Via USA Today and Ad Meter, these were the five top-rated commercials from last night's blockbuster Super Bowl, in which the New England Patriots' historic comeback stole the show. You'll notice some overlap from Leah's list of politically-tinged ads, but the winning spot proves that some well-executed slapstick is always a hit:
(5) Tide's "Bradshaw Stain," featuring a vaguely Bluthian Jeffrey Tambor. Shh, shh, shh:
(4) Budweiser's "Born the Hard Way," which some say had anti-Trump undertones, given its immigration theme:
(3) Audi's hypocritical and inaccurate "Daughter" tribute to gender equality:
(2) Honda's "Yearbooks" ad, which may have been my personal favorite. Well-crafted, entertaining, and uplifting:
(1) Kia's (corrected) "Hero's Journey" starring Melissa McCarthy, a.k.a. SNL's Sean Spicer. Was it ridiculing hardcore greenies, or glorifying their cause? Or a little bit of both. Either way, it was funny:
Interestingly, the top three slots were all filled by car companies this year. As for Americans' least favorite commercials, click through for that 'bottom five' list, featuring two misfires from the same entity. Despite some memorable ads and a delightfully apolitical tour de force from Lady Gaga, the game ended up being the main event. Which is exactly how it should be. I'll leave you with this. Pretty impressive:
Halftime timelapse. The coordination is ridiculous. #SB51 pic.twitter.com/kfEbpy6mvW
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) February 6, 2017