Still, even the Super Bowl advertising was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Coke, Pepsi, and some other big brands were absent from the commercials, and it took CBS longer than usual to sell out ad space for the game.

Perhaps due to these factors, advertisers took a little more liberty this year with their celebrity appearances, nostalgic throwback reunions, and just plain weird creative concepts. In most cases, the results are anything but boring.

Because the Prolex Media team lives and breathes creative marketing, we have an ongoing group chat about all things creative. Naturally, Super Bowl ads were a topic of discussion.

Here are the five ads that caught our attention:

1) Tide | The Jason Alexander Hoodie

Having grown up on Seinfeld reruns, many of us could not deny the hilarity of watching Jason Alexander’s face on a teen’s beloved hoodie react to the abuse from a rugged lifestyle—with “George” himself making a cameo at the end.

‍2) Amazon | Alexa’s Body

When a woman dreamed of an Alexa with Michael B. Jordan’s body, she had us all wanting to dim the lights and read audiobooks in the bath. But what really takes the humour over the top in this ad is her husband’s persistent protests. It’s difficult for a mere mortal to compete with all that Alexa can offer.

‍3) Doritos 3D | Flat Matthew

This ad takes a celebrity endorsement to a literal level through an entertaining sequence featuring a 2D version of Matthew McConaughey who isn’t “feeling quite like himself” until he tries Doritos 3D. It’s weird, it’s silly, but it’s somehow satisfying watching “flat Matt” go through his 2D trials.
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4) M&M’s | Come Together

Funny, relatable, and featuring a charming cameo by Dan Levy, this ad spoke to us in such an unapologetically “apologetically Canadian” tone that we forgot it was set in America.

5) General Motors | No Way, Norway

We have nothing against Norway, but we do love creative car ads (and Will Ferrell!). Prolex Media recently shot a video for Audi’s e-Tron, which is perhaps why we can appreciate how this ad (blatantly) encourages the support for electric vehicles.

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