Super Bowl 2021 Ads: Maya Rudolph, Don Cheadle, Brad Garrett and other celebrities

The competitive, high-stakes Super Bowl advertising landscape is looking a little different this year as big names like Budweiser, Pepsi (the sponsor of the halftime shows) and Coke await their usual commercial purchases as they rethink how best to promote their brands during the ongoing corona pandemic. Still, there’s no shortage of creative and entertaining ads to watch as the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers compete against reigning champions Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, February 7.

Here are some of the best, funniest, and most uplifting ads from the big game released early. We will keep updating this post when new ads appear.

Anheuser-Busch

Anheuser-Busch may have chosen to skip its usual Budweiser brand presence among Super Bowl commercials this year, but it’s debuting its first-ever corporate ad for the big game. David Fincher, director of Gone Girl and Fight Club, produced the cinematic video, which shows ordinary people enjoying beer together in a poignant reminder of pre-pandemic life.

Klarna

The Klarna shopping app wants to be boosted with a Western-themed ad starring four miniature Maya Rudolphs. The Saturday Night Live star gets to show off her singing chops.

Samuel Adams

Some Super Bowl viewers will get to see Clydesdale horses anyway. Beer-maker Sam Adams went in search of Budweiser with a commercial showing the released horses wreaking havoc on the city streets. The ad is only broadcast regionally in New York and Boston.

Indeed

Indeed, Jobs site has unveiled its very first Super Bowl ad, which taps into the emotional side of job search. The star of the show is a new recording of Andra Day’s anthemic song Rise Up, covered by singer and TikTok star Christian Shelton.

Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer

A host of famous look-alikes (and a true celebrity) star in Michelob’s push for his organic seltzer brand. The challenge is to spot the real famous person (spoiler: it’s Don Cheadle).

Jimmy John’s

The sandwich chain hasn’t revealed its actual Super Bowl ad yet, but it has released an extensive teaser starring Brad Garrett as the “King of Cold Cuts” who doesn’t appreciate Jimmy John moving into its territory. There’s a whole mafia-inspired storyline going on as a one-sided sandwich war begins.

Scotts and Miracle-Gro

Scotts relies on the long-standing Super Bowl tradition of harnessing the power of celebrities in his promotion of Miracle-Gro plant fertilizer. You will see many familiar faces, but John Travolta dancing with his daughter is a highlight.

Bud Light

The Bud Light Legends ad is a marketing reminder job. It gathers the stars of past Bud Light commercials, including the Bud Light Knight and Cedric the Entertainer, to rescue a toppled truck full of beer.

Frito-Lay

In an ad scheduled to run just before the toss, snack maker Frito-Lay has summoned a who’s who of Super Bowl stars, including the Manning brothers, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Terry Bradshaw, Jerome Bettis and Deion Sanders. Former Seattle Seahawk Marshawn Lynch narrates a tweaked version of A Visit From St. Nicholas, dubbed “Twas the Night Before Super Bowl.”

Squarespace

This is the expanded version of a shorter Squarespace ad featuring Dolly Parton’s reworked version of national treasure from her hit 9 to 5. The website provider’s ad is full of dancing entrepreneurs working on their side gigs after their normal business hours. And there is a topiary in the shape of a squirrel.

Amazon

Amazon has released quite a few different Alexa devices over the years, with some very different looks. The company’s Super Bowl ad asks, “What would be the ideal body for Alexa?” The answer is Michael B. Jordan, star of Black Panther and Creed.

Doritos

Actor Matthew McConaughey appears as a flattened 2D version of himself who is overthrown by a soccer ball and tangles with a robotic vacuum until a bag of Doritos’ 3D chips makes him his normal self again.

Cheetos

Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and Shaggy come together for a semi-musical mashup commercial in which Kutcher repeatedly accuses Kunis of eating his Cheetos Crunchy Pop Mix. She is caught with orange fingers, but manages to deny it.

Logitech

Logitech described its big game ad as an ode to the creators. The commercial is made possible by music star Lil Nas X, known for country rap Old Town Road. It’s all about using technology to unleash creativity.

Pringles

Pringles was given a case of space fever with a story about returning astronauts who were left at sea because mission control was too busy stacking chips to save them.

Tide

In a big nod to surreality, Tide detergent lingered over all the ways a hoodie adorned with Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander’s face got dirty. Yes, it is as weird as it sounds. This is an early contender for the game’s strangest ad.

Anheuser-Busch

Anheuser-Busch, Budweiser’s parent company, said in a statement that it would forgo the brand’s in-game airtime and instead spend the money on raising awareness and educating the public about COVID-19 vaccination efforts.

Still awarding slots to Bud Light and Michelob, Anheuser-Busch filmed its first-ever corporate commercial, a serious look at his community work and economic recovery.

Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade

Speaking of Bud Light, the low-cal beer brand took a humorous look at just how awful 2020 was with a lemon-filled ad for its hard seltzer lemonade. If life gives you lemons, advertise them.

Michelob Ultra

Michelob Ultra gave a thoughtful reflection on the nature of happiness to the melody of Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side. Sports superstars, including Peyton Manning and Serena Williams, were in attendance.

Stella Artois

Musician Lenny Kravitz stepped up for Stella Artois for an ad with an introspective message based on the idea that people get about 2.5 billion heartbeats in their lifetime.

Coors Light

Honorable Mention: Coors Light won’t be posting a Super Bowl ad during the game, but instead will end it wildly by launching the Big Game Commercial of Your Dreams campaign to encourage people to dream about his beer instead. It enlisted a psychologist to help develop a video that could potentially evoke nighttime visions of Coors Light. The dream-inducing video will be available for you to try on February 3rd.