This week: The Super Bowl brings comedy back in full force, brands get nostalgic, a new category steals the show and more. 

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5. Lay’s: Stay Golden
Agency: Highdive

A lot of brands went the nostalgic route by revisiting classic pop culture moments, but Lay’s, along with agency Highdive, instead traveled down memory lane with actors Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen in this totally watchable—and rewatchable ad. The comedic talents were in their finest form recounting their “golden years” that included everything from a road trip to a kidnapping.

4. Toyota: The Joneses
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi L.A./Dallas

There was a ton of comedy in the game this year, but Toyota’s ad for the Tundra, directed by Hungry Man’s Bryan Buckley, really stood out among the pack with its easy comedy and the impeccable performances from its all-star cast of “Joneses," including Tommy Lee Jones, Leslie Jones and Rashida Jones—plus the rogue Nick Jonas. The look Tommy Lee gives Jonas when the young talent appears on the scene, was, in our book, the best performance from an A-Lister in the entire game.

3. Uber Eats: Uber Don’t Eats
Agency: Special Group U.S.

Uber Eats arguably had the best teaser strategy for its Super Bowl spot, with short snippets of its celebrity cast biting into things you shouldn’t be biting into, including lipstick, deodorant and a vagina candle. The spot itself, starring Jennifer Coolidge, Trevor Noah, Gwyneth Paltrow and Nicholas Braun, delivered on the laughs as well.

It was enough to compel the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to tweet, “Do not eat soap.” Nevertheless, it was the night’s strongest product message, entertainingly told. 

2. GM/Chevrolet: New Generations
Agency: McCann

The familiar anthem of HBO’s classic series “The Sopranos” was enough to stop football fans and guac eaters in their tracks when this spot aired in the second quarter of the game. Viewers were treated to even more nostalgia with a remake of the show’s opening scene, but this time, with actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who played Tony Soprano’s daughter Meadow, in the driver’s seat, eventually reuniting with her brother AJ (Robert Iler). The ad was GM’s push for Chevrolet’s Silverado EV, and agency McCann tapped the show’s original creator, David Chase, to direct and help create "an homage to some unanswered questions to the ending of the series," said Chevrolet Marketing VP Steve Majoros.

1. Coinbase: WAGMI ("We're All Going to Make It")
Agency: Accenture Interactive

The biggest surprise of the Super Bowl was this 60-second ad from cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase that showed nothing but a lo-fi QR code bouncing up and down around the screen like the "ball" in the arcade game Pong. Viewers that snapped the code were taken to Coinbase.com, where they were invited to sign up for an account and receive $15 worth of free cryptocurrency. Users of the platform before the Super Bowl got a chance to score $1 million in a contest, the winners of which will be announced in March. Though some who tried to sign in encountered glitches, the ad generated plenty of buzz on Super Bowl Sunday, as well as numerous brand parodies. 

For more great ideas, bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day at Adage.com/Creativity. 

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