The Super Bowl Ad I Wanted to See

Great Super Bowl ads are creative, memorable, make us feel, make us laugh, surprise us, and fully commit to the bit. This year, they played it safe—when what I really wanted was more cowbell.

Photo by Tobias Oetiker on Unsplash

I went into the game most excited for Jon Batiste singing the National Anthem (playing the beautiful piano painted by his wife,

Suleika Jaouad

, a brilliant writer I admire) and, of course, the commercials. But by the end of the night, while I was thrilled that the Eagles won, I was left underwhelmed by the ads.

There were a few that …