Super Bowl Ads 2018: The Best, The Weirdest And The Most Complicated

Best Announcement Of A Movie Premiere: Netflix's "The Cloverfield Paradox"

One of the most frustrating things about movie ads in the Super Bowl is they often hype films that won't open for months. Netflix solved that problem by debuting the latest film in J.J. Abrams' Cloverfield franchise right after the Super Bowl ended Sunday — just a few hours after the commercial aired. The tactic also neatly stole a bit of thunder from Amazon's Jack Ryan ad, allowing subscribers to see the movie they're promoting the second the game ended. Well played, Netflix. Well played, indeed.

Most Oddly Complicated Charity Appeal: Matt Damon's Stella Artois Chalice

Damon ends a pretty compelling ad about delivering drinking water to developing countries with an odd proposition: If 1 percent of those watching the ad buy a glass chalice with the Stella Artois label, Water.org can bring clean water to 1 million people over five years. Never mind that the math can make your head spin; the Web address to make the purchase appears so quickly you'll need to pause your DVR to read it. Once you follow the link, you'll find the chalices cost $13 each, with $3.13 going toward the water effort. It's a wonderful goal that I hope they reach, but I couldn't help wondering if there was a slightly less complicated way to drum up viewer dollars.