Best Super Bowl commercials 2024: Where Florida ad with Lionel Messi, Dan Marino ranked

It's not unusual for a Super Bowl commercial to feature football.

It's a little unusual when it's not American football.

World Cup champion and soccer megastar Lionel Messi, widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, galvanized interest in soccer in the states when he moved to Inter Miami FC in Florida and started selling out Major League Soccer stadiums.

So it's not surprising that he appeared in a Super Bowl commercial Sunday that was wildly popular around the world. But how did it do in the USA TODAY's Ad Meter?

What happens in Lionel Messi's Michelob Ultra Super Bowl ad?

In "Superior Beach," the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner approaches a Miami beach bar with a couple of friends to order Michelob Ultras. When the tap runs dry he refuses the offer of other beers and instead, while waiting for a new keg to be brought out, turns to casually dominate a beach pickup game with dazzling footwork to the tune of The Drifters singing "Quando, Quando, Quando." (Yes, this will be stuck in your head for days.)

At one point, Messi kicks the ball out to an offshore Pro Football Hall of Famer and Michelob Ultra Super Bowl commercial mainstay Dan Marino, who fires off a technically-illegal pass back to Messi. Messi then passes to a goal and steps up to accept his glass of Michelob Ultra.

The ad, shot in Miami, also featured a quick guest spot from fellow AppleTV superstar Jason Sudeikis, co-creator and star of "Ted Lasso."

"Me and Leo? We go way back," Sudeikis says.

How did Lionel Messi's Super Bowl ad do in the USA TODAY Ad Meter?

USA TODAY asked readers to watch the Super Bowl ads and vote on their favorites in the 36th USA TODAY Ad Meter competition. Over 160,000 people registered to vote this year.

Messi and Michelob Ultra scored a solid... 20 out of 59.

"Superior Beach," which has over 10 million views on YouTube as of Tuesday morning, received a 5.49 average rating out of 10.

However, fans were overwhelmingly positive about Messi online and MarketingWeek pronounced it the winner of the Kansas City Chiefs-San Fransisco 49ers game. Their analysis found it was "the most popular Super Bowl ad."

Which Super Bowl commercials scored the highest in the USA TODAY Ad Meter?

Messi was defeated, in one of the few times in his career, but at least he can say he lost to an action hero.

"Like a Good Neighbaaa," featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger getting mocked again and again for his accent while rescuing puppies and a pregnant woman for endless State farm commercials amidst over-the-top explosions before Danny DeVito steps in to help, was No. 1.

After that, it was Ben Affleck and Matt Damon for Dunkin', a magical moment for a figure skater in a Kia ad for the EV9, a star-studded Uber Eats commercial with a mini-"Friends" reunion, and a powerful NFL commercial showing a young boy from Ghana growing up to play football.

Messi also fell underneath a Christopher Walken BMW commercial, this year's heartwarming Budweiser Clydesdale-dog ad, new Beyonce music and the new trailer for "Wicked." You can watch all of the ads here.

Why didn't Messi's Super Commercial score higher?

The ad was generally well-received, with several fans on X, formerly Twitter, exclaiming that Messi's commercial was greater than the Super Bowl. But while it was exciting seeing Messi do what he does best and validating for soccer fans around the world to see their hero showcased on the biggest night of American football, apparently it didn't catch the eyes of the Ad Meter voters as much as other ads with more stars, more humor or more emotion.

Fans and critics alike also pointed out that he never actually drank any of the beer he was promoting, and the Argentinian native, who reportedly speaks little English, ordered his drink in Spanish.

How much was Lionel Messi paid for his Super Bowl commercial?

According to talksport.com, Messi scored a whopping $14 million for his minute on the screen.

Not a bad chunk of change for someone already making a $12 million base salary with Inter Miami and a total guaranteed compensation of over $20 million.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Best Super Bowl commercials 2024: Lionel Messi scores with Michelob