T.O., Bruce Smith Star in M&M's Super Bowl Ad; Where Did It Rank?

To promote the brand's peanut butter edition, former NFL quarterback Dan Marino explained the process of creating M&M's fictional new novelty, the "Almost Champion Rings of Comfort." The ring, made by compressing peanut butter M&M's is meant to be worn by "almost champions" like Marino, who earned almost every title bestowed to an NFL quarterback in his illustrious career ... with the exception of a Super Bowl championship.

Bills fans could perhaps smirk at seeing the former Miami Dolphin's lack of championship hardware, but Marino snuffs that out by mentioning that the rings are polished "with the sighs of those who almost won a Super Bowl." That leads to Owens and Smith breathing on the diamonds with discontented sighs, with poor Smith, a runner-up in four consecutive Super Bowls with the Bills, lamenting "So close..." While Owens missed out on the Bills' heyday in the early-to-late 1990s, his performance in Super Bowl XXXIX despite an ankle/fibula injury (122 yards on nine receptions) is often regarded as one of the best performances in the game's history in a losing effort.

The ad also features Scarlett Johansson, who justifies her presence by having lost "two Oscar races," referencing her unsuccessful 2019 Best Actress/Best Supporting Actress bids for "Marriage Story" and "Jojo Rabbit" respectively. 

Sunday's M&M's spot landed in the upper half of the rankings determined by USA Today's "Ad Meter," placing 25th among the 59 advertisements runs during the Kansas City Chiefs' 25-22 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. A State Farm spot starring action movie icon Arnold Schwarzenegger took the top mark, narrowly edging out a Dunkin' plug featuring former Bills rival Tom Brady.