Culture

The Best Super Bowl Commercials, From Avocados to Zelda

Things may have gotten political this year, but that didn't mean the ads were humorless.

The Super Bowl, in its current form, is known for two things: football, and companies spending millions to get a 30-second spot on the air in between touchdowns. Super Bowl LI was no different. But this year, not too surprisingly, things got political. Just a week after President Trump signed his executive order on immigration, Budweiser's Super Bowl ad celebrated the contributions of foreign nationals. Audi's spot called for equal pay for women. Kia turned Melissa McCarthy into an eco-warrior. And 84 Lumber made an ad with a border wall—but that one was found to be too controversial to put on TV. But there were some fun ads, too. (To wit: The avocado lobby taking on the Illuminati.) The best of the best are below, just in case you were on a snack run when they aired.

Angela Watercutter is WIRED's senior editor for special projects. Prior to joining WIRED she was a reporter for the Associated Press. Watercutter was also a senior editor of Longshot magazine and a contributor to Pop-Up Magazine. She received a bachelor of science degree in journalism from Ohio University. ... Read more
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