This year’s Super Bowl commercials feature more celebrities than products, and while it can sometimes be overkill, I get the celebrity appeal. Viewers may pay more attention to a Turbo Tax spot featuring Adrien Brody, than had it featured a former IRS accountant. I might learn more about Uber Eats by watching Matt McConaughey and Bradley Cooper yuk it up than I would from some unknown actor telling me how great it is. And watching Andy Samberg imitate Neil Diamond as he sings the praises for Hellman’s Mayonnaise will keep more eyeballs on the product shot than some C-List chef making a sandwich. I get it, I really do. It just seems that lately, more Super Bowl commercials feature celebrities than not. In fact, celebrities appear in more than 60% of these ads. Again, nothing wrong with it, and many of them are very good. But some of my favorite commercials of all time were created without celebrity spokespeople: Volkswagen “Funeral” (1969), Alka-Seltzer “Spicy Meatball” (1969), and the John Lewis Christmas commercial, “Man on the Moon” (2015). I guess my point is, if the commercial is creative enough, informative enough, interesting enough, the viewer will watch it, remember it, and respond to it, no matter who stars in it. It may make you laugh, or tug at your heartstrings. It might star an Oscar-winner, or some as-of-yet unheard-of actor. Whatever the concept, the most important thing is that it must sell the client’s product or service. If it doesn’t do that, no star – no matter how huge – can make it better. OK, enough about that, here’s my list – in no particular order – of my top five Super Bowl LX commercials.

RING – “Be a hero”- This spot introduces Ring’s new Advanced Search Party System, which helps reunite missing dogs with families. You post a photo of your missing dog into the Ring app, and outdoor cameras start looking for a match. It’s a great idea, and best of all, it’s free. You don’t need a Ring camera to use it, just the app. No celebs, no schtick, just a great spot that’s straightforward, very informative, and well done.

HELLMAN’S – “Meal Diamond”- Andy Samberg stars in this hysterical Sweet Caroline send up. The setting is a busy Deli, and Andy plays “Meal Diamond,” an over-the-top singer, complete with his name in sequins on the back of his jacket. He sings, “Sweet Sandwich Time,” he dances, he puts Hellman’s Mayo on everything. While it’s supposed to sell Hellman’s Mayonnaise (and it does) it could also be an SNL sketch. The song parody is great, as is the acting and direction. A memorable winner.

SQUARESPACE – “Unavailable”- Poor Emma Stone. No matter how hard she tries, “emmastone.com” is unavailable. Talk about a horror story!  Shot eerily in black and white, with a tip of the cap to every horror movie ever made, this Squarespace spot reminds us of the nightmare that domain name search can be. Emma’s frustration reinforces the need to get one’s domain before you lose it. At Squarespace of course.

GRUB HUB – “Who will eat the fees?” – This commercial for Grub Hub is to announce there will be no fees on orders over $50. The setting is a lavish, candlelit dinner party where a collection of eccentric guests awaits the serving of the final course, only to be shocked when they’re told it’s “The Fees.” The host asks, “Who will eat the fees?” as every guest comes up with ridiculous reasons why they can’t do it. The host asks again and the camera cuts to George Clooney as he announces, “Grub Hub will eat the fees.” The guests happily repeat his proclamation, strongly reinforcing Grub Hub’s new fee structure. Funny, well cast and directed, and most importantly, it delivers the message.

GOOGLE GEMINI – “New Home” – A very nice commercial that demonstrates how Google’s Gemini app helped a mother and her son visualize what their new home could look like. The son has only seen photos of empty rooms, making him somewhat anxious about the move. Gemini’s image generation and editing tools helps mom fill her son’s new room with his things, so it can feel more like home to him. They do the same with the backyard, and suddenly, the house begins to feel like home to mother and child. It’s a great product demonstration, showing how AI can be a helpful tool. For the music bed, using a piano version of Randy Newman’s “Feels like home,” was brilliant and works perfectly with this spot, as does the tag: “A new kind of help from Google.” Very nice…