Super Bowl 2021 ads so far: Bud Light and Tide commercials lead the pack – CNET [CNET]

There won’t be any Budweiser Clydesdale horses booping noses with puppies during Super Bowl LV on Sunday, Feb. 7. 

The competitive, high-stakes ad landscape is looking a little different this year as big names like Budweiser, Pepsi and Coke sit out their usual commercial buys as they rethink how to best promote their brands during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. But there’s still no shortage of creative and entertaining ads to watch as the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers take on reigning champs Kansas City Chiefs.

Here are some of the best, funniest and most entertaining ads from the big game that have been released early. We’ll keep updating this post as new ads come out. 

Pringles

Pringles got a case of space fever with a story about returning astronauts left afloat at sea because mission control was too busy stacking chips to rescue them. 

Tide

In a big nod to surreality, Tide laundry detergent lingered over all the ways a hoodie emblazoned with Seinfeld actor Jason Alexander’s face got dirty. Yes, it’s as weird as it sounds. This is an early contender for oddest ad of the game.

Anheuser-Busch

Anheuser-Busch, parent company of Budweiser, said in a statement it would forego the brand’s in-game air-time and instead put the funds toward public awareness and education for COVID-19 vaccination efforts. 

Anheuser-Busch still allotted slots to Bud Light and Michelob and filmed its first ever corporate commercial, a serious look at its community work and economic recovery efforts. 

Speaking of Bud Light, the low-cal beer brand went in for a humorous look at how terrible 2020 was with a lemon-filled ad for its hard seltzer lemonade. When life gives you lemons, make a commercial out of it.

Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade

Michelob Ultra 

Michelob Ultra delivered a thoughtful reflection on the nature of happiness set to the tune of Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side. Sports superstars including Peyton Manning and Serena Williams put in appearances.

Coors Light

Honorable mention: Coors Light won’t run a Super Bowl ad during the game, but will instead do a wild end run by launching its Big Game Commercial of Your Dreams campaign to encourage people to dream about its beer instead. It enlisted a psychologist to help develop a video that could possibly trigger nighttime visions of Coors Light. The dream-inducing video will be available to try out starting on Feb. 3.