From an AP story by Mae Anderson headlined “Super Bowl ads use celebs, humor, lots of dogs”:
Advertisers bet big that viewers were turning to the Super Bowl for a comforting escape, and delivered a series of advertisements that relied on familiar celebrity faces, light humor, and plenty of cuddly dogs.
This wasn’t a year for edgy humor or experimentation. After the global pandemic, with economic uncertainty looming ahead and the war in Ukraine stretching on, advertisers just wanted people to feel good.
And it worked.