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Super Bowl commercials: The good and the bad

ROANOKE, Va. – The Super Bowl is full of things to watch from the game, to the halftime show and of course the ads.

Chris Henson, Creative Director for Access in Roanoke, joined the 10 News Virginia Today team to break down 2021′s best and worst.

“It’s a miracle there are ads this year. The past year and the global pandemic have been hard on commercials as well. Big commercials take a lot of people and getting them all together safely is a big issue. So, this year we saw a lot of CGI, a lot of fast cuts of smaller scenarios and a lot of empty scenes with one or two people in them and even some with none,” said Henson.

He also says there were a lot of Saturday Night Live former cast members.

“I think this is largely because there’s a comfort in the familiar faces and they can be counted on to bring the comedy,” said Henson.

The creative director says we didn’t see as many pandemic/emotional commercials.

“More than a few references to ‘times like these,’ though not as many as I expected.”

Here are Henson’s picks:

Funny:

  • GM: “No Way, Norway!”
  • Rocket Mortgage: “Pretty Sure”
  • Cadillac: “Edgar Scissorhands”

Serious:

  • Indeed: “The Rising”
  • Toyota: “Upstream”
  • Annheiser-Busch: “Let’s Grab a Beer”

Weirdest:

  • Doritos: “Flat Matthew
  • Tide: “Jason Alexander Hoodie”

Honorable Mention:

  • Dexcom: “Rant”

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About the Author
Jenna Zibton headshot

You can see Jenna weekday mornings at the anchor desk on WSLS 10 Today from 5-7 a.m. She also leads our monthly Solutionaries Series, where we highlight the creative thinkers and doers working to make the world a better place.