Super Bowl LIV Ads That Hit the Funny Bone or Tugged on the Heartstrings

Super Bowl Sunday is the perfect opportunity to shovel mouthfuls of chips and guacamole (made with Avocados from Mexico) and watch the most highly anticipated commercials of the year. Oh, and maybe check out the football game that nearly 100 million other people are watching.

This year, as the Kansas City Chiefs came back to win in the second half against the San Francisco 49ers, a handful of commercials had the crowd go from roaring with laughter to ugly crying into their seven-layer dip. Here are a few of the ads that elicited the most powerful reactions of the day.

1.Google’s “Loretta”

The story of a man using Google Assistant to remind himself about the qualities of his late wife Loretta—from looking at old photographs to watching their favorite movie—makes a strong emotional appeal without any funny dance montages or CGI Aquaman. It delivers a powerful message with a contrasting tone to the typical lighthearted ads of the day. And just when you think Google’s ad couldn’t be any more of a tear-jerker, it turns out to be a true story based on the grandfather of one of its employees.

2.Hyundai’s “Smaht Pahk”

Boston pride jumps out in this ad filled with Beantown-affiliated celebrities Chris Evans, John Krasinski, Rachel Dratch and former Red Sox player David Ortiz. Hyundai takes the old phrase “Pahk the cah in Hahvahd yahd” to a whole new level with the actors using Bostonian accents to describe the car’s Smart Park feature. The comedic overtones and the familiarity of these well-known personalities made it a standout ad and one of the best pahts of the day.

3.Microsoft’s “Be the One”

Microsoft took an empowering stand in its commercial featuring Katie Sowers, the 49ers’ offensive assistant coach and the first woman and openly gay person to coach in the Super Bowl. The company aimed to move past simply including a woman in its ad to actually being a proponent and advocate of diversity and inclusion issues. The ad leaves women inspired to pursue their dreams through hard work.

Sometimes you feel like a nut… sometimes you don’t

4.Planters “Baby Nut”

Is it time for Baby Yoda to step aside? That’s still up for debate. After Planters killed off Mr. Peanut prior to the Super Bowl, Mr. Clean and the Kool-Aid Man mourned him at his funeral. But they hadn’t seen the last of him. Planters reintroduced the popular mascot in his newest form: as a wide-eyed, fresh-faced, dolphin-speaking baby. The Twitter-verse was divided on Baby Nut; some embraced his cuteness and welcomed the reincarnated nut with open arms, while others criticized Planters for the strange concept and its strong resemblance to Baby Yoda from Disney’s The Mandalorian.

We want to hear your opinions on this year’s Super Bowl ads. Are you a fan of the controversial Baby Nut? Did any other commercials make you laugh or cry? Connect with us on social media and tell us what’s on your mind.