Senior Writer Alex Palombo rates the commercials for the Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl XLV.

Hot
VW Vader

Every kid who’s seen Star Wars has tried to make things work by just moving their hand Jedi-style, whether by trying to get a door to open or trying to make their Mom forget about bedtime. So this commercial worked brilliantly, taking a little kid, decked out completely in a small Darth Vader costume, and showing him trying to get everything to work by using “The Force.” He tries to turn on the washing machine. He tries to get his dog to stop sleeping. He tries to move a sandwich across the counter. He finally succeeds in getting his Dad’s VW Passat to start — with a little help from his Dad using the remote keys inside. This clip was funny, quirky and adorable.

Lukewarm
“House”

Because the Super Bowl was on Fox this year, the network obviously advertised its own shows. But the “House” promo was a particularly good one. A patient offers a pessimistic-looking Dr. House a churro, which he turns down, then reconsiders and tosses the kid his cane. The kid wasn’t ready and gets smacked with the cane, to which House winces and shoots back, “Really thought you had that.” Pretty typical attitude from the grumpy doc, but the ad gets points for referencing a 1979 Coke commercial with Mean Joe Green offering his towel to a kid who gives him a Coca-Cola.

Not
Sketchers

This commercial had the makings of ad glory. Take a reality star/model/celebrity for no reason — Kim Kardashian — put her in tiny clothes and make her parade around a sauna bragging about her great body. How did she get it? Sketchers Shape-Ups. For all the hype the ad had leading up to it, it barely registered. The acting was terrible, it wasn’t very sexy and two minutes from the end of the game, it missed its window to be good. To put it simply, it was too little too late in every sense.