The Best Television Commercials of 2022
Commercials and video advertisements are hitting new heights in creativity. Every month we see new television commercials and advertisements that catch our eye and evoke feelings. We are keeping a running, curated list of the Best Commercials of 2022, since the Super Bowl. Let us know if we missed one! Here is our leaderboard!
The Best Television Commercials of 2022
Updated December 2022
7. Duck Duck Go
What We Like
Duck Duck Go has been ramping up the offensive against its rival, Google. The latest is their Watching You advertising campaign which depicts Google in the creepy stalking manner in which they track our online behavior but don’t tell us. DDG’s 2022 television commercial utilizes the familiar Police song “Every Breath You Take” which is often misconstrued as a love song (err Diddy), when its actually a dark song written by Sting while he was going through a divorce.
The commercial drives home the point that Google is secretly watching us. Then they offer themselves as a solution in a very easy to understand visual. Even my parents would understand this commercial, because its all true. Well done Duck Duck Go!
6. AirBnb
What We Like
AirBnB’s first national commercial in five years could not have come at a better time with vacation angst at an alltime high and summer travel expected to boom. This advertisement touches the nerve of an extremely wide audience, including people wanting to “get away”, hip hop fans, baby boomers and anyone with a boo or bae as they say in this TV Spot. Bae is a term that often appears in hip hop songs, meaning (B)efore (A)nyone (E)lse. Incidentally the couple in this commercial are from Spain and have been together for 57 years. Congratulations Valenti and Maria Luísa! Magnifico AirBnb!
5. United States Army
What We Like
The US Army has entered the advertising chat room. They have been putting together clever recruitment commercials for the past two years. While they take a lot of criticism for what people are calling “Woke Advertising”, they are the United States F’n Army; they could care less what people are saying in comment sections and Twitter. They don’t have emotional armor, they have real armor. The timing of this ad is also on point as many young adults are questioning their chosen profession while in their pajamas on Zoom. The best part of this ad is pointing out how little companies do for their employees and tickling this nerve. Free bagels. Brilliant!
4. Ford Motor Company
What We Like
During Kentucky Derby weekend Ford took aim at their most hated rival (Tesla) with a clever ad demeaning the billionaire space race. “Right now it can seem like the only people who matter are the loudest,” the ad, begins. “Those who want to tear things down, and then fly away on their own personal spaceships when things get hard.”
We love this ad for its brash balls and piercing and honest message. Know who your competition is and make fun of them. It’s an effective advertising strategy, just ask any politician. Ford isn’t playing with spaceships as they try to shift their company into the EV space. They are doing what they always have done – Employing hardworking Americans and building cars. Ford employs more hourly workers in the United States and assembles more vehicles in America than any other automaker. The ad goes on to report a $50B commitment to building electric vehicles.
And why not get Bryan Cranston to break some bad on thin skin billionaires like Elon Musk & Jeff Bezos. That’s Ford Tough. Brilliant!
3. Ocean Spray
What We Like
They’re back … Ocean Spray who’s brand exploded when the fell blindly into the biggest UGC campaign ever when DoggFace rocked some Fleetwood Mac on his skateboard while drinking some cranberry juice in 2020.
This television commercial is clever, creepy, funny and guaranteed to be talked about online and offline the next few months. That’s why we have added them to the second spot in our Top Five Best Commercials of 2022. Give it a spin!
2. Grand Theft Auto V
What We Like
Rockstar Games announced their launch of Grand Theft Auto V with a new commercial last month and a familiar 70’s classic song – Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty. They could not have picked a better song. Grand Theft Auto was first released in 1997 and has gone on to become arguably the most popular game of all time, selling several hundred million copies. Clearly its core fan base is Generation X and they know and love this song.
The video component of this television commercial evokes a feeling of the 1985 crime thriller To Live & Die in LA with nostalgic driving scenes all around Los Angeles. Advertising should always be measured in sales and GTA5 just became the second biggest selling game of all time surpassing 160 million copies since its release date (second to Minecraft). That’s why we have them as our leader for Best Commercial of 2022.
1. Google Pixel
What We Like
Google takes first place on our list of the Best Commercials of 2022 when they dropped this bomb to coincide with the start of the 2022 NBA Season. Google, a long time partner of the NBA, spared zero expenses in creating this 3.5 minute celebrity filled short film for the Pixel 7. ‘Okay I See You’ is the genius work of The Robot Company and Daps/Anonymous. The ad taps into the heart of American basketball – pickup games. Similar to And1 in years passed, they capture the excitement at a local court when NBA Stars Jason Tatum and Jalen Green are driving by and decide to jump out of car and lace em up! They are soon followed by many other NBA stars and celebrities.
This ad is more relatable (by design) since most NBA fans will never attend a single game. The advertisement effortlessly creates an opportunity to showcase the Pixel 7 as fans rush to the court to snap images and videos of their favorite NBA players and celebrities. The ad even pays homage to the old Rucker Park days when fans were on rooftops to watch Julius Erving (Dr. J) play ball.
Much like their massive budget, the effectiveness of this ad will be very difficult to beat for Best Commercial of 2022. But with creative, cool content like this, nobody is going to mind it’s coming from the 800lb Gorilla that is Google. There is also every reason to believe Pixel 7 sales will benefit.
Thanks for reading our picks for The Best Television Commercials of 2022! You might also dig our men’s lifestyle blog – The Rugged Male, or our picks for Best Television Commercials of 2023.
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