I was conflicted heading into this year’s Super Bowl and the ~40 ads. Part of me wondered, “are we still doing this?”
Three Reasons:
Linear TV keeps shrinking - digital now represents >77% of US ad spend (eMarketer).
Ads are dropping weeks early (Budweiser launched 2wk out vs. the earliest ad 5 days out last year) as brands vie to win the PR coverage game.
And honestly… the country feels so divided it’s hard to justify a night of silly escapism.
But I landed on the opposite conclusion: “we’re so lucky to still be doing this”.
So after surviving the pre-game Hot Ones Challenge with my brother and orchestrating an intense Super Bowl Squares with my family, I watched the ads bias free and jotted down some notes. The 11 ads below really got me thinking; 6 I loved from a marketing standpoint, while 5 felt like learning opportunities. I’m expecting some people to disagree, so would love to hear your thoughts. . .
POSITIVE
1. My Favorite All-Around: Liquid Death Don’t Lose Your Head
The brand reminds you that their energy drink won’t make your head blow up like other energy drinks. It’s by no means the highest-budget ad and it may not be as edgy as their past work, but it’s funny, it’s memorable, it’s campaignable (my family laughed at the radio version yesterday)…and I think it’s so persuasive that it will successfully source volume from the brands they indict. Very well done on a simple idea that will sell. If the brand is savvy, they also earned enough incremental promotional display space at retail to pay back a portion of the $8M ad cost and de-risk the investment.
2. Most Nostalgic: Dunkin Good Will Dunkin
I’m jealous of brands that can dump money on ~10 celebrities and just goof around in an ad without communicating really anything of substance, BUT this one hit all the silly notes and for an omni-present brand like Dunkin, I think the strong stopping power and branding will fuel enough cultural relevance & morning drive-thrus to pay back.
3. Most Clever: Xfinity Jurassic Park…Works.
This was a close second on the nostalgia meter and bringing back all the old Jurassic Park actors was probably no small feat. But the magic of this ad was reimagining a world in which the park’s technical failure never came to be. How clever. Now while I still feel like Xfinity has some major brand-building to do before they ‘own’ technical reliability, this was a great step in the right direction.
4. Silliest Ad: Hellman’s Meal Diamond
I like to think the Hellman’s team had a killer insight that consumers appreciate meal tips from others that led to their very silly Meal Diamond spot with Andy Samburg. Either way, it’s really funny and the brand is central to the celebrity’s role, which many other brands slipped up. Love this and esp. the extended version online.
5. Most Haunting: Manscaped Hair Ballad
OMG the sight of shaved hair singing to its owner is so uncomfortable. But it’s an interesting and captivating (albeit gross) idea that may drive the recall they want when anyone who has seen it comes across the brand next. Honorable mention to the equally uncomfortable Liquid IV spot. Great stopping power on both.
6. Most Campaignable: Wegovy A New Way
They didn’t need all the celebs but sure, why not have fun with it? Moving forward, the idea of comparing the once-daily Wegovy pill to all the other things you wish there was a pill for is memorable and can extend easily across channels over the long-term. Is another analogy concept the most original creative idea? No. But this product has massive potential, so I’m glad to see them going all-in.
NIT-PICKING
1. Most ‘Who is This??’: Coinbase Karaoke
We sang along and wondered aloud who hi-jacked the Backstreet Boys anthem, but in the end, I’m not a fan. The ad does nothing for brand awareness (their association with ‘the karaoke ad’ will be quickly forgotten) and didn’t deliver any meaningful message to drive adoption.
2. Strangest Creative Decision: Bosch The More You Bosch
The team may have evidence that shows their target aspires to be a guy like Guy Fieri (and not ‘just a guy’) but at first glance, the man with the white goatee seems like a strange North Star to set for your brand.
3. Best Pop Culture Tie-In: eos Is it Cake?
I love the show on Netflix and laughed out loud when Mikey Day almost stabbed the boom operator to see if she is cake, but I don’t think people will remember which brand was associated with the funny spot.
4. Most ‘Classic’ Super Bowl Ad: Instacart, Bananas
I saw the long-form version of Instacart’s ad before the game. While I laughed REALLY hard, I also tried 3 times to tell friends which hilarious ad I’d seen with Ben Stiller and kept mis-remembering the ad as Uber Eats or another brand, which I suppose is a reminder to ensure the celebrity power and central joke don’t overshadow the brand. This is one of my favorite 2-3 ads and feels like the type that would be pulled out in 10 years when reviewing 2026, but it’s worth pointing out the potential shortcoming.
5. Riskiest Ad: Pepsi, The Choice.
Conquesting your competitor’s mascot (the Coke Polar Bear) takes guts and Pepsi goes for it, while harkening back to their 1995 Diner spot with a Coca-Cola truck driver choosing Pepsi. Funny and attention-grabbing as it is, I personally feel like using the Polar Bear does more to get those subliminal consumer neuron’s firing in Coke’s favor weeks down the road at shelf. But maybe that’s just me being a wet blanket.
