Super Bowl 2024: a high-flying spectacle, combining Usher’s show, legendary ads and the presence of the biggest stars

Between the halftime show featuring Usher, the iconic commercials, and the involvement of America’s biggest stars, Super Bowl LVIII once again broke audience records this Sunday, February 11.

 

The United States’ biggest annual sporting event, the Super Bowl LVIII, was held on February 11, 2024. Founded in 1966, it is the championship final organized by the National Football League, this year featuring the Chiefs of Kansas City against the 49ers of San Francisco.

 

Hosted at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the match brought together 60,000 spectators including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, basketball player LeBron James and Taylor Swift, who came to support her partner Travis Kelce playing for the Chiefs. The latter emerged victorious from the match for the third time in five years, scoring 25 points against 22 for the 49ers.

 

Former President of the United States, Donald Trump, took the opportunity to speak out on his platform, Truth (an alternative to X), about Taylor Swift’s probable support for Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election. “I signed and was responsible for the Music Modernization Act for Taylor Swift and all other artists. Joe Biden has done nothing for Taylor, and never will. It’s impossible for her to support Joe Biden, the worst and most corrupt president in our country’s history, and be disloyal to the man who made her so much money. Besides that, I like her boyfriend, Travis, even if he’s probably a liberal, and probably can’t stand me!” he wrote on the night of Super Bowl LVIII.

 

The Super Bowl Halftime Show with Usher

 

The halftime show has become legendary since Michael Jackson’s participation in 1993, going from “an endless desert of college marching bands and aggravating tributes” (according to Shanna McCarriston of CBS), to a true American show with breathtaking staging.

 

After Rihanna’s performance in 2023, Usher took the reins. He paid tribute to the King of Pop by performing the legendary moonwalk on roller skates on the stage set up in the center of the stadium. H.E.R, will.i.am, Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon, Ludacris, and Alicia Keys joined him for the 13-minute show.

 

“It’s the honor of a lifetime to finally tick off performing at the Super Bowl from my bucket list. I can’t wait to give the world a show like they’ve never seen from me before,” Usher stated before the show. 13 years after his last album, the artist marks his return with “Coming Home” released last Friday and his upcoming tour starting in August.

 

 

 

Halftime Show Performance List:

“Caught Up”

“Love in This Club”

“If I Ain’t Got You” (featuring Alicia Keys)

“My Boo” (featuring Alicia Keys)

“Confessions, Pt II” / “Nice & Slow” / “Let It Burn” (medley)

“U Got It Bad” (featuring H.E.R.)

“OMG” (featuring will.i.am)

“Turn Down for What” (featuring Lil Jon)

“Yeah!” (featuring Lil Jon, Ludacris)

 

Top Commercials

 

This year, the Super Bowl reportedly set a viewership record with 200.5 million viewers according to a study by the National Retail Federation. A perfect opportunity for brands to unleash their creative genius in advertising campaigns.

 

BMW

Christopher Walken undergoes a series of impersonations of himself by baristas, waiters, dog walkers. At the end of the commercial, Usher chimes in whenever someone says the word “yeah”. “Don’t you have somewhere to go?” Walken asks, to which the halftime star responds: “Yeah!” (the last song to be performed at the show).

 

 

MayoCat 

Actress Kate McKinnon (the Weird Barbie from the 2023 movie of the same name) plays a lady surprised to hear one of her cats say “Mayo”. She thinks she’s witnessing a miracle, but then discovers the animal is possessed by the spirit of Hellmann’s mayonnaise. 

 

 

OREO

The “Twist on It” advertisement, designed by The Martin Agency, delegates various pivotal decision-making moments (like during the Trojan War) to a coin toss with an Oreo cookie twist.

 

 

State Farm

Arnold Schwarzenegger is meant to portray a State Farm agent but struggles with the pronunciation, prompting Danny DeVito to step in.

 

 

UBER 

As amnesia strikes the stars, with Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Jelly Roll, Usher, Victoria and David Beckham.

 

 

Verizon

Alongside Tony Hale, Beyoncé has fun testing Verizon’s 5G network, introducing a Barbie parody (Bar-Bey), her own version of AI (BeyoncAI) and announcing a sort of presidential campaign (Beyoncé of the United States alias BOTUS). The singer used it as a preamble to announce on Instagram during the evening her next album, “Act II, scheduled for March 29. 

 

 

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Featured photo: Usher and H.E.R. ©NFL/Apple Music