Now that Super Bowl LI is officially finished, and we saw the New England Patriots have an amazing comeback to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in the first-ever Super Bowl to go into overtime, you can turn your attention to those great (and expensive) commercials.
Those of us in Canada has to turn to the world wide web in order to view the most-talked-about commercials - Canadian broadcasters replace the American ads with home grown ones. Just in case you missed them, there was plenty of celebrity participation, humour, and even a touch of political positioning with ads like Budweiser's take on immigration.
It's hard to choose from the massive number of commercials, though some were definite yawns. But here are a few of our favourites.
Budweiser Born the Hard Way
While this might have simply been a commercial that shows Budweisers' founders journey to starting up the iconic company, many have taken it to be a political statement by Budweiser. The commercial chronicles the journey of Adolphus Busch, who emigrated from Germany to America, facing plenty of "go back to where you came from" comments along the way. There, he met Eberhard Anheuser and, well, the rest is beer history. Budweiser wasn't the only company to touch on the topic of diversity and immigration - Airbnb also did so with its ad, as did 84 Lumber.
Honda Yearbooks
What a fascinating concept for a commercial. Enlisting the help of celebrities like Steve Carell, Amy Adams, Viola Davis, and Jimmy Kimmel, Honda animated their old yearbook photos, and includes a voiceover track where each talks about the importance of following your dreams, and ignoring the negativity around you as you work towards them. It's funny, engaging, and has a great message behind it.
Mr. Clean Fantasy
We wrote about this one already in our Super Bowl commercials preview piece, and we still believe it's one of the funnier ones. Watching it, you struggle between laughing and wondering if you can really find a cartoon character attractive.
T-Mobile #Unlimitedmovies
Maybe we feel compelled to like this one to support our fellow Canadian Justin Bieber. But it's a funny commercial that showcases some great dance moves, particularly from that scene-stealing young girl, and footballers like Ron Gronkowski. It was sure to get viewers excited for the remainder of the game.
Pepsi and Tostitos Party Pooper
Pepsi and Tostitos teamed up to deliver a number of commercials, but the most notable was called Party Poopers starring Joe Flacco. We were on the fence about this one. It's silly and seems to run on too long. But Flacco's deadpan delivery, and commentary that makes it sound like he's trying to get viewers to donate money to help combat a serious disease rather than promote drinks and snacks (is this an ad or a PSA?) is pretty funny.
Bud Light Between Friends
There are always a couple of commercials that cause us to "get something in our eye," and this was certainly one of them. As a best man delivers his speech at his buddy's wedding, the words are pulled from various scenes of them in everyday life - camping out in the wild, moving a couch, watching a game, sitting at a bar, and so on. Friendship, it appears, is all about those minor moments we share. Excuse me while I grab a tissue.
Febreze #BathroomBreak
We can all relate to consuming way too much food and snacking on everything in sight during the Super Bowl. Febreze has a hilarious take on the inevitable halftime bathroom break, encouraging viewers to use its product to, well, help make their bathrooms welcoming sanctuaries for guests.
Bai
We finally get to see what Justin Timberlake is doing sitting by the fire in that velvet maroon blazer. Apparently, he's accompanied by Christopher Walken, who passionately reads lyrics to N Sync's Bye, Bye, Bye. Of course, the ad is for Bai antioxidant drink, which Timberlake's signature voice touts in the end. It's brief, but who can resist Walken's iconic voice, even if he is just reading boy band lyrics?
Which was your favourite Super Bowl LI ad?