Super Bowl 2023: snack ads score during the big game

The Super Bowl is more than just the National Football League (NFL) annual championship. There’s also the halftime show (this year, multi-platinum singer Rihanna), and the ads. The commercials between the plays have evolved over the years to be almost as hyped up as the actual game. To be sure, even we at Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery have played a role in hyping up the advertisements, sharing teasers of what snack or bakery company is enlisting which celebrities to hawk their tasty treats.

This year was no exception. The advertisements shown during this year’s Super Bowl included a number of highlights, including a handful of memorable snack-, candy-, and bakery-related commercials. While even football fans like me may be struggling only a few days after the end of the fourth quarter to remember who won (Kansas City), we likely will recall our favorite ads from the broadcast. Here are some highlights.

Doritos

As we open, we see Jack Harlow in the studio. Looking troubled, he says, “I need to try something new.” It turns out that something is giving up rap to play the triangle, inspired by the signature shape of Doritos chips. Despite the advice of friends like Missy Elliott, he forges on, and it turns out his instincts were spot on—the triangle craze catches on all over the world. However, at a ceremony recognizing the Triangle Player of the Year, Harlow is beaten out by…Elton John. Harlow consoles himself by eating Doritos—specifically, the new BBQ flavor. Find out more about the spot here.

PopCorners

The PopCorners spot hearkens back to the popular, drug-centric AMC series, Breaking Bad. Jesse Pinkman (played by Aaron Paul) is hard at work in the lab/trailer and we learn he and boss Walter White (Bryan Cranston) have switched from manufacturing drugs to making air-popped PopCorners chips. After sampling one, Jesse declares the snack product to be “the bomb” and Walter concurs. Customer Tuco (Raymond Cruz) declares them to be “tight” and demands that they “gimme all you got.” Read more about the ad here.

M&Ms

After a right-wing commentator sparked a furor over M&Ms characters supposedly being too “woke,” (I don’t get it, either), the brand dialed back plans to launch a campaign starring the characters and announced plans to replace them with actress (and singer in the amazing Prince cover band Princess) Maya Rudolph. While frolicking through a verdant public garden, she sings of her new Mars confection, Ma&Yas, which are…chocolate clam bites. Don’t worry, they’re not real, but you can find out more about the spoof spot here.

Dunkin

The people of Massachusetts are notoriously huge fans of Dunkin and actor Ben Affleck, himself a native son of the Boston area, is no exception. Here, he takes a break from the big screen and script writing to don Dunkin gear to work the drive-thru at one of the bakery brand’s Medford, MA, restaurants. The patrons exhibit a mix of reactions—amused, confused, unimpressed—and his real-life wife, singer/actress Jennifer Lopez, rolls through, telling him to “grab me a glazed!” Dunkin shared some hilarious outtakes here.

Planters

Celebrity roasts—where a bunch of comedians, actors, and other artists gather to lob good-natured yet still pointed insults at a famous person—can get quite salty with their language. In this Planters ad, comedians like Jeffrey Ross, Natasha Leggero, and Atsuko Okatsuka get salty in another way. The funny folks gather to lob digs at Mr. Peanut, the snack brand’s mascot. The ad shown during the game is mild, but Planters created a site where you can watch the full roast (view at your own risk here).

Pringles

Have you ever gotten your hand stuck in a Pringles can? If you answered yes (it’s all right, I won’t tell anyone), then you will relate to all the hapless victims of the “stuck in” phenomenon in this ad. Judges, ground crews at airports, game show contestants, pop star Meghan Trainor—no one is safe from getting stuck, as the wise grandfather in the ad advises his can-bound grandson. You can learn more about the commercial here.