Amp spotlight: Super Bowl 2020’s best—and most memorable—ads

Another year, another Super Bowl and another spate of high-profile, high-risk multimillion-dollar commercials. The consensus at Ad Age is that the creative was a notch above last year's, but that overall the Big Game did not produce many standouts. Despite the paucity of originality, "there were still a handful of commercials that felt timeless and could have played well even back in my childhood years in the '80s,” says Mills Allison, director of creative services at Levelwing.

We polled members of the Amp community to get an insider’s take on which of those coveted spots made the biggest splash in the moment and, given the large investment brands made on these ads, which would have the longest-term impact. In order of popularity—with Jeep leading the pack by a mile—here are this year’s best:

Jeep, "Groundhog Day," Highdive

“Jeep and Bill Murray stole the night. Knowing how hard it is to sell through a script like this, then getting everyone to play ball—incredible. With movie references that made sense, celebrities that were integral to the plot and Sonny and Cher to boot, everything just came together.” —Jason Musante, Chief Creative Officer, Huge

“It was irreverent but also demonstrated the product really well. Add the fact that the Super Bowl landed on Groundhog Day, and the choice of movie and Bill Murray’s character was simply brilliant.” —Chuck McBride, Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Cutwater

“Did you ever try to get Bill Murray in a commercial? Well, I did. Let me tell you this: It’s (almost) impossible to get his attention away from the Pebble Beach golf course. So, if it was only for this, I would applaud the team behind the ad. But the spot itself is very strong. They managed to tell a story we all know, putting the product at the core and pulling it off in a brilliant way.” —Fred Levron, Worldwide Creative Partner, FCB

“I was caught up in the Groundhog Day revisit for Jeep, although I love Bill Murray so much the man could spit in a cup and I'd purchase it.” —Micky Ogando, Principal and Chief Creative Officer, Bakery

“It’s borrowing interest from a movie that is already fantastic—and it’s Bill Murray. That being said, Honda did pretty much the exact same thing with Ferris Bueller a few years ago, and I’m probably the only one who remembers it.” —Deacon Webster, Owner and Chief Creative Officer, Walrus NYC

Hyundai Sonata, “Pahk the Cahr,” Innocean

“It was fun, single-minded, simple and 100 percent built around the product. This was the anti-Michael Bay approach—one location, one idea—and, to me, it’s a far better use of 30 seconds.” —Deacon Webster, Owner and Chief Creative Officer, Walrus NYC

“I thought it was funny, and they have me thinking about the feature today. Also, as a Dominican, I'm contractually obligated to love anything with Big Papi in it.” —Micky Ogando, Principal and Chief Creative Officer, Bakery

“It’s a clever way of getting people to talk about the features of their new car, and man is it a cool feature. Loaded with star power, and people are going to be repeating this phrase over and over just like 'Dilly Dilly' because of the inherent likability of John Krasinski, Rachel Dratch and Chris Evans. If I’ve learned anything in my time in advertising, it’s give 'em an ear worm.” —Jason Geis, VP and Group Creative Director, Blue Chip

 

 

Google, “Loretta,” Google Creative Lab

“I love a good cry, which is why my favorite Super Bowl ad this year, and the ad I think will have a lasting impact, was the 'Google remembers' ad. Simple but moving, this not only tugged at my heartstrings but also clearly represented the features of Google's Voice Assistant. From an agency standpoint, it is also a great example that not all video ads need a large production budget. Google clearly presents how good storytelling and minimal imagery can still create a moving and memorable ad.” —Hailey Johnson, Content Strategist, ThreeSixtyEight

“It wasn’t the typical tale of a hero’s journey, but rather a moving reflection on the fragility of life. For all of the advances in technology, the chief complaint among the masses is that we are dehumanizing the very essence of what it means to be human. But every now and again, technology makes us more human and makes life more livable. Google deftly captured this symbiosis in a manner that will linger in my memory, well beyond my recollection of the game’s winner and loser.” —Jeff Adelson-Yan, Co-Founder and President, Levelwing

“It tugged at the heartstrings while still getting the positive message across without being loud or elaborate.” —Cristina Calvet, Founder and CEO, CCH Marketing

 

Bud Light/Bud Light Seltzer, “#PostyStore,” Wieden & Kennedy New York

“Seeing Post Malone throw himself around a convenience store for Bud Light/Bud Light Seltzer was funny and rewarding.” —Micky Ogando, Principal and Chief Creative Officer, Bakery

“Bud Light’s #PostyStore ‘Inside Post’s Brain’ capitalized on one of beer’s biggest days of the year and a fast-growing product category to promote their hard seltzer, while using the opportunity to anticipate and respond to audience concerns: by calling out that Bud Light Seltzer doesn’t taste like Bud Light, and shifting the perception away from the idea that seltzer is a 'woman's drink.' It provided a moment of levity during a tense second half.” —Isobel Hardwidge, Strategist, Kettle

 

 

Amazon Alexa, "Before Alexa," Droga5 

“Until recently, I have felt Amazon was one of those big brands that believed in boring ads. But they have finally hit their stride by using clever analogies and funny situations to showcase their products.” —Chuck McBride, Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Cutwater

“It’s a really interesting commercial in that it shows just how much of an impact Amazon has had on our collective psyche. This ad is a great primer for people to understand the breadth of the Alexa platform and just how much it has helped ease the human experience of otherwise banal tasks that pull you away from family, friends and focusing on living life.” —Chris Eichenseer, Founder and Creative Director, Someoddpilot

 

Microsoft, “Be the One: Katie Sowers / Surface,” McCann New York

“Telling the story behind the first female NFL coach, Katie Sowers, was inspiring and showed what is possible if you put your mind to it. It gave me chills as she described her dream and how she is living it now.” —Gina Michnowicz, CEO and Executive Creative Director, The Craftsman

“The lasting impact of this ad is multidimensional. Katie's own words in the spot tear down the gender bias and relate to all: ‘I'm not trying to be the best female coach, I'm trying to be the best coach.’ I also believe that Microsoft builds a powerful brand image of inclusion, support and possibility by recognizing what Katie has done. Inspiring and brilliant work.” —Carolyn Walker, CEO and Managing Partner, Response

 

Tide, "Stains Can Wait," Woven

“When you measure the success of Super Bowl ads, most just look at the entertainment or emotional value the commercial created. I like to look at it through the brand performance lens as well. Tide did a great job at selling the point that now you don’t have to treat stains—their new formula can get it out whenever you wash. The spots were funny, used likable but not huge stars, and integrated into all the other commercials seamlessly. A win for Tide and a win for someone like me who is always staining his shirt.” —Tom Olivieri, VP of Creative, Tinuiti

“Tide is going to be talked about because it has now established a Tide-verse that the Bud Knight and Pepsi both live in. Plus, Charlie Day gives a great performance. The real winner of this, though, is that Tide is getting us to remember we can do your laundry later even if you get a stain, because of the new Tide Pods strength. Tide has now done this twice at the Super Bowl—made very clever commercials that actually illustrate why you should buy Tide.” —Jason Geis, VP/Group Creative Director, Blue Chip

 

 

Quicken Loans, “Comfortable,” Highdive

“There is a difference between my favorite ad when I am five drinks deep and surrounded by friends and when I am sober judging from my desk as a creative. During the game I loved simple and funny—Rocket Mortgage with Jason Momoa.” —Jason Hines, Creative Director, RPA

“I loved the Rocket Mortgage spot with Jason Momoa coming home and peeling away his huge biceps and chest. It was such a simple but outrageous visual gag to convey that Rocket Mortgage understands the value that home is where you can be comfortable in your own skin. Simple. True. Hilarious." —Tommy Means, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Mekanism

 

Procter & Gamble, "When We Come Together," Grey Midwest

 

“It took some of their most successful campaigns and showed how P&G is intertwined with our daily lives. The use of humor was effective. We were also able to see some of our favorite characters from previous commercials such as the Old Spice Man and Mr. Clean. The additional cameos of Rob Riggle as the Bounty Man and Busy Phillips were unexpected twists.” —Gina Michnowicz, CEO and Executive Creative Director, The Craftsman

 

 

 

Hulu, “I'm Not Going Anywhere”

“It was a flawless way to build on the ‘Hulu Sellouts’ campaign, complete with cleverly planned pre-game breadcrumbs tossed across social media to fuel the rumors that heightened the effect of the ad itself. Where I was watching, you could hear a pin drop from the first second of the ad and cheers of shock and amusement at the reveal. It was the only ad that won that kind of reaction, so I think this will be the new gold standard for breaking through in today’s cluttered media landscape.” —Hanna Samad, Manager, Digital Strategy, RPA

 

 

 

Little Caesars, “Sliced Bread,” McKinney

“I had no idea they were starting delivery. This is huge. I love Little Caesars pizza. People love Little Caesars. But it’s so hard to get. Now that this is available, people will clamor for it. Talk about lasting effect. This was essentially Little Caesars coming out to the party and everyone is going to get to their computers and phones and reward them by ordering. Also, the ad was great. Taking down sliced bread … hilarious.” —Jason Geis, VP/Group Creative Director, Blue Chip

 

 

 

Cheetos Popcorn, “Can’t Touch This,” Goodby, Silverstein & Partners

“Sure, it’s not the first ad to use MC Hammer’s smash hit ‘U Can’t Touch This' in a commercial, but what happened right after it aired instantly proved the change from decades past.... Literally the second the television spot ended, my Instagram Stories suddenly had Hammer dancing merrily across my iPhone, selling me on these delicious little kernels of cheetle’d delight.” —Mills Allison, Director of Creative Services, Levelwing

MTN Dew, “Zero Sugar, As Good As the Original,” TBWA

“I was feeling like this year would be another flop for this strategy until I saw Bryan Cranston and Tracee Ellis Ross in their Mountain Dew salute to the 1980 Stanley Kubrick classic, 'The Shining.' Cranston looks legitimately and terrifyingly crazy. Letting that level of dark, wild-eyed depravity into a sugar-free Mountain Dew spot is inspiring. Ellis Ross more than holds her own with a Shelley Duvall parody that still has me chuckling.” —John Limotte, CEO and Executive Creative Director, Mustache (part of Cognizant Interactive)

 

 

McDonalds, “Famous Orders,” Wieden & Kennedy New York

“In a world of high production and big budgets, I’m always a fan of smart simplicity.  Honestly, I had to go back and watch a lot of the work, but that one failed to get lost in the hype.” —Lindsey Allison, Head of Strategy, Engine [Editor's note: The spot aired before the game.]

 

Porsche, “The Heist,” Cramer-Krasselt

“The biggest reason why this is such an effective ad is it puts Porsche's new Taycan Turbo S in the category of ‘fast’ before you even think of it as electric. The spot captures sports car consumers’ attention and then offers those hesitant to go electric something that Tesla can’t: 80-plus years of sports car legacy and tradition. This presents the current leader in performance electric cars, Tesla, with a major challenge, and is sure to make an impact on both car makers’ bottom line.” —Eric Arcidiacono, Director of Strategy, Kettle