So no one asked for Dolly Parton to rework her "9to 5" lyrics for SquareSpace (into 5 to 9), or for Leslie Grace and Meek Mill to spoil Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine's "Conga" for Baccardi (note to Baccardi, why not run of your old "Be what you wanna be" ads from the 90s?), or for Lil' Nas to - hey, I cannot ever remember what ad he was on! Or for McDoland's to continue the "let's-wreck-every-track-people-loved" saga this year with a mashup by DJ Earworm of songs including 24kGldn's "Mood," J. Balvin's "Mi Gente," Celine Dion's "All Coming Back To Me Now," (which originally is by Meatloaf) Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire" and The Proclaimers' "500 Miles", which sort of ruined them all. Sketchers decided to include an NFL player and their budget did not got as high as Tom Brady and Gisele so they ended up with Tony Romo.
While Amazon picked Michael B. Jordan as the "body of Alexa" - which considering how bad the other ads are made this one seem genuinely good (even if, on a decent year it would be average). Will Farrell in a silly slapstick for GM along with Awkwafina does not invite you to join the ride. Lenny Kravitz jumps in for Stella Artois in a decent effort which is half shot and half animated. The weeknd predictably stars in the - what else? - but the Pepsi commercial (he is after all this year's star of the half time!). Bud Light recreates that frog raining scene from Magnolia but with lemons (to promote their own flavored lemon-tasting drink) because "when life gives you lemons" (you know all the wrong things that happened last year). Michelob Ultra asks the daft question:"Are you happy because you win? Or do you win because you're happy?" using Serena Williams, Peyton Manning, Anthony Davis, Brooks Koepka, Jimmy Butler and Alex Morgan.
Mountain Due certified that John Cena knows how to count (to 3) (Note to Mountain Due, you really should have bought Daniel Johnston's lovely tune!), Tide played along with Jason Alexander - supposedly it was funny, not sure how though. And Uber Eats revived Wayne's World. Mind you as I am writing this I am still scrolling though "just insert a celebrity and pretend it is funny" ads.
Now there is however a lovely ad worth watching. The superb Anheuser-Busch: "Let's Grab a Beer". Because, "It's never just about the beer. It's about being together." After 2020, would anyone dare argue?