The best commercials from the 2022 Super Bowl

The Super Bowl: For some, it’s a chance to watch two great teams battle it out on the gridiron for the ultimate prize. For others, it’s an opportunity to get together with family, enjoy some snacks, and watch the extravagant halftime show. But you’re here for the commercials, and we have the highlights.

If you missed the game and wanted to catch up on the commercials, or did something else with your time during ad breaks, this is the place for you. There were also new trailers for Jordan Peele’s Nope, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Disney Plus’s Moon Knight and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, but here were some of the non-trailer commercial highlights, listed in alphabetical order:

BMW: Zeus & Hera

The electricity puns are all well and good, and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Salma Hayek Pinault as a retired Zeus and Hera is a fun little bit. But there’s one reason above all else this spot makes this list: Peggy, the adorable baby Pegasus Zeus takes out on walks.

Bud Light Seltzer Hard Soda: Land of Loud Flavors

Welcome to FlavorTown, USA (with the serial numbers filed off). Guy Fieri plays into type with one simple, effective joke taken to the extreme — he’s the mayor of the Land of Loud Flavors. And everyone has his hairstyle.

Chevy: New Generation (The Sopranos)

New decade, new Sopranos, new Chevy. This riff on The Sopranos’ opener includes the classic opening theme music “Woke Up This Morning” by Alabama 3 as well as appearances by actors Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Meadow Soprano) and Robert Iler (A.J. Soprano), and is directed by Sopranos showrunner David Chase. Instead of Tony driving a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban, like in the show, it’s Meadow in an electric Chevy Silverado.

Hellmann’s: Mayo Tackles Food Waste

This one’s for fans of the old Terry Tate: Office Linebacker commercial series — or fans of Pete Davidson getting tackled. Former Super Bowl champion linebacker Jerod Mayo (now a coach with the Patriots) tackles a lot of people for the crime of wasting food in this ad, culminating with Davidson (who sheepishly admits “I get it, I’m very hittable”).

Kia EV6: Robot Dog

This commercial’s got it all: a robot dog, a real dog, robot dog stunts, Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” more robot dog stunts, robot dog-human bonding, real dog-human bonding, robot dog-electric car bonding — the list goes on.

Lays: Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd

You probably already know from the title whether or not you’ll like this. It’s Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd, hanging out and riffing on “memories” they’ve had with Lays potato chips.

Nissan: Thrill Driver

The pitch: a car so cool it can make Eugene Levy into a convincing action lead. And it kind of works!

PepsiCo: Road to Super Bowl LVI

A classic genre of Super Bowl commercial: football legends hanging out. The Mannings are everywhere these days on TV, but it’s a delight to see Jerome Bettis go all out in this one.

Rakuten: High Stakes

Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso) is really what makes this work, playing a Bond villain type playing poker against just some normal person.

Sam’s Club: Kevin Hart VIP

This is a well-worn recent genre of commercial, but there’s a reason it works. This is another “you get the same service as people who think they’re special” ad, with Kevin Hart as the self-effacing celebrity this time around.

Squarespace: Sally’s Seashells w/ Zendaya

A commercial entirely dedicated to the old tongue twister, Squarespace gives us this cute ad with Zendaya and André 3000, about their website being so useful it can even help sell seashells on the beach.