The 10 best Super Bowl commercials in 2021, from Jason Alexander to Shaggy

Super Bowl 2021 brought scores of commercials for TV, movies, beer, snacks and cars.

Many were standouts, but here are 10 that caught our fancy either because of their dedication to absurdity, evocation of nostalgia or general sense of non-self-serious fun.

Several New Jersey celebrities had a hand in these ads. See our full Super Bowl commercials blog for any that you may have missed.

It’s no surprise that people are asking for hoodies with Jason Alexander’s face on them after this ad aired during Sunday’s game.

Sure, it’s a novelty, but that’s the point. Tide wants us to know that it’s never too soon to wash that shirt, and what could express that concept better than varying stages of human disgust and revulsion, even if it means there’s such a thing as a sentient shirt?

And who better to express those feelings than Jason Alexander? Because of his years playing George Costanza on “Seinfeld,” millions of Americans know his face like an old friend’s. When the actual Alexander, who grew up in Maplewood and Livingston, shows up at the end of the commercial, it’s just icing on the cake.

And it turns out now, thanks to popular demand, anyone can get the hoodie. Alexander has directed fans to charityhoodie.tide.com, where people can donate to money to benefit Feeding America and Matthew 25: Ministries for a chance to win one of the Tide Jason Alexander hoodies (deadline 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10).

If Alexa, Amazon’s digital assistant, is aways around, who would you want it to look like?

Amazon took a cue from People magazine, who crowned Newark’s Michael B. Jordan its Sexiest Man Alive for 2020.

Yes, for his latest role, Jordan — who has played characters like Adonis Creed and Erik Killmonger to great acclaim — is Alexa.

An Amazon employee daydreams in the office about swooning over Michael B. Jordan in Alexa form — or Alexa in Michael B. Jordan form. In this daydream, the woman’s husband is no fan of Jordan moving into their house.

The resulting commercial drew more than 76 million views on YouTube. It would be no surprise to find that number significantly changed by Monday afternoon.

Banking on nostalgia is a popular Super Bowl move, both in 2021 and years past. Shaggy’s 2000 hit song “It Wasn’t Me” occupies a special place in the memories of people who probably cringed to hear Ashton Kutcher (attempt to) mimic the delivery in this ad.

The fact that Kunis and Kutcher are a married couple outside of this commercial and first became known to the public as characters who were dating each other on “That ’70s Show” sweetens the nostalgia factor even more.

Kutcher’s complaint about Kunis stealing his Cheetos, as evidenced by the Cheeto dust around her mouth and the fact that he has, in fact, caught her “red-handed” — as Shaggy’s song says — is a useful foundation.

However, it is Shaggy’s look of incredulity at the 0:49 mark that really seals the deal. The fact that he has also delivered new, Cheetos-appropriate lyrics to the old tune is even more impressive.

This is one of two successful Super Bowl ads that have lookalikes, stand-ins or celebrity doubles as a theme.

Here, Don Cheadle and his brother Colin provide the fakeout, while the narrator has the last laugh.

“In a world where most things seem real, sometimes they’re not,” Cheadle says in the commercial.

What makes this commercial even more funny is that Budweiser pledged to stay out of the Super Bowl this year in favor to contributing to a COVID-19 vaccine awareness campaign from the Ad Council (Anhesuer-InBev still participated).

Clydesdales weren’t supposed to be in anywhere near the Super Bowl commercials, so when “Your cousin ... from Boston!” — the one that drinks Sam Adams — lets a few loose in the street to cause mayhem, it’s high comedy (we are endorsing no such horseplay!).

The fact that this is all to promote the Samuel Adams Wicked Hazy IPA is purely incidental.

Cadillac proved it didn’t need Johnny Depp on set to bring a bit of “Edward Scissorhands” back to the pop culture conversation, if only to promote its hands-free cruise control feature.

Chalamet is game and moody enough as “Edgar,” the scissor-handed stand-in for Edward.

Ryder, who co-starred in the 1990 Tim Burton movie as Kim, plays Edgar’s mother in the ad, but issued a nod to her character in the film by wearing a blond wig. We are, after all, in the first age of Chalamet and in the middle of some kind of Winona-sance.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers get stand-ins who are supposed to look like them in this spot for State Farm. The problem is that there is little in the way of resemblance.

Paul Rudd, the Passaic native who famously holds the keys to the fountain of youth, is there for Mahomes.

Jake from State Farm doesn’t think he even has a double until Drake shows up.

“Drake from State Farm,” the rapper says, matter-of-factly.

This ad wins an oddball award not just because it may have been “unconventional,” but also because people were not sure if the plant-based milk alternative company had tried to make a good commercial or a bad one that would stand out as memorable.

Ether way, Oatly CEO Toni Petersson signed off on this concept and supplied the music. Who has the “Wow, no Cow” remix?

The video clip, captured by another source below, was also nowhere to be found on the Oatly YouTube channel hours after airing on TV. You can find it on the Oatly website (which was maybe the point here, apart from “drink oatmilk”).

This ad has a little bit of everything going on, thanks to a string of celebrities and athletes.

One of the sweetest parts is when Englewood’s John Travolta tries to record a “Grease” dance for TikTok with his daughter, Ella. Nutley’s Martha Stewart gives him high marks on the moves, declaring that he’s “still got it.”

“Hey! Travoltas! Don’t be tiketty tokin’ on my grass,” says Leslie David Baker, who played Stanley on “The Office.”

(NASCAR’s Kyle Busch, Carl Weathers from “The Mandalorian” and Peloton pilates instructor Emma Lovewell also appear in the spot.)

Did we say nostalgia? Say that one again.

“Edward Scissorhands” from 1990, “It Wasn’t Me” from 2000 and “Wayne’s World” from 1992. (Not to mention that little “Grease” dance from 1978.)

“We’re not worthy!”

While this ad offers little more than that, it’s faithful to Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar, the lovable public access duo who endeared themselves to hearts across America in their hit movie after becoming a staple sketch on “Saturday Night Live.”

Consider their show, recorded in Wayne’s parents’ basement: It was something like social media for them at the time, and what Instagram was for Cardi B as she began to develop her massive following years ago. Why not team up to shine a light on local restaurants? Still, something tells us the outtakes were even better.

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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter.