Our Take on Super Bowl LI's Snack and Candy Ads

HOUSTON-- Snack and candy manufacturers may not have advertised with as much frequency as they have in Super Bowls past, but the four we counted certainly brought their A-game to the largest national sporting event. There was humor, but there was also some innovative thinking behind the three Super Bowl ads we saw. Here’s a look at those ads and how we scored their effectiveness …

This laugh-out-loud commercial for Snickers stars Adam Driver of "Star Wars" and HBO "Girls" fame. No stranger to humor in its commercials, Snickers staged a Live advertisement for this year's Super Bowl. Things didn't go as planned. Well, they did go as planned, and that's the fun part. When things go awry, the brand does the only thing it can do—blame the actor's obvious hunger for his bungled performance. Thank goodness he has a Snickers to satisfy that hunger.

POINTS for making us laugh and thinking outside the box with its live concept. The follow-up ads really give the brand good bang for its buck.

This commercial from Wonderful Pistachios is also funny, certainly not in the same way the Snickers commercial is, but clever nonetheless. The ad stars an elephant named Ernie who starts us off in the gym, running on a treadmill. Elephants and treadmills don't mix. Ernie ends up on the floor but not before he has a chance to tell the viewer about the natural health benefits of eating pistachios.

POINTS for the relatable gym experience, and for taking the opportunity to appeal to a growing audience of health-conscious consumers.

I laughed out loud when the beaver showed up at the end of this commercial. This funny look at teenage romance is a riff on an old story: young man throws pebbles at a young woman's window to get her attention. Only this time, he's throwing Skittles. She's sitting inside in the dark catching them in her mouth. The ad takes a turn when her entire family (including grandma), a would-be thief, a police officer and the beaver show up to catch a sweet treat, too.

POINTS for the beaver, and for showing that Skittles can be just as compelling as young love.

In this 30-second spot, Tostitos shows consumers the benefits of its new "Party Safe" bag. In the ad, Delanie Walker, tight end for the Tennessee Titans, talks about how he lost his aunt and uncle to a drunk driver on Super Bowl game day. It also shows how the bag can be used to determine if the user is OK to drive; if they're not, the graphic on the bag turns red and gives the user an Uber code.

POINTS for showing consumers why it's important not to drink and drive, but also the ingenuity of its latest packaging innovation.