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Puppymonkeybaby Is Super Bowl 50's Left Shark & Here's Why

by Kylie McConville

Mountain Dew kicked off the Super Bowl with the commercial to end all commercials, and while last year Katy Perry gave us Left Shark, this year we have Puppymonkeybaby. Yep, that's right: Puppymonkeybaby is 2016's Left Shark, and the Internet is totally relieved. Left Shark became an instant icon — it had long enough legs to be a popular Halloween costume nearly a year later — and this year, Puppymonkeybaby followed suit. The moment he graced TVs across the country, PMB (we're like, close enough that I can call him that now) was more memorable than the entire first half. (I'd go so far as to say that it was more memorable than the game itself, but, Beyoncé is there, and I know better than to insult the Queen.)

The key to an iconic Super bowl commercial is one that's strange enough, funny enough, and immediately meme-able. It's a very thin line to walk — you've got to be hilarious and weird and memorable enough that viewers will be talking about it long after the commercial ends. But Mountain Dew nailed it. There were so many moments in the commercial that were easy to screen grab and discuss on social media, which doesn't hurt if you're attempting to generate a conversation surrounding your product. To be totally honest, I have no clue what Puppymonkeybaby's purpose was in the commercial, but then again I'm still pretty fuzzy on the importance of Left Shark. All I know is that both are national treasures, and I feel entirely blessed to be alive in a time like this.

Yes, we can go ahead and say that Puppymoneybaby is Left Shark's gift to us all. Since he couldn't be here again, it was just enough to have Puppymonkeybaby, in all his weird and eternal glory. I feel better just knowing that both Puppymonkeybaby and Left Shark arrived on earth during the same time as my own life cycle, and I know the Internet agrees. OK, not everyone agrees, like, for instance, this person:

But we can rest assured that the rest of us know a beautiful thing when we see it and aren't afraid to bask in our truth, no matter how confusing and strange and altogether WTF it is:

If you need a quick summary of the commercial, allow me: PuppyMonkeyBaby makes his appearance by storming into an apartment through the wall (where else?) holding a bucket full of Mountain Dew Kickstart. It's strange, wonderful, and the stuff that dreams (and nightmares) are made of. And I'm so, so thankful that it's here.

Here's the commercial, in full. You're welcome, and I'm sorry:

(But mostly, you're welcome.)