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ON THE COUCH — The Super Bowl of crypto was a mixed bag.
In a Big Game that featured big investments from cryptocurrency exchange companies, with brands paying as much as $7 million for a 30-second ad spot, some commercials brought in the right eyeballs, while others … well, didn't.
And yet the biggest themes of the Super Bowl — when football wasn't airing — were many of the same ones of the halftime show featuring a crew of 90's rap and hip-hop legends: pure, unadulterated, feel-good nostalgia.
Here's a look at some of our favorite spots — the good, the bad and the head-scratching.
Coinbase, 'QR Code'
Plenty of cryptocurrency exchange companies, from crypto.com to FTX, bought into this year's Super Bowl, and one of them — Coinbase — paid more than $5 million for 30 seconds that didn't include a single video, hired actor or celebrity appearance.
Instead, the publicly traded crypto exchange platform currently trending at $194.53 on the NASDAQ floated a QR code on the screen. Did it work? Did you scan it?
What did the QR code say? I was busy getting snacks #PlantersAllorOnepic.twitter.com/PWMzKFdY1q
— Mr. Peanut (@MrPeanut) February 14, 2022
The ad won't win many awards, but it was effective in spawning a small army of internet memes — including from everyone's favorite anthropomorphic legume.
It also crashed the website within minutes of the commercial's run.
Coinbase just spent $14 million for a color-changing QR code to bounce around on the screen for 30-seconds during the Super Bowl…
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) February 14, 2022
And the website crashed.
Meta Quest, 'Old Friends. New Fun.'
Showbiz Pizza children of the 90's, rejoice!
Meta Quest, a subsidiary of the company formerly known as Facebook, invited Millennials into its virtual-reality space with a nod to everyone's favorite animatronic rock band (though with no nod to Mr. Chuck E. Cheese that inspired it, for obvious licensing reasons).
The mini-film takes viewers through the life of an animatronic dog, from performing nightly with his odd-shaped, furry friends to finding new life after retirement in a museum to finally inhabiting a digital space that includes an emotional reunion, all set to Simple Mind's "Don't You (Forget About Me)."
It was an odd mix of nostalgia, and also a little bit of fear — how could we forget about that?
Lay's, 'Golden Memories'
Is there anyone who doesn't love Paul Rudd?
What about Seth Rogen?
The actor — who looks as equally 30 years old in 2002 as he did in 1992 — made us laugh, cry, scream and love life as he reminisced with the cold-feeted Rogen on the steps of a chapel before the latter's nuptials.
Now we really want to see these two in a zombie action thriller, a suspenseful horror flick, or at least a road trip-style rom-com.
Doritos, 'Push It'
It's not every day you can see a sloth, deer, bear, water buffalo and more in one outing. But according to Doritos, if you bring some of the brand's Flamin' Hot chips, it's possible.
Apparently, chips can do more than just bring animals together from all over the world, it can also make them sing a pretty impressive cover of Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It."
But just a warning for when you try to recreate this commercial, the sloth seems to be the most possessive of his chips.
Rocket Homes and Rocket Mortgage, 'Dream House with Anna Kendrick and Barbie'
Who knew everyone wanted to live in Barbie's Dream House?
Recent homebuyers could testify that no house is safe from the barrage of crazy offers from the likes of Cash Offer Carl and House Flipper Skipper. As the commercial says, "this is less than ideal!"
Luckily for Barbie, she's backed by Rocket Mortgage and got the home, meaning we don't have to rename it Carl's Dream House. Phew.
Bud Light, 'Land of Loud Flavors'
It wouldn't be a Super Bowl without top representation from Anheuser-Busch.
The mayor of Flavor Town, reality television star Guy Fieri, reprised his role as the Mayor of Flavor Town with Bud Light's latest advertisement for its seltzer hard soda, which takes place at a house party before three unsuspecting guests are transported to the secret world behind the refrigerator, Wonderland-style.
When Fieri cracks open a can, he releases his patented, "Whoa!" before declaring: "Citizens, there's a new flavor in town."
Here's a list of other ad spots that ran during the Big Game on NBC, not including trailers and local advertisements.
- Cue Health, "Meet Cue"
- Turkish Airlines, "Pangea"
- Crypto.com, "The Moment of Truth"
- NFL, "Bring Down The House"
- Verizon, "Goodbye Cable
- Toyota, "The Joneses"
- FTX, "Don't Miss Out"
- Gillette, "A Quick & Easy Shave"
- Disney Plus, "Disney Plus has all the GOATs"
- Chevrolet, "New Generation"
- eToro, "Flying Your Way"
Which was your favorite? Leave a comment below if we missed your favorite commercial.