks down the horses from the sounds, and happily leads them to the bar, where Budweiser gets drunk heavily!
These Super Bowl commercials, and more, can be found at the following link:
https://www.boston.com/sports/tv/2024/01/31/super-bowl-2024-commercials-list/