'Burnbrae eggs and Niagara College': Canadians mock Super Bowl ads up north in contrast with the American version

The Canadian Super Bowl ads drew the ire of local viewers who labelled the spots as “literally the worst” with many calling out the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for “archaic” and “Draconian” broadcasting rules resulting in “not that super” Super Bowl commercials north of the border.

With Las Vegas setting up the stage for the Kansas City Chiefs to take on the San Francisco 49ers, all Americans present in the arena and millions watching live on the television witnessed star-studded advertisements led by companies competing for limited spots to get maximum exposure for their new line of products.

However, Canadians watching at home missed out on the majority of them due to CRTC rules which favour local rights holder CTV/TSN, giving them a decent chance to take most advantage from the major sporting event in the United States.

Despite the CRTC rules inclined to benefitting local businesses, Canadians did not hold back from making it abundantly clear that they’d do whatever it takes to be free from the “agony of having to watch” Canadian ads during the Super Bowl, which is advertising’s biggest stage.

“The game hasn’t even started yet, and I’m already PO’d at the damn stupid @CRTCeng rules about the commercials. If I wanted to see local ads, it would be watching on a Canadian channel .. god this sucks,” posted a Canadian on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“After all these years did CTV finally clue in and stop airing the same shitty local business ads over and over and over and over again during the Super Bowl in Canada?” said another.

“Love watching the Super Bowl in Canada so I can see the great ads for ontario, milk and head & shoulders,” joined a third.

As soon as the Americans became aware of the misery their Canadian friends had to endure, they were quick to share their pain watching ‘He gets Us’ commercials for Jesus, which many are already referring to as the worst Super Bowl ad ever.

“Hope you didn’t miss out on AI feet pics for Jesus,” wrote an X user in response to @northernlion’s post on missing out the Canadian version of the Super Bowl ads.

“All I'm getting is ads about Jesus washing feet,” added another user.

The "He Gets Us" ad campaign featured two ads at last year’s Super Bowl before making a return at the 58th installment of the major sporting event.

At Super Bowl LVIII, the first spot, "Foot Washing," aired during the first quarter of the game which showed various still images of people – including a woman outside a family planning clinic – having their feet washed and ended with the slogan, "Jesus didn't teach hate. He washed feet."

The campaign's second commercial, "Know Your Neighbour," aired during the second quarter.

"He Gets Us" was started by Servant Foundation, but is currently managed by the newly-formed nonprofit Come Near with the goal of "sharing the life and love of Jesus in thought-provoking new ways."

This year’s Super Bowl was of even higher importance for brands due to new demographics being pulled into the sporting action following Taylor Swift’s regular visits at NFL games to cheer on her boyfriend Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, which according to some marketing experts presents companies with a rather unique opportunity to capture significantly more diverse set of eyeballs than usual.