We Watched All The Super Bowl Commercials: This is What We Learned About The Music

Super Bowl Sunday is not just the biggest day on the football calendar; it's also prime time for TV commercials. Every year, the world's top brands spend millions of dollars advertising during the game, which attracts an estimated 117 million viewers. Host network NBCUniversal charged approximately $7 million per 30-second spot, upping the price from an estimated $5.5 million charged last year by ViacomCBS. Though these figures may make your jaw drop, the upside is that you get to experience some of the year's best commercials all in one sitting.

While celebrity cameos typically catch our attention, musicians also enjoy the spotlight. The enormous budgets attached to Super Bowl ads provide creative directors and music coordinators a chance to achieve the often unattainable dream of licensing music from a massive star or creating something custom. Lionel Richie, Simple Minds, Shania Twain, and Salt-N-Pepa are four icons that had their music synced this year. 

Some of the world's biggest pop stars premiered new music during Super Bowl commercials in 2022. The first place to hear a new Lizzo song was in Google's commercial for the new Pixel 6. Similarly, Doja Cat introduced her cover of Hole's "Celebrity Skin" during Taco Bell's clown-tastic Super Bowl ad. Meanwhile, Cutwater Spirits also threw it back to the 90s with a parody of a famous 1997 Apple ad, and there were other instances of 80s and 90s-inspired tunes adding a nostalgic touch: Coinbase's ad was just a QR code on the screen for 30-seconds with retro synth wave music. 

Here is our roundup of the best Super Bowl commercials and the music that made the biggest impact on gameday in 2022.

Best Use Of A TikTok Music Trend: Uber Eats

Uber Eats, the food delivery turned 'get anything you want to be delivered' app, clearly sees value in marketing to the 68 million people identified as Gen-Z; 45% of whom say they are online constantly. Aiming to attract the internet's most engaged (and impressionable) audience, the company licensed a hip-hop track with a classic Shangri-Las sample that has become a viral sensation on TikTok. Meanwhile, State Farm decided to skip the Super Bowl broadcast altogether and instead take their ad spend to social media, meeting the Gen Z audience where they are.

Best Combination Of Beatboxing Animals & An Iconic 80s Hip-Hop Soundtrack: Frito-Lay

Cute animals? Check! A beatboxing fox? OK! In Frito-Lay's commercial, Megan Thee Stallion and Charlie Puth voiced characters whose taste buds heat up at the first bite of Doritos Flamin' Hot Cool Ranch and Cheetos Flamin' Hot Crunchy. Meanwhile, Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It!" gives the spot an epic soundtrack.

Best Song Lyric Used To Sell An Electric Vehicle: BMW

If it wasn't already clear that electric vehicles are the way forward, maybe Arnold Schwarzenegger and Salma Hayek as Zeus and Hera can convince you. Watching them break into a duet of Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue" while driving BMW's new all-electric vehicle is the meta gift we didn't know we needed. During this year's Super Bowl, numerous car manufacturers promoted electric vehicles, including General Motors, with this excellent Dr. EV-il commercial. 

Best Original Composition: Hellmann's Mayo

Whoever decided to cast former Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo in a Super Bowl commercial for Hellmann's Mayo deserves a medal. And while SNL cast member Pete Davidson also appeared in the action-packed spot about the very serious topic of food waste, it is the music we are most excited about. Our Big Sync US team music supervised the process for Wunderman Thompson with JSM Music composing the music that made all of Mayo's tackles sound extra heavy.

Best Use Of A Cover Song: Taco Bell

If you had a modern pop icon covering a grunge classic on your bingo card, then congratulations. Doja Cat didn't just star in Taco Bell's Super Bowl commercial; it also featured her cover of Hole's "Celebrity Skin." According to Pitchfork, Courtney Love even helped rework the lyrics to the legendary 90s rock song.

Best Music Premiere: Google

Lizzo became the latest pop star to premiere a song during an ad, with a snippet of her unreleased track "If You Love Me" appearing in Google's commercial for the brand new Pixel 6. The ad, which Lizzo also stars in, highlights the smartphone's ability to capture darker skin tones in photographs. It was one of the few ads to prioritize inclusivity during this year's game.

Best Use Of An Iconic 80s Power Ballad: Kia

Like BMW and General Motors, Kia used their prime time spot to advertise their new all-electric vehicle. But there were no celebrities in this one, only a cute Robo Dog whose battery dies during an epic chase and needs to be recharged at an electric vehicle station. Bonnie Tyler's legendary power ballad "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was an excellent music choice.

Best Combination of Shania Twain, Seth Rogan, and Paul Rudd: Lays

Nostalgia was a theme to many of this year's top Super Bowl commercials, as well as the Pepsi Halftime Show headlined by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. However, only Lays had Paul Rudd and Seth Rogan singing a version of Shania Twain's "You're Still The One."

Best Contemporary Classical Music Composition: Toyota

Toyota brought a touch of cinema to the Super Bowl, airing a 60-second commercial that highlighted how brothers Brian and Robin McKeever overcame the impossible to become two of Canada's most decorated Winter Olympic athletes ever. Supported by an equally exquisite soundtrack, the epic spot perfectly captured the brothers' journey to greatness.

Best Country Music Collaboration: T-Mobile

T-Mobile produced two Super Bowl ads to run in tandem. In the first, country music icon Dolly Parton explained how she will save America with 5G technology. The second 30-second spot had Miley Cyrus in a recording studio surrounded by a cast of backing singers performing a T-Mobile-version of "Do they know it's Christmas."

Best Use Of Musical Style Song and Dance: Vroom

Musical theatre needed a moment with Broadway having been dark for much of the past 18 months, and Vroom delivered it. The online car seller teamed up with La La Land choreographer Mandy Moore to produce an ad with all the sparkle you'd expect from a classic song and dance number. T-Mobile also created an entertaining 30-second musical-style ad featuring Scrubs stars Zach Braff and Donald Faison worth mentioning.