NBD, but Beyoncé — yes, BEYONCÉ — revealed new music during the Big Game.
Courtesy photo
The Super Bowl is always a big night for music. Not only does the halftime show usually get crazy ratings (it gets more eyeballs than any awards show), but every year, Super Bowl commercials — which are essentially as big a night for advertisers as the Oscars are for movie studios — pull more and more superstar musicians. At this point, many people who don't care about the NFL tune in just to stay tuned to the commercials that provide fodder for the next day's pop culture conversation.
The star-studded commercials during Super Bowl 2024 saw the halftime headliner introduce Usher (who delivered a knockout set with Alicia Keys, HER, Lil Jon, Ludacris, will.i.am and Jermaine Dupri) to appear in not one but two Super Bowl commercials. Cardi B gives a duck face; Jennifer Lopez rolls her eyes at husband Ben Affleck. and Beyoncé unveils new music. And all this before the end of the third quarter.
Beyond that, the crowd at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas at Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday (February 11) also featured a star-studded roster. Not only was Taylor Swift — who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, as anyone who has spent more than a second online or watching television in the past two months knows — in attendance, but Ice Spice, Lady Gaga, Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani and Post Malone, who sang “America the Beautiful” before the grand opening.
From Ice Spice to Beyoncé and Cardi B to Usher, the 2024 Super Bowl commercials boasted plenty of musical talent — and these were our favorites.
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Ice Spice for Starry
Why enchant when you could sip? Ice Spice hits the club to get away from her ex and flirt with Starry's lemon and lime cartoon (Starry is Pepsi's latest soft drink, filling the void left by the discontinued Sierra Mist). “I need something refreshing — crunchier! I'm with Starry now,” Spice tells her sobbing ex, while being fondled by the fruit. Frozen, indeed. Watch here.
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Post Malone for Bud Light
As Steppenwolf's “Magic Carpet Ride” plays, the Bud Light Genie wishes beer lovers. Grants include: Peyton Manning and Post Malone, with the latter star making a party wish of his own and conjuring up a pool party-crashing T. Rex. Watch here.
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Lil Wayne for Homes.com
Homes.com went public during the Super Bowl, following in the footsteps of Apartments.com (both owned by CoStar Group). Apartments.com spokesman Jeff Goldblum gave a brief introduction to the Dan Levy and Heidi Gardner-directed ad, which includes a brief but memorable guest spot from Lil Wayne, who appears in a classroom to ask a bunch of middle schoolers: “Who wants you to see what a hundred Gs look like?” Who doesn't? Watch here.
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Jennifer Hudson and Common for T-Mobile
Common and Jennifer Hudson — whose real-life relationship was confirmed earlier this year — appeared in a T-Mobile “auditions” commercial with a Laura Dern guitar and Bradley Cooper, who brought along his mother, Gloria. Of those four, three have won Oscars (Cooper is the only one yet to win one). Later in the broadcast, Jason Momoa and a mini Scrubs Zac Braff and Donald Faison reunited for a few laughs with another T-Mobile ad that revamped Irene Cara's classic “Flashdance… What a Feeling.” Watch here.
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Cardi B for NYX
Cardi B appeared in a NYX commercial for the cosmetics company's new lip balm and its “Duck Face” campaign, which made it clear that this product is only it was meant to make the lips look bigger, despite what any desperate young man might think. Unfortunately, the full (amazing) ad didn't air on CBS – a QR code appeared on the screen after the first half of the ad, which led viewers to the most suggestive, full ad online. Watch here.
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Creed for Paramount+
Star Trek: The Next GenerationCaptain Picard may be known as one of the most moral figures in science fiction, but in Paramount+'s Super Bowl ad, Patrick Stewart has no problem kicking a kid's (animated) football-shaped head (Arnold of Hi Arnold!, of course) on a mountain. Soundtracking Sir Patrick's dubious debut was Creed, breaking off their classic single “Higher”. A business musical synchronicity, for sure. Watch here.
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Bath tub for BMW
In a BMW ad, Christopher Walken endures a litany of people—baristas, waiters, dog walkers—doing Christopher Walken impressions on his face (presumably something the man had to endure IRL). At the end of the ad, Usher joins the conversation when someone says the word “yes.” “Don't you have somewhere to be?” Walken asks, to which the Halftime star exclaims, “Yes!” Watch here.
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Usher, Jelly Roll and Victoria Beckham for Uber Eats
Uber Eats' Super Bowl ad featured more than its share of superstars pretending to forget integral parts of their lives. In a The friends mini-reunion, Jennifer Aniston acts like she doesn't remember working with David Schwimmer very well. Victoria and David Beckham are having trouble remembering the name of her girl group (“Paprika Girls?”). Jelly Roll sees his facial tattoos in a mirror and exclaims “did someone doodle on my face?!”. and Usher acts like he doesn't remember ever playing the Super Bowl. Watch here.
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Jennifer Lopez on Dunkin'
After Jennifer Lopez crashed Ben Affleck's 2023 Super Bowl ad, Baffleck returned the favor with a 2024 Dunkin' Game Day ad. The actor-director walks into J.Lo's studio and declares, “The Boston Massacre is coming ! The Dun-Kings!” He's joined by longtime friend Matt Damon and fellow Bostonian Tom Brady, and shockingly, they fail to impress as a vocal team (proving Jack Harlow's words of warning right). It was a snapshot of well-acted performances by three longtime movie stars showing how to squeeze the most comedic potential out of every second on screen. Watch here.
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Beyoncé for Verizon
Usher was the star of the halftime and Taylor Swift was the scene stealer in the audience, but Beyoncé gave us the best Super Bowl 2024 ad. In a Verizon ad alongside Tony Hale (aka Buster Bluth from Arrested Development and Gary Walsh from Veep), Bey is working to crack Verizon's 5G network, surpassing a Barbie parody (Bar-Bey), her version of artificial intelligence (BeyoncAI), and announces a presidential election (Beyoncé of the United States, aka BOTUS). It was a funny, charming ad that showcased Queen's comedic chops – and better yet, it made the big announcement that new music was here and “Act II” was coming on March 29. Now THIS is HOW to steal the Super Bowl lights without breaking a sweat. Watch here.
