Following the 2022 Super Bowl, some of the brightest minds in local advertising gathered at the GS&F offices for this year’s AAF Nashville Super Bowl Ad Breakdown.

Group Creative Director Matt Burch and Senior Art Director Aaron Rayburn represented GS&F and were joined by Karla Jackson, Creative Director at redpepper; Jon Arnold, Executive Creative Director at Bohan; and Margaret Shaul, Creative Strategist at Osborn Barr Paramore to indulge in a deep dive of this year’s best and worst Super Bowl ads.

In discussing the ads, the clear winners did one thing: balanced concept, celebrity and clarity. Let’s take a look at a few ads that nailed these categories.

Concept

Rocket Mortgage’s Dream House with Anna Kendrick and Barbie was a favorite across the board. It even earned Rocket Mortgage the #1 spot on USA Today’s Admeter for the second year in a row for its playful and relatable concept. Coveting the Barbie dream house was a shared experience for many women, but even Barbie has to face the realities of growing up and paying a mortgage.

The nostalgic ad was shot and edited like the Barbie infomercials many of us grew up with and hit human truths around the pressures of homebuying. Supporting characters Better Offer Betty, Cash Offer Carl and House Flipper Skipper brought plot and humor, teeing up the ultimate solution for Barbie to get her dream house: better financing with Rocket Mortgage.

Celebrity

Super Bowl ads are one of the most coveted spots for brands, advertisers and celebrities alike, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned from years of Super Bowl ads it’s that star-studded commercials don’t always equate to successful ads. When it comes to celebrity appearances it’s about more than status— it’s about leveraging trusted individuals to resonate with the audience.

FTX’s Don’t Miss Out On Crypto spot stood out among a sea of crypto ads. The secret sauce? Larry David.

But Larry David and cryptocurrency don’t go together—or shouldn’t. After all, the stats show that beyond the age of 29 both use and trust in crypto rapidly fades with just 8% of people ages 50 to 64 and 3% of people aged 65 or over engaging in the modern form of currency. But those stats only fueled the creative behind FTX’s Super Bowl spot. Enter Larry David, the perfect liaison for hesitant Baby Boomers.

The ad captures Larry David scoffing at monumental inventions throughout history, including the wheel, the toilet, the fork—and finally cryptocurrency. FTX’s use of satire and celebrity reveal the brand’s awareness to the larger cultural belief that older generations just aren’t buying into the crypto craze. This cheeky nod at hesitant consumers tells them they’re wrong through an actor they love and trust, then warns and challenges them: don’t be like Larry.

Clarity

If you’re spending a pretty penny on a TV spot that will have over 100 million sets of eyes on it, you want to make a splash—but clarity is just as important to an effective Super Bowl ad as impact.

Like we saw with FTX’s cryptocurrency ad, consumers resonate with brands that are self-aware and relatable. With most of America convinced that the Internet can read our minds, Amazon’s Mind Reader ad was the perfect play.

The ad used existing cultural capital to humorously dismantle fears of Alexa’s mind-reading capabilities with a series of scenes in which Alexa’s hypothesized psychic abilities bring about disastrous results. While it’s probably better Alexa can’t—and won’t—read your mind, Alexa is getting better at answering questions and taking requests.

It’s easy to get swept away to fantastical lands and imaginative worlds when concepting Super Bowl ads, but a clear ad that resonates with a human experience will increase memorability, keeping the brand and its message in the minds of consumer longer.

All Together Now

The Uber Eats Don’t Eats 60-second spot balanced the holy trinity of concept, celebrity and clarity—winning first place at Northwestern’s 2022 Kellogg School Super Bowl Review for its clever delivery of a new feature.

With scenes of consumers gnawing on candles, devouring diapers and guzzling soap delivered to their doorsteps by Uber Eats, the brand introduced viewers to its expanded delivery options, including non-edible hygiene and household items.

Celebrity appearances from Jennifer Coolidge and Gwyneth Paltrow offered familiarity that elevated the material, but the concept wasn’t dependent on them—remove them completely and the ad still stands. Inserting tasteful celebrity cameos as support to the larger concept allowed for maximum message clarity. At the end of the 60-second spot, one thing was clear: Uber Eats delivers more than just food.

Earning Real Estate in the Minds of Consumers

The Super Bowl offers us a master class in advertising, and half the fun is simply talking about our industry in the weeks after the game. This year showed that viewers are craving more than outrageous plots; they want to see themselves in the ads.

The next time you invest in crypto, order dinner to your front door or take the next step in becoming a homeowner, who are you going to think of?