Watch Super Bowl 51 Commercials, From Worst to Best
As Atlanta watched their beloved Falcons fumble Super Bowl 51 and witness the Patriots' historic comeback, at least they could take solace in this year's solid crop of super commercials. While not all of them were well-received, Super Bowl Sunday ads ranged the gamut from simple silliness to cinematic epicness. Here are some of the best (and worst) commercials from last night's big game.
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Worst: Persil, ‘The Science of Clean: 10 Dimensions’
Bill Nye is known for being one of the funniest, most intelligent guys around. However, this commercial for detergent brand Persil was anything but. Extra points off for trying to make us believe that Nye is actually perplexed by something in a lab.
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Worst: Turkish Airlines With Morgan Freeman
Okay, we get it: Morgan Freeman has a great voice. But by now, that shtick is getting a tad bit old considering any brand or film looking for an extra boost of gravitas can shell out for Freeman's services, the latest being Turkish airlines. Regardless, the ad is a strange one at that, with its multiple Freemans (for some reason) and cliched dialogue.
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Worst: Bai, ‘Bye, Bye, Bye’
What do you do when you manage to get Justin Timberlake to agree to appear in your ad? If you were Bai, you'd just have him sit there and… that's about it. Also featuring Christopher Walken who poetically recites the Nsync hit "Bye, Bye, Bye" in honor of the antioxidant drink, this weak ad wasted the talents of a pair of today's most entertaining personalities.
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Best: 84 Lumber’s ‘Banned’ Wall Ad
One of the biggest viral hits of the game is courtesy company 84 Lumber and its spot that featured allusions to Trump's border wall. The fact that Fox "banned" it makes watching the entire five minute and 44 second ad that more enticing. Fortunately, this smart ad is finding a fresh and perhaps bigger, audience online thanks to its Super snub.
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Best: Kia, “Hero’s Journey’
It was just like a Melissa McCarthy movie, but this one was only 60 seconds long. Kia spared no expense for this epic ad that traces McCarthy doing her best to save planet earth. McCarthy's turn on Saturday Night Live the night before as Sean Spicer, coupled with this funny ad which featured a great message and eye-popping special effects, made this weekend a tour de force for the comedienne and elevated her to iconic status.
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Best: Snickers Live Commercial
This much-hyped Snickers spot, the first live Super Bowl commercial in decades, didn't disappoint thanks to a solid premise, some flashy special effects and the great Adam Driver. It all gelled together so perfectly and had all of the elements for a memorable Super spot.
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Best: Budweiser, ‘Born the Hard Way’
Regardless of your politics, you have to hand it to Budweiser for this incredibly epic Super Bowl ad that seemed like it was shot by Steven Spielberg himself. Chronicling the immigration of the founder of Anheuser Busch from Germany to the United States, the beer company that's known for their big game ads ("Whazuppppp!?) didn't disappoint for Super Bowl LI.
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Best: Honda, ‘Yearbooks’
Boasting everyone from Jimmy Kimmel to Missy Elliott, Honda's clever "Yearbooks" ad captured that universal feeling of looking back at your old school age self and cringing. Equal parts inspiring and funny, Honda's idea to bring to life old yearbook pictures of the stars and dub in actual dialogue was a smart way to feature a ton of cool people in one indelible ad.
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Best: AirBnB, ‘We Accept’
While most Super ads are many months in the making, that wasn't the case for Airbnb. According to a tweet by founder Brian Cheksy last night, the company only decided last Thursday to spring for a 30 second ad and spent the intervening time producing this smart, simple, and heartfelt spot that featured AirBnB employees. The result was one of the most memorable of the game, delivering sentiments of acceptance right when this country needs them the most.
Gal Gadot, Melissa McCarthy, Cam Newton, Tina Fey and more – these are the ads everybody is talking about after Sunday's game.