Must-watch commercials of Super Bowl 52

Commercials, more often than not, serve as a complementary experience to the Super Bowl. Here were the best ads from the 2018 edition.

Given that the Super Bowl regularly attracts a worldwide audience, they always try to provide something for everyone. That’s mainly what Super Bowl commercials are for, as they give people who are watching their first NFL game something to look forward to.

Some brands, such as Budweiser and Doritos, are mainstays while others, like Old Spice and E-Trade, become household names because of the Super Bowl. It’s also a great platform for movies to showcase themselves and make people reach for their wallets with the latest trailers. And while many commercials get released before the game, there are some that do a good job of keeping things under wraps.

The ads for Super Bowl LII had a bit of everything, from “dilly dilly” to David Harbour hijacking commercials in the name of Tide. Here were the five best commercials from the big game:

1. Giants stars recreate Dirty Dancing

The New York Giants may have gone 3-13, but Eli Manning and Odell Beckham remain two of the biggest stars in the NFL. And as a Manning brother, Eli is well-versed in commercials. But there are few people that know of Beckham’s comedic side, which is why pairing him with his quarterback in a Dirty Dancing remake was the perfect way to showcase that.

Given that Manning missed a start for the first time in 210 games, and that McAdoo was fired, his future with the team remains uncertain. But Beckham will be around the Giants for a long time, which is probably why he felt doing this commercial would give him the proper send-off.

2. Dodge Ram trolls the hell out of the Vikings

While the Super Bowl crowd was pro-Eagles, the stage was set for the Minnesota Vikings to become the first team to host the big game. They finished 13-3, had the NFL’s best defense and made it all the way to the NFC Championship Game only to fall flat on their face.

Vikings fans have already been through a rollercoaster of emotions these playoffs, but Dodge Ram added insult to injury. Their commercial involved Vikings traveling to Minneapolis only to turn around and find out they weren’t involved in the Super Bowl. That’s cold. It’s okay Minnesota — there’s always next year.

3. Tyrion Lannister vs. Morgan Freeman

Doritos is a mainstay of the Super Bowl but this year, they teamed up with Mountain Dew to promote two of their newest products. They chose Peter Dinklage to represent Doritos Blaze and Morgan Freeman for Mountain Dew Ice, and it went as incredible as you would expect.

Everyone knows Dinklage can get down, as evidenced by this video of Tyrion Lannister dancing to “I Wish.” But seeing him lip sync Busta Rhymes’ verse in “Look at Me Now” was even better. Not to be outdone, though, Freeman countered by dancing to “Get Ur Freak On” by Missy Elliott. This is one of the rare occasions where Freeman made a scene better without his voice.

4. “This is a Tide ad”

The success of Stranger Things has helped the cast rise to superstardom, and deservedly so. But while much of the focus is on the kids, Chief Jim Hopper has always deserved more attention. Thanks to David Harbour appearing in a Super Bowl commercial, he’s finally got it.

If you’ve ever been to a Super Bowl party, trying to guess the brand of a commercial before it’s revealed makes for a great drinking game. This Tide commercial did a great job of getting a lot of people plastered all throughout the game by hijacking a generic car ad, Mr. Clean and the Old Spice guy. It also helped showcased David Harbour’s incredible range. If that won’t get people to stop eating Tide pods, nothing will.

5. Westworld season 2 trailer

Anyone who watched Westworld knew why it has the potential to be HBO’s next big drama. Given that it’s being billed as the next Game of Thrones, it’s not going to meet everyone’s expectations, but its highly original premise and superb acting deserve a ton of praise.

Next: 10 cities that should host a Super Bowl

It’s been over a year since Season 1 ended on a dramatic cliffhanger. However, the start of Season 2 was delayed because they had upped the show’s budget. If this trailer, which finally gave us a release date, is an indication of anything, it’s that the wait will be worth it. it’ll also help fill the Game of Thrones void, with the final season of that show not set to be released until 2019.