There were Super Bowl commercials given grand fanfares in the lead-up to the game. And some that turned out to be quieter achievers.

Amazon’s family-pleaser is one of the latter – a story with recent history to make it relatable and a mischievous dog to make it appealing, a “Hollywood” crisis moment to make it suspenseful and a happy ending that sends endorphins around your body.

Dunkin’ Donuts’ ad was everything it was hyped to be – a Ben Affleck–Jennifer Lopez lovefest. The brand put Affleck to work in a real-life Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru and filmed people’s reactions. Apparently, Affleck is known to be a genuine fan of the chain, which adds an extra, though perhaps unnecessary, touch of realness to the reality show. Celebrity endorsements – who believes them?  

Mars Wrigley has been playing with people’s obsession about M&M’s candy spokes-characters all year, changing how they looked, giving them elaborate backstories…being pilloried in social media. Finally, it taunted people with a Super Bowl ad that replaced them with Maya Rudolph, who rebranded the chockies as ma&ya’s candy coated clam bites.

But then came this:

Back for good. #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/sJHDmPHn8x

— M&M’S (@mmschocolate) February 13, 2023