Super Bowl Sunday! It’s here at last, the national holiday when we’re forced to sit through football in order to watch our beloved ads. For the 13th straight year, Yahoo Sports’ Jay Busbee and Ian Casselberry are here to escort you through the dizzying array of celebrity cameos, awkward jokes and heartstring-tugs of this year’s waves of ads, updating live as they air.
As always, we grade ads on a completely subjective, utterly biased, totally nonscientific basis, and all grades are final. Feel free to contribute your own takes in the comments or on our social media channels. Now … on with the ads!
YAHOO x BILL MURRAY
Let’s start with the greatest Super Bowl ad in history. (It’s possible we are biased.)
GRADE: A
Dunkin, “DunKings 2”
Ben Affleck, Dunkin’ Obsessive and Oblivious Bostonian is one of the best commercial characters to come along in awhile, and this time around he gets an assist from brother Casey and Succession’s method-acting Jeremy Strong, as well as Jay and Silent Bob and Bill Belichick. The blaze-orange glow of Dunkin’ will sear your eyeballs in the best possible way.
Homes.com, “What’s Legal?”
Homes.com figures out a way to get around messy technical legalities like saying “Homes.com” is the best. Any Morgan Freeman appearance is a good appearance.
Instacart, “We’re Here”
If one key tenet of Super Bowl commercials is eliciting a “Hey, I know that reference!” reaction from your audience, well, this Instacart ad is pretty much the peak of that genre. An Avengers-esque lineup of commercial characters, from Mr. Clean to the Energizer Bunny to a kaiju Green Giant, this will have everyone rewinding to see what they missed. Not a great ad, per se, but perhaps the ideal Super Bowl ad. Plus: The return of Puppymonkeybaby!
Hellman’s, “When Sally Met Hellman’s”
An ideal Super Bowl ad! Recalling an iconic scene from “When Harry Met Sally” with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal hits that nostalgia spot, and it’s still funny enough for anyone unfamiliar with it. And Sydney Sweeney’s cameo at the end is the bridge to younger audiences. But that is a gross amount of mayo Ryan put on her sandwich.
Pringles, “Call of the Mustaches”
Definitely memorable. Many of us will have the “Batman” theme with “Mustache” in our brains for weeks. Ripping the facial hair off a national treasure like Nick Offerman was bold. But seeing James Harden’s face without a mustache is unforgettable, maybe disturbing. Potato chips might provide comfort with that.
Nike, “So Win”
Caitlin Clark, Sha’Carri Richardson and a host of star female athletes disregard condescending attitudes toward women’s sports. “You can’t win … so win.” Good message, good delivery, effective ad.
Bud Light, “Cul-De-Sac Party”
Shane Gillis, Peyton Manning and Post Malone firing beer cans all over a suburban cul-de-sac? What’s not to love? This captures the essential dudeness of suburban dad life, with the typical we-know-it’s-a-commercial meta winks of a Super Bowl ad. Bonus points if you can count how many people are holding their Bud Light cans logo-visible, a way no human being has ever held a can outside a commercial.
GRADE: B
Pfizer, “Don’t Call It a Comeback”
Heartwarming ad as a young cancer survivor wins his battle to the strains of LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out.” Wouldn’t have expected that song to be in an emotional ad, but here we are.
“How To Train Your Dragon” trailer
Yes, this is a live-action version of an animated movie. Your kids are gonna love it.
Little Caesars, “Eyebrows Raised”
Sort of similar motif to another Super Bowl ad, this involves Eugene Levy’s eyebrows taking flight and terrorizing/charming/enticing the natural world around him. Weird, but in a good way.
MSC Cruises, “Holiday”
Orlando Bloom and Drew Barrymore in a cutesy difference-between-America-and-Europe clash of cultures. Makes you want to go on a cruise, if only to show those folks from the other side of the pond who’s better.
Thunderbolts*, Movie Trailer
Our first “check the web for the full trailer” teaser of the Super Bowl. If you’re a Marvel movie fan, Thunderbolts* (yes, there is an asterisk) appears to be a return to form.
Doritos, “Abduction”
This is the work of an indie filmmaker, and it shows — and we mean that as high praise. Aliens want to steal a dude’s Doritos, for some reason, and dude fights back … right up until enemies share a few chips. Easy concept, effective execution, no freaking celebrities … this is a strong showing right here.
Michelob Ultra, “Ultra Hustlers”
Revenge of the Olds! Oh, this one’s going to go over well with the upper age bracket of the Super Bowl demographic. Willem Dafoe and Catherine O’Hara hustle smug youngsters for Michelob Ultra out on the mean pickleball courts, which sounds unlikely only if you’ve never played pickleball. I wouldn’t want to face the Green Goblin and Moira Rose on a pickleball court, and neither should you.
Squarespace, “A Tale As Old As Websites”
Starring Barry Keoghan, the scenery alone sets it apart from other Super Bowl ads. But the premise of farmers and merchants in remote Ireland needing Squarespace to build websites in a remote village is silly enough to be entertaining. And throwing anything through a window should get some attention.
Ritz, “Salty Club”
Any time you’ve got Michael Shannon and Aubrey Plaza in a salty-off, you’re on the right track. We’d actually call Plaza “condescending” or “imperious” before we’d go with “salty.” But Shannon? Yeah, that dude is salty as hell.
Coors Light, “Case of the Mondays” (Sloth version)
Say this for Coors Light: It knows its audience. This is exactly how we’re all gonna look on Monday. Not sure beer is quite the right pick-me-up, but clever usage of sloths nonetheless.
TurboTax, “Now Taxes is So Sweet”
TurboTax has previously tried to make doing taxes seem fun (a record of your accomplishments!). But tax season is miserable, almost dystopian. Issa Rae is just like us, dumping the drudgery on somebody else so we can be happy. This ad gets us!
Uber Eats, “Conspiracy”
It’s the final chapter of the ongoing Matthew McConaughey-NFL conspiracy theory series that’s been running for all football season! It’s all been leading up to this! And given that the NFL is more popular than ever, it might go on for awhile longer.
Google Pixel, “Good Luck Dad”
Google using straight-up emotional terrorism to sell phones now, showing a young girl embracing her father as both a child and as a college student. Wicked, but effective.
Rocket Mortgage, “Country Roads”
What do mortgages have to do with one of the great singalong songs of all time? Don’t worry about it. Just sing along: “Country roooooooads…”
Budweiser, “First Delivery”
Continuing Budweiser’s proud tradition of horses n’ beer, this is the tale of a determined lil’ Clydesdale making sure to deliver a loose keg to its rightful bar. Sure, it’s a little silly, but at least it doesn’t have any unnecessary celebrity appearances or winking 2020s-era nods at the audience. Major unanswered question: How is that beer not just explosive foam when they finally tap that keg?
Novartis, “Your Attention Please”
Perhaps the strongest swerve from enticement to serious messaging in Super Bowl history.
Dodge Ram, “Drive Your Own Story”
Glen Powell reappropriates “Goldilocks” for himself, changing it into a dragon-punching, Van Halen-pumping, volcano-jumping, bear-tauntin action movie. We’d watch it.
Häagen-Dazs, “Not So Fast, Not So Furious”
Hey, I know those people! Dom and Letty from the Fast & Furious franchise take a break from saving the world to savor an ice cream bar. I think they’ve earned it, don’t you? Until Fast XI shows up in 2026, this’ll have to do. You know Fastheads are trying to figure out exactly where this fits in the canon. At least we now know Tej survived that [Fast X spoiler].
GRADE: C
Meta, “Broken Statue”
This could not be a more down-the-middle ad — attractive celebrities, wacky conundrum, safe little kicker — which way undersells what a creepy product this is. An always-on cybernetic assistant that does your thinking for you? Did Thor learn nothing from “Avengers: Age of Ultron”?
T-Mobile / Starlink
T-Mobile and Starlink make a bold satellite offer to people on a range of cell phone carriers. Hope they’re ready for the onslaught of new customers!
Cirkul
Adam Devine is going to bring water right to your front door! He could be outside your house right now!
Mountain Dew, “Kiss from a Lime”
It’s Seal! And he’s a seal! Get it? Get it? If you’re old enough to remember the 31-year-old “Kiss from a Rose” and the name of the guy who sang it, then you’re probably too old to be drinking Mountain Dew on a regular basis. Still, the image of Seal the seal is one that’s going to be sticking around from this year’s ads.
Liquid Death, “Drinkin’ On The Job”
Look, if “Drinkin’ on the Job” isn’t a country hit, it ought to be. But only drinking water!
Spruce, “Who Let the Dogs Out”
So, nice work by Spruce to both get their name and product offering out into the world, and attach it to their key value proposition: dogs! Who doesn’t love dogs, we ask you? Simple. Straightforward. We’ll even forgive the use of yet another decades-old song in this case, because dogs rule.
AngelSoft “PottyTunity”
Expensive way to tell people to go to the bathroom, but also effective.
Reese’s, “Don’t Eat Lava”
As a public service announcement, this works. Don’t eat lava, people. Don’t even get near it. As a candy bar ad, maybe it appeals to the chocolate lover. But the “Chocolate Lava Big Cup” also looks like it could make a messy shirt in one bite. No thanks.
Nerds, “What a Wonderful World”
You’ve got to have … let’s say “guts,” to use the music of New Orleans legend Louis Armstrong in an ad set in New Orleans, for a Super Bowl in New Orleans, to promote chewy candy. Getting Shaboozey’s dulcet tones on this was a good choice, but the overall ad is exactly what it seems, nothing less, nothing more.
GRADE: D
WeatherTech, “Born To Be Wild”
Look, this is a solid enough Super Bowl ad, with sassy grannies and some (hidden) elderly nudity. But we’re still using “Born to be Wild” in the year 2025? Seriously? That song is nearly 60 years old! There have been a lot of good songs written since then! Advertisers of the world who want to portray low-stakes rebellion onscreen, try at least one of them!
CoffeeMate, “Let’s Go Tongues”
You know, so many of these ideas must sound so great in the brainstorming stage — “What if we had a dancing tongue leap out of a dude’s mouth and cavort onstage?” — and then in practice, they’re the epitome of, “Wow, I never need to see that again.” Not every ad that’s memorable is memorable in a good way.
GRADE: F
Hexclad, “Unidentified Frying Object”
Seemed like it was setting up a scenario where Gordon Ramsay was going to cook up some alien food, and then devolved into … yet another celebrity Super Bowl ad, this one making wacky commentary on celebrities themselves! Fumbled a big opportunity. Should’ve had Gordon pan-frying some alien steaks in butter.
Yeezy.com
After Kanye’s tweets earlier this week, ain’t no way we’re clicking that link.
UNGRADED
Here, we’ll put the commercials that don’t really warrant a grade. Can’t quite grade an ad trying to stop hate on the same scale as Puppymonkeybaby, after all. Decide for yourself whether you liked these ads.
Snoop and Tom Brady, “Stop Hate”
Aggressive and in your face, and that’s the point. It’s easy to hate, and it’s lazy to hate, and it’s dumb to hate. But will that message get through to the haters, or will they just hate this ad? We’re against all hate here, but we still haven’t forgiven you for what you did to our team in that Super Bowl, Tom.
He Gets Us, “Personal Jesus”
Johnny Cash makes everything better.
Well. Whoooole lot going on in this one, pinballing from America’s obesity challenges to a condemnation of the healthcare system to an appropriation of Childish Gambino’s incendiary “This Is America” anthem. It’s a strong message, and it’s being delivered to the widest possible audience — pun not intended — but as usual, the question persists: do people really want to hear about challenging the system when they are in the midst of one of The System’s holiest days?