Best 2018 Super Bowl Ads, From Dinklage's Doritos to Sprint's 'Westworld' Moment

What a game,right? Those Patriots. Those Eagles! TRICK PLAYS! That's a Super Bowl for you. And the action continued during the commercial breaks, especially if you were interested in what various companies thought was worth paying upwards of $5 million to parade in front of 110 million people. The answer, surprising no one, is a three-way tie between "hilarious ads that prove we don't take ourselves seriously," movie trailers, and teasers for movie trailers that will be airing in full on other shows and networks. (We're looking at you,

Skyscraper.) Thankfully, folks this year seem to have spent their money more wisely than Gardenburger did back in the ’90s. So, from the biggest blockbusters to the smallest fire-spitters, here are your official best of the bunch.

Having met David Harbour, we can attest to the fact that he's got a sense of humor. And here, he puts it to good use, sticking the landing on Tide's suggestion that any ad featuring clean clothes is actually...wait for it...a Tide ad. Is the argument air-tight? Not really. Did Tide spend $5 million to try to make us forget about those delicious pods? Quite possibly. Do we now want David Harbour to host Saturday Night Live? Most definitely. —Peter Rubin

Dilly, dilly. If you know these words, then Bud Light's latest ad campaign has already done its work. "The Bud Knight" is the third in its Super Bowl "trilogy,", an extension of a Game of Thrones-inspired campaign that started last August. In the first ad of the series, "Banquet," a royal court accepts gifts, specifically cases of Bud Light, from its subjects, responding joyously to the gift with the refrain "dilly dilly." I won't spoil the end, but suffice it to say "dilly dilly" quickly became a sports meme. (It's a bit of good fortune for the ad's creators that Ben Roethlisberger called "dilly dilly" during an audible earlier in the season.) Anheuser-Busch seems happy to ride the "dilly dilly" wave as long as possible—and I'm sure people will love it, man, for years to come. —Andrea Valdez

Did you remember there was another Mission: Impossible movie coming? We didn’t. But hey, who isn’t happy to see more quick-cuts of Tom Cruise crashing vehicles, hanging off of things, and clenching his teeth like his jaw is literally made of iron? No one. That’s who. There’s little to no indication of what the actual impossible mission is this time around, but considering the plot is often secondary to the things mentioned above, that’s fine. Cue the theme song! —Angela Watercutter

Up until now, we've only gotten a single teaser about Hulu's Stephen King meta-smoothie; now, we're starting to get a sense of its flavor. If you hoped for a Stranger Things-style easter egg parade, that's not on offer here. Instead, the new trailer satisfies itself with flicking at the thematic edges King's literary universe, from angry dogs to darkened sewers. It seems that the Maine attraction is still to come. —Peter Rubin

Face it: Chris Pratt is a beer. He's cool, strong, and generally makes you feel better in the moment than you feel about him/it the next day. It's only right that he would use his natural charisma to hawk beer. Whether or not Michelob Ultra is the exact kind of beer Pratt exemplifies is debatable, but Star-Lord can pretty much sell anyone on anything. —Angela Watercutter

Sprint really feels some kind of way about Verizon, huh? This time, they go with that time-honored tradition: verbally abusive robots. A little bit of Westworld, a little bit of Ex Machina, and—thankfully—a little bit of the Mooninites from Aqua Teen Hunger Force. We're not looking for a new carrier, but can we get that sarcastic little bastard in wifi-only? —Peter Rubin

One way to not completely fail at life is to be more like Tiffany Haddish. With respect to Cardi B and Barack Obama, who had a more triumphant 2017 than her? So when multi-hyphenate talent—comedian, actress, author, life-guru—tells you to use Groupon, because it helps to support local business and saves you money in the process, you do it. Think of it like this: to become the best, heed their guidance with vigor. —Jason Parham

What's better than watching Peter Dinklage lip sync to Busta Rhymes? Watching Morgan Freeman lip sync to Missy Elliott. What's better than all of those things? New flavors of Doritos and Mt. Dew. At least, that's what this commercial would have you believe. We're not totally buying it, but it's fun to watch regardless —Angela Watercutter

Avocados are delicious in just about every configuration: with sea salt and olive oil, as guacamole, on toast, in a smoothie. It seems entirely plausible, then, that a future where inhabitants are not allowed to enjoy them in endless forms would immediately and nightmarishly unravel. The lesson is a simple one: don’t forget the chips. —Jason Parham

Bill Hader's HBO show Barry doesn't arrive until late March, so if you've been craving his marvelously elastic face, this is all you're gonna get for a while. Still, he manages to get more out of an otherwise by-the-numbers 30-second spot than should be possible. Pringles? Sure, fine. "NOBODY ASKED YOU, KEVIN!"? Yes, please. Now bring on Barry. —Peter Rubin

Fast food's leading purveyor of hey-fellow-kids #BrandsSayingBae-isms has doubled down on its superlit shade-throwing, fam! This time, they came for McDonald's and they brought their ... [consults Wendy's style guide] ... "fleekest receipts," apparently. Shots at "The Frozen Arches"? Check. Moments of silence that prompt you to look up from your nacho trough and catch their super-organic snark? Check. Awkward pairing of ad agency and millennialler–than-thou social-media identity? Check and mate! —Peter Rubin

Maybe somebody told Jeff Bezos that Alexa can be kinda creepy. Maybe this is his way of reminding us how even-keeled and predictable Amazon’s voice assistant really is. You know, she might be recording everything you say, but at least she doesn’t make fun of your grilled cheese or tell you weird stories about the bush? Either way, this is some enjoyably star-studded goofiness. —Emma Grey Ellis

No answers. No clues. No samurai. Just some rampaging half-finished hosts (human and bison alike), some familiar faces, and a lot of slow-motion sturm und drang. No complaints, either. —Peter Rubin