Super Bowl LIX: Adland Reactions
The Philadelphia Eagles impressively swept aside two-time defending Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs last night. But which brands came up trumps during the ad breaks? We put the question to ad execs across the United States to get their take.
Danilo Boer
Global creative partner at FCB
Every few years, the pendulum swings between purpose driven work with a side of societal commentary, and light-hearted campaigns that will simply make people laugh. It’s clear that America is exhausted by brands trying to have a political view, so this year we saw a return to ads where brands didn’t take themselves too seriously, and no one was forced to 'pick a side'.
The spots I enjoyed the most were the ones that featured the product heavily, but not so much it was annoying. Case in point was Reese’s which talked about the product 12 times in 30 seconds, but it was still entertaining. A lot of the spots this year connected consumers to products, but were engaging enough that it was work people wanted to see. Call me biased, but FCB New York did exactly that for Budweiser and Pringles, drawing on very distinct brand assets - the Clydesdales and the moustache - to make greatness without hiding the product they are selling. That feels good.
This is the time and the place to put a brand’s tone of voice on steroids to come up with a campaign that connects with every single person that sees it, making it the perfect opportunity for brands to tap into something that makes them iconic and be talked about in culture. After all, it’s the only time of year when people actually want to see and hear from brands, where the entire country is talking about the work we do and are actively engaged during the ad breaks. It’s a time when we get to be part of culture without doing something insanely disruptive to cut through the noise, where we can be funny and charming for the sake of being funny and charming and know that we’ll still get a lot of eyeballs. It’s one of my favourite times of year, because not only do we get to use creativity to help drive growth for some of the world’s biggest brands, but we also get to hear random people talking about the work that we made. When both of those happen, you know you have a recipe for success.
Kerry O'Connor
Group strategy director at McKinney
A lot of people have said the ads played it safe this year, but I think the ads were reading the room. We didn’t have the gut-punch Farmer’s Dog or Loretta – and I thank yee, advertising community. We needed a chuckle, not a lump in our throat.
This year I was really paying attention in the weeks leading up to the game. And surprisingly some of my favourite Super Bowl ads were…teasers? Coors Light ‘refershment' stunt? Jealous. Bud Light teaser with Posty joking about not being able to drink in a commercial? Jealous. DunKings teaser getting Jeremy Strong to not take himself seriously? JEALOUS. I would argue all those teasers were better than the actual spots.
When it came to the game itself, I was SURE someone was going to do something groundbreaking – like the Coinbase QR code or the Tubi remote spot from past years. Rocket Mortgage came the closest with their stadium singalong but I was kind of disappointed something didn’t make me say holy shit. Only Serena did that.
Here’s a trend I noticed this year: body parts! Tongues, boobs, eyebrows, legs, mustaches. As a strategist I deeply want to identify a macro trend or an insight behind it. Could I connect it to The Substance? Maybe. But it’s late and the cookie cake high has worn off, so I’ll just say it was interesting.
Finally, every year I love to see the difference between what the ad world loves and the ads your mom, aunt and brother-in-law loves. So I had my parents send their most and least loved ads from their Super Bowl party in the active retirement community where they live (no disrespect, I’d move there in a hot minute if they let people under 55 in). What they loved: the ‘Martha Stewart’ (Sketchers) and ‘the sloths’ (Coors Light). What they hated: Mountain Dew and ‘tongues’ (Coffee Mate). Ohhhh boomers, they’ll never get the weird humour.
In the ad world and active retirement community venn diagram, I’m predicting the Coors Light’s sloths are the big winner.
Winston Binch
Chief brand and experience officer at GALE
Super Bowl advertising success still comes down to the idea's creativity, inventiveness, and emotional resonance. The national mood has been strained, so naturally, you’d expect lots of levity. However, I was expecting more creative innovation. There were no bouncing QR codes, epic remote hacks, or evocative uses of AI. While the Instacart ad got lost, it was one of the few that had a smart retail media program behind it. 2025 felt like the past – jam-packed with the age-old “add a celebrity” approach – not the future of marketing.
Jerry Hoak
Chief creative officer at The Martin Agency
I’ve been a hater of releasing spots before the game, but I had more fun watching them online than in real time this year. The game couldn’t get going. And neither could the ad breaks. I’m still waiting for the big moment that causes us all to lose our fleshy cowboy hat-heads over, but it never came. That said, there was still a lot to like, so here goes.
There was an honest-to-Jesus-Gets-Us attempt to make us laugh which I appreciate given how 2025 has started. I could watch Totino’s on repeat until next week. So could my six-year-old daughter. Those tweens and that scream!
Classic beer advertising made a comeback. Our partner agencies brought it for Anheuser-Busch, especially Anomaly and Bud Light. We needed a colonoscopy reference during the Big Game. #gettested.
There were a ton of celebs again, and like last year, some hit better than others. Offerman’s Pringles stache made me laugh (more than Eugene’s eyebrows). Aubrey, Shannon and Bunny clearly had fun on the Ritz shoot (#client). And McConaughey kept the Uber Eats conspiracy going strong (I love that campaign). We’re not gonna talk about Harrison Ford.
There were also quite a few spots that got the noses burning and eyes watering. NFL’s ‘Somebody’ gave me chills. As a childhood cancer survivor, Pfizer and LL knocked me out. And Rocket came in hot with The American Dream and nice in-stadium activation.
Was it our industry’s best year? No. Are we feeling better than Jon Hamm and the Chiefs? For sure.
Five Favourite moments:
Potato Head losing his mustache
Granny flashing the bingo guy
Chazmo’s untimely death
Sealseal’s tragic inability to open a Baja Blast.
Angel Soft’s bathroom break
Five Best uses of
… kids or baby horses doing the work of their older counterparts: Budweiser
… flying facial hair: Pringles
… kids making us cry: Pfizer
… Matthew McConaughey: Uber Eats
… Aliens: Totino's
Top Five high school text chain spots:
WeatherTech
Rocket
Google
Bud Light
Totino’s
My Top Spot:
Totino’s
RIP Chazmo.
Wesley ter Haar
Co-founder at Monks
This year, we had a record number of “spots” during the Super Bowl—without producing a single ad for the big screen. That’s because we know the game has changed: a single TV commercial is no longer enough. The brands that truly stood out weren’t just the ones with the best commercial during the broadcast (I was a fan of the one from Bosch, myself); they were the ones that turned the Super Bowl into a multi-platform, multi-moment experience. The days of a standalone TVC as the centrepiece are behind us.
To succeed now, you need to build campaigns that stretch across platforms, spark engagement before kick-off, and keep the momentum alive long after the final whistle. The real opportunity lies in amplifying that moment—layering it with digital activations, real-time interactivity, and strategies designed for where people actually are: scrolling on social, engaging on their phones, or watching on-demand. So we’ve set our sights on helping brands think beyond the screen, beyond the TV spot, and into the broader cultural conversation.
Once the game begins, the second screen is where the action really heats up. Millions of viewers are on their phones while they watch the game, creating a massive opportunity for brands to extend their reach and relevance beyond the traditional commercial break. Whether it’s live giveaways like we’ve done with Fetch or social-first campaigns like Heinz, who bookended their campaign between both the Super Bowl and the Grammys, the brands that win the Super Bowl are the ones that meet people where they are. That’s why we’re not just thinking about one big TV idea; we’re building ecosystems that thrive across channels, engaging in real time, and making sure brands are part of the action wherever it’s happening.
For us, being part of 10 Super Bowl projects this year meant we weren’t just watching this evolution—we were helping brands go beyond the expected, creating moments that weren’t just memorable during the game but continued to spark conversation long after the final play. That’s what it takes to win today: not a single big idea, but a big idea brought to life everywhere people are.
Greg Greenberg
Executive creative director at TBWA\ Media Arts Lab LA
- Between Eugene Levy’s eyebrows flying around and Andy Reid, James Harden, Nick Offerman, and Mr Potato Head’s mustaches flying around, clearly there’s an airborne facial hair trend in commercials I wasn’t aware of.
- The Reese’s ad with people trying to eat lava, while funny, felt like a targeted metaphor for my post game indigestion.
- Seal singing as a seal was the thing no one knew they needed to see. I could have watched a whole music video of Seal singing Kiss From a Rose as a seal, so credit for going there. But they should have made the music video.
- Squarespace delivered good weird again. And I’m a sucker for anything set in olden times, with an Irish actor speaking some form of Squarespace Gaelic, while slinging laptops from satchels on his donkey. I’m also glad they resisted the urge to recreate the final dance sequence from Saltburn.
- Everyone I was with laughed at Uber Eats. I’ve seen the McConaughey football-food conspiracy idea running all season, but it is still funny. Which is either a sign it’s a good campaign, or I was McConaughey brainwashed from watching Dazed & Confused 317 times in High School. Likely a bit of both.
Some special shout outs:
- To Totino’s for indulging my love of Tim Robinson, Sam Richardson and anything connected to So I think you should leave.
- To GoDaddy and the great Walton Goggins for my favourite piece of copywriting all night: “Because if your goggles ain’t Goggins they don’t belong on your noggins.” We should all aspire to write a line like that in our career.
Jon Wolanske
Creative director at Goodby Silverstein & Partners
I’m thinking of this quote from Paul Thomas Anderson. When a friend of his was disparaging a movie he’d just seen, PTA responded with something like, “Don’t say it’s bad. It just wasn’t for you, and that’s fine. We have to support each other. We have to support the big swings.” Having been lucky to be a part of a few Super Bowl spots, that’s how I feel. You gotta support the big swings.
That said, this year’s lead-up to the big show felt particularly long. I feel like I’d had the opportunity to see all the teasers and spots many times across the various channels and people I’m tuned into. There wasn’t much left to discover after kick-off. And I hope someday we can go back to when the Super Bowl was a chance to be genuinely surprised. But I won’t hold my breath.
I dug the Uber Eats McConaughey spot and their season of food conspiracy work (their Javier Bardem supervillain spot in the UK is equally great). The Nike spot gave me goosebumps. Google got me in my soft nougat-y centre. And I admire brands like Liquid Death and Reese’s for showing you don’t need a celeb to stand out.
But on this day that felt overpacked, the quieter pieces stood out. Tubi’s 'Fleshy Cowboy Head'. The Angel Soft 'Potty-Tunity' spot (which I acted upon). And the Haagen-Dasz ‘Fast and Furious’ spot, not just because my superfan wife can name the specific film by seeing just 2 seconds of whatever scene is playing on TBS when she’s flipping channels.
I’m not sure I’ll remember whole spots, but I will remember specific scenes. Seal the seal, fumbling the bottle. Chazmo getting squished. A sloth missing a flying Coors by that much. Martha Stewart breakdancing in her Skechers. These moments felt like instant memes and will likely BE memes we share with friends in the coming weeks. And, in the end, that probably makes the big investments worth it.
Rhian Ryan
Executive director, connections strategy at Grey New York
The theme of Super Bowl 2025: give audiences more of what they liked before. We saw safe continuations rather than brands breaking new ground. Given the climate, this might be what Americans need right now. As the last standing media event to draw (mostly) all our eyes, uniting audiences is the name of the game.
On-brand celebs do this well, as seen with Jeep poetically capturing unity through Harrison Ford. Brands upped the celebrity ante this year with the cross generational mashup to appeal to as many people as possible. Hellmann’s tapped into nostalgia to reprise the universally recognizable ‘When Harry Met Sally’ scene punctuated with a gen Z cameo courtesy of Sydney Sweeney. More of a miss: Mathew McConaughey x Martha x Charli XCX for Uber Eats was a bit too busy; also we got our McConaughey fix from Salesforce.
Bud Light re-found its ground by reminding America they’re the beer that gets the party started. After catching fire in the cross hairs of culture wars, this is a brand rooting in origin to make a graceful rebound. Post Malone, Shane Gillis, Peyton Manning are "Big Men on Cul-De-Sac” bringing accessible humor that artfully dodged any overly masculine undertones—I think the fanny packs helped.
Meanwhile, a true-to-brand play from Liquid Death encouraged us all to drink on the job. Taco Bell used celeb wattage to make it about their customers’ UGC. Nike kept the light shining bright on women not just playing, but women winning. The NFL carried it through by using their high-profile platform to push for girls’ flag football. Novartis made us look with a playful grab for attention to remind us that breast cancer screenings save lives.
Angel Soft played with attention differently by giving us a much-needed bathroom break; a clever blending of human truth and media context beautifully timed before halftime so audiences didn’t miss Kendrick bringing all of it.
Fast forward a few weeks, Americans might find themselves smiling in the bath tissue aisle remembering the sweet relief brought to them by Angel Soft. They’ll reach for the brand that is familiar, toss some rolls in their cart and carry on. That’s what it’s all about, after all.
Zoe Kessler
Executive creative director at Johannes Leonardo
Well, that was fun! I’ll start by saying congratulations to all the hardworking creatives and teams on this that got a Super Bowl commercial out! You got work onto the biggest stage in advertising which is not only extremely difficult, I think it’s safe to say we’re officially back to having fun AND USING CELEBRITIES (holy sh*t did we go IN on celebrities!) in Super Bowl advertising.
I laughed, I cried–ok, not CRIED but I felt feelings(!), I took the AngelSoft bathroom break and while I wasn’t BLOWN away by that many pieces, there were some clear winners of the night for me. To start, Nike crushed me with “You can’t win, so win,” Nice writing there. Speaking of good writing, I giggled, audibly, at 'Walkin Goggins Goggles Glasses'. Shout out to Reece’s Lava Cups for making a larger than life Super Bowl ad, that made sense for the brand, was fun and featured zero celebs. Shout out to Tubi for that incredible nightmare fuel–I especially liked the song version. RIP Chazmo…and while we’re “RIPing”-- RIP Drake, I mean, goddamn! Serena!! sheeesh. Kendrick’s ad for bringing back flared jeans might have been the big winner of the night…and while we’re on comedy…I really appreciated Uber Eats having a fresh idea that was well executed with specific celebs, rather than celebs for celeb’s sake. Martha screaming A SALAD and laughing maniacally is permanently embedded in my brain. On an entirely different note, I also really loved the Novartis Breast Cancer awareness commercial– great tag: so much attention, yet so ignored. And the Google Pixel work was beautiful and poignant–better long form, but really nice in game too. Hang on…maybe it was a great night for commercials…colour me inspired! See you next year.
Jason Ashlock
Executive creative director at adam&eveDDB New York
First off, congrats to anyone who got a commercial into the Super Bowl. It’s not easy. I watched the game with my normie friends who don’t work in advertising. They don’t see our pain. They just see ads. But they want to love what we do. That’s exciting. And while I’m still half-comatose from cheese dip and wings, here’s what I saw…
Brands continue to pre-release long-form versions of their spots. I find it frustrating. Not because it feels indulgent or because they aren’t good, it’s because the extended cuts are better than what gets crammed into a 30-second during the game. Reese’s ‘Don’t Eat Lava’ was exceptional for that reason. It leaned into its reason for being.
In terms of celebs, I thought the ‘Walter Goggins Goggle Glasses’ campaign was a stand-out. But again, you couldn’t tell from the ad they ran during the game. McConaughey as a football food conspiracist was also good. To me, those ads were pitch perfect examples of ‘celeb meets character’. That approach is always more unexpected and memorable than having actors reprise nostalgic roles or make a cameo in a cutaway.
Google’s ‘Dream Job’ was also nice. They nailed a real human emotion, which is key to any great advertising. And it’s always a bold move to go sentimental during the Super Bowl.
The only time people at my party went silent (besides the Kendrick Lamar half-time show) was when Harrison Ford came on. It was eerily quiet. When Indiana Jones speaks, you listen. The spot tried a unifying message at a divisive time. I wish more brands would at the very least acknowledge the political climate, instead giving into fear and avoiding it. Kudos to Jeep for bravery.
Overall, the ads were more unhinged, which I loved. Dancing tongues. Flying facial hair. Using Seal as a seal. And while I don’t think anybody ‘won the Super Bowl’, this year’s crop of ads were better than in recent years. I’m hopeful the next generation of talent was watching and taking notes.
David Mackereth
SVP, GCD at Digitas
If you asked me before the game what ads I was going to be excited about, I’d say whatever made me laugh the most, whatever felt the most stupid or weird. But then something really weird happened - I found myself feeling like the Grinch when his heart grew three sizes, and I was enjoying the more emotional ads this year. That Pfizer cancer ad with the kid fighting cancer like a boxer had all the warm feelings with the entire community rallying behind him like he was in a super bowl parade, but then the final knockout punch was at the end when he embraced his parents, and they flash cut to scenes of his battle with cancer - gut punch right in the feels. The craft in that Pfizer spot hit with the music, the editing, all the little details.
Then there was the Google Pixel ad, that had AI helping a dad with interview questions, all of which were him recounting his experience in the job of being a dad, I felt that as a dad. And of course, the Rocket ad had everyone feeling the comfort of home, using John Denver’s hit Take Me Home, Country Roads. But the cherry on top of that spot is it transitioned back to the game where the crowd was singing that same song, they knew this song was a stadium hit for live sporting events…very smart.
Perhaps the best of them was Nike. That final line, ‘You can’t win. So win.’, is the kind of punchy line Nike is known for, and it blasts the impossible standards placed on women. Both my daughters also spotted Sabrina Ionescu in that ad, who they recognised because we were at the WNBA Finals game in Minneapolis when Sabrina taught my kids what it feels like to be a Minnesota sports fan, by draining a late three to give NY the win. Sports are emotional, and this year the emotional ads won for my weird humour loving heart.
Glen Scott
Chief creative officer at VML, Seattle
As an MTV-generation kid, I appreciate the last gasps of monoculture that the Super Bowl now embodies. In spite of our curated feeds, algorithm-driven shows and podcasts, hyper-targeted ads, and the echo-chamber of LinkedIn pundits, the Super Bowl is the one thing I can chat with everyone about, from my 95-year old grandma to my 17-year old son.
So, what monocultural trends emerged from this year’s spectacle?
• Hollywood's Generational Shift: This may be a transition year for old Hollywood to new Hollywood. Kevin Bacon, Morgan Freeman, Willem Dafoe passing the baton to Glen Powell, Sydney Sweeney, and Barry Keoghan. Yet, Schitt’s Creek continues its cultural stranglehold, despite ending over five years ago.
• Tech's Struggle for Simplicity: Big Tech has supplanted Big Auto for airtime but struggled to distill their complex messages. Selling AI innovation is harder than selling horsepower.
• Absurdity Reigns Supreme: Big, weird non-sequiter ads were in. Heartfelt emotional journeys? Not so much. Although Google did get me misty. And the current political climate? An undercurrent was present but was danced around deftly.
• Chiefs' Ad Overkill: The Chiefs advertising powerhouse may have finally peaked. Andy Reid had more ads than Chiefs points for most of the game, and that won’t be a good look in the off-season.
But beyond the trends, some spots sparked (and some…fizzled):
• Rocket Mortgage: Cutting directly to the Super Bowl fans singing ‘Take Me Home Country Roads’ was a fourth-wall break that surprised me more than most ads. That was inspired and I imagine we’ll see more moments like that in future games.
• Coors Light: Masterfully executed the Super Bowl formula - simple, funny, repeatable. And I enjoyed it more than I expected in contrast to the ‘Refershment’ stunt that felt more like advertising-LinkedIn feed fodder than breakthrough consumer messaging.
• Facial Hair Face-Off: Flying facial hair worked great in one spot (Little Caesars) and too heavy-handed in another (Pringles) and unfortunately, I imagine that will cancel each other out in recall.
• NerdWallet: Unlike many ads where a celebrity is featured only to get a fame-halo on the brand, NerdWallet allowed Kieren Culkin’s delivery to take centre stage and that stood out.
• Hims & Hers: Maybe a bit too ambitious in the messaging. It felt more like a case study than an ad. And on a day of gluttony, it felt less inspiring and more shaming.
• Dove: I love Dove’s ongoing support for women’s sports and continuing to elevate that message to the Super Bowl. And as a big Springsteen fan, the ‘Born to Run’ redo was a welcome addition when the game was dragging.
While the game may have left something to be desired for those outside Philadelphia, I look forward to hearing what my Grandma thinks.
Pat Burke
ECD at Highdive
I haven’t logged onto LinkedIn today, so I haven’t yet been told whether my opinion on this is valid or not, but… I think this was a good year for Super Bowl ads. I honestly enjoyed a lot of them, I was often jealous last night. There are creative and brand teams at agencies all over the country who are hopefully sleeping off a well-deserved hangover (literal and/or figurative) this morning. Congratulations to you all.
Also, the game was a blowout, which meant that… the ads! The ads could really shine! If you were worried about a Kelce/Taylor engagement announcement overshadowing your brand integration, then congrats! Big night for you. And Rob McElhenney is happy. And who doesn’t love a happy Rob McElhenney?
Something that stood out to me was the overall balance in tone. Some years it’s heavy on comedy/dialogue. Some years it’s heavy on emotional, heart-warming storytelling. Some years it’s stunts. Or CG/visual effects. Or musical numbers. But this year I feel like brands just did what was right for their own brand, and didn’t try to predict what the trend would be. I liked it. And, if I remember correctly, the only musical number was Seal (the musical artist) portraying an actual, singing pinniped, and it was hilarious. Everyone is a winner there.
Another trend: every cast member of Schitt’s Creek now gets their own Super Bowl commercial and I, for one, celebrate that. I think the guy who played Mutt on the show was one of the Coor’s Light sloths. If we can get Chris Elliott in a Hims & Hers ad next year their takeover will be complete.
Overall, it was a fun crop of ads this year. And the Eagles kept Maholmes from a ‘Three-Peat’, which means that my ‘90s Chicago Bulls get to keep that phrase for themselves a little longer. A happy Monday morning to all.
Kevin John
Director of brand management at Pereira O'Dell
In a year dominated by market-tested Super Bowl sequels (Budweiser, Stella, Homes.com, Dunkin) and celebrities continuing to pop up everywhere (Tom Brady and Alix Earle appeared so frequently I lost track of what they were promoting), a few spots managed to breakthrough for me. Instacart stood out by putting their big-budget P&G mascot extravaganza to work communicating a clear benefit: you can get all of your favourite products FAST. Red Bull, a brand with a penchant for the extreme, showed restraint by sticking to their signature animated 'Wiiiings' campaign - instantly recognizable even to distracted viewers, it ticked the aided-awareness box without overextending itself. And for pure entertainment, Mountain Dew's "Kiss from a Lime" featuring Seal hit the mark - its over-the-top ridiculousness paired with some self-awareness for the media moment felt perfectly calibrated for their younger audience. (One random observation: Mountain Dew was among roughly 5 spots featuring a volcano. Seems some VFX studio made a compelling case for volcanic action this year.)
Kevin McHugh
Chief strategy officer at Dentsu Creative Canada
The Super Bowl is our industry’s greatest day of accomplishment, but it’s also our greatest day of judgement, where we sit alongside friends, family or patrons, hearing real reactions in a setting that invites genuine reactions, criticism and discussion.
I was fortunate enough to spend my Super Sunday with friends, but not just any friends: they were primarily Millennials and a few gen Zs – you know, the ones marketers lust after so much that they’ve become parodies of themselves. So rather than share my take on the most interesting ads that aired yesterday, here’s what they were reacting to:
Even Captive Audiences Have A Short Attention Span
Longer spots with a drawn-out story arc needed to work harder to maintain attention and land the right message. Turbotax aired a 45-second featuring Issa Rae, who struggles with the old norms of tax season. With a long lead-up to the punchline, it was easy to confuse the spot with another category or brand.
Weird Humour Won
Humour in advertising works, and there was no shortage of it this year. But when the majority of ads are humorous, brands need to push the envelope to stand out. Little Caesars (Feat. Eugene Levy’s Eyebrows) was a crowd favourite, as were Coors Light’s Sloths. The crowd could easily take away the main message and were entertained to boot.
Timing Is Everything
Contrary to what I said earlier about short attention spans, there were moments throughout the game where a strategically-placed ad could take advantage of a high-attention moment. Immediately following the end of the game, the NFL aired a two-minute, ‘80s themed film promoting the growth of girls of flag football as a varsity sport. Despite the groans or cheers in the room following the Eagles win, all fell silent to take in the film.
Rachel Frederick
Group creative director at Ogilvy New York
Super Bowl LIX—what a blowout. This meant most of us watching paid even more attention to the commercials. And it was clear that companies were treading carefully as the country’s tone continues to shift. A big trend was the resurgence of absurdist humour, with brands keeping it mostly light with aliens, gravity-defying hair, and multiple appearances by Matthew McConaughey (because, why not?).
Uber Eats’ ‘A Century of Cravings’ was a personal highlight. The storyline was clear and fun, the celebrity cameos enhanced rather than detracted, and it had production value worthy of the Big Game. Another winner? Totino’s Pizza Rolls, tapping into a bit of E.T.-like nostalgia with a laugh-out-loud twist. As a member of the Tim Robinson/Sam Richardson fan club, I appreciated the brand letting their comedic weirdness shine through. It’s not for everyone, but I’m also a closeted fan of Totino’s Pizza Rolls, so it tracks. Bonus points to Squarespace for casting Barry Keoghan, and to Tubi for its disturbing yet memorable physical comedy.
But here’s the thing about humour: It can be a brilliant distraction. While refreshing, it can also mask a brand’s reluctance to, you know, say something meaningful, especially in today’s climate. A few ads went a bit deeper and stood out for it. Google’s heart-warming ‘Dream Job’ spot about a dad’s most important job and his transferable skills (and AI, of course) tugged at the heartstrings. Rocket Mortgage’s message about how everyone deserves a shot at the American dream wasn’t lost on the audience. And Jeep’s ad may have been a little soft at times, but I appreciated its pointed message about leadership: “Real heroes are humble; they’re not driven by pride. Pride is a terrible driver.”
Marius Froehlich
Associate director engagement strategy at tms
My favourite 2025 Super Bowl commercial was Google Pixel’s ‘Dream Job’, which follows a father using the Pixel 9's AI assistant, Gemini Live, to prepare for a job interview.
There are several reasons this ad stood out to me. First, it highlights a practical and helpful use case for AI. So many companies are integrating AI into their products and services and there are numerous AI headlines every week to the point that it can feel overwhelming of where to start or how to best incorporate AI applications into personal and work life. Google’s ‘Dream Job’ commercial showcases how easy and comfortable it is to use its AI tool.
Second, the commercial is relatable and relevant. Anyone who has ever had a job interview remembers the nervous and anxious feelings of wanting to make a good impression and having buttoned-up answers. On top of that, 58% of people worldwide are planning to look for a job in 2025 (according to LinkedIn) and many report being frustrated by the job search and changing job market. This ad will resonate even more with these people and could lead to an increased trial of Gemini Live to help them land a job.
Lastly, the ad draws on human connection and emotion. Everyone who is a parent, hopes to be a parent one day, or observed their parents growing up, can relate to or empathize with the feelings exhibited by the father in the commercial. Navigating taking care of a newborn, juggling work and home life, making sacrifices, being dependable, the joyous moments, and the difficult moments. The flashbacks of the father raising his daughter from when she was a baby all the way to dropping her off at college worked well to bring the emotions to life.
Vincent Geraghty
EVP of production and HIVE Content Studio at Laughlin Constable
Humour, celebrity, high dollar productions are table stakes for any Super Bowl commercial. It’s refreshing to see great spots like Rocket Mortgage ‘Country Road’ and Coors Light ‘Slow Monday Sloths’ that don’t rely on a celebrity to create an engaging Super Bowl ad.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, with Super Bowl in-game promos and the pregame itself seeming to rely on celebrity more and more. From Jon Hamm introducing the Chiefs and Bradley Cooper introducing the Eagles, to the in-game hype videos, all are feeling more like the commercials. Same with content like Brad Pitt’s pre-game ‘Huddle’ and Tom Cruise’s ‘Mission Super Bowl 59’ welcome video.
The trend of embracing the audience as part of the commercial content continues with Fan Duel’s ‘Kick of Destiny’, Doritos Crash the Super Bowl ‘Alien’, and Rocket Mortgages ‘Country Road’ playing the song in the stadium right after the ‘Country Road’ commercial aired. Adding real time engagement to the ads is allowing these brands to extend the commercial audience and engagement well past the $8 million 30-second media placement on the game. And most of the advertisers continue to take advantage of releasing teaser ads, audience participation, and behind the scenes content before the game, creating extensions and value beyond the 30-second Super Bowl ad.
James Rogers
Executive creative director at Framestore LA
This year, the Super Bowl ad line-up seemed to largely bounce between flying facial hair and aliens. And that makes sense, right? In times of uncertainty, we tend to gravitate towards the things that bring us comfort. Who hasn’t sought comfort from a moustache now and then?
And guess what? It’s not just aliens making a comeback this year. 3D creatures, big and small, are having a big moment in 2025. We saw bears, horses, whales, dragons, and even a personal favourite from on-screen characters this year: giant gummy creatures. These scenes have always been challenging for VFX artists, especially during the Super Bowl season when we have to fit them into tight deadlines. Now, they are becoming commonplace.
There are a couple of reasons for this shift. First, the advancements in VFX technology. For example, rigging, grooming hair and fur, motion capture and animation, and rendering power have really changed the game in terms of bringing something to the screen with speed. Lighting looks and feels natural, and unless they were made to look like puppets, there’s generally a seamless integration into the backplates (and stories) throughout these commercials. A good indication of just how far things have come is the amount of screen time these traditionally complex visual effects are getting per commercial.
Another factor, though less talked about, is the underlying element of generative AI tools, which are increasingly being used for visualisation in agency decks, director’s treatments, and post-production. There are definitely ethical considerations here, without a doubt, but the ideation and development of screen moments are getting accelerated by their use.
If this year’s Big Game ads are any indication of what’s to come, the future will heavily rely on the intersection of cutting-edge technology and storytelling to connect audiences.
Alex Jacobs
COO and co-founder at Biite
It’s a big day for the world of sports (and mixed sport-related metaphors) and an even bigger day for the brands that suit up and battle it out for the world’s attention on the grandest of stages. Sure, the Super Bowl is the Olympics of media placements and the Super Bowl Ad the undisputed pound for pound champ of advertising creative. But long gone are the days when a brand could justify the investment on the value of the media or the impact of the advertising creative alone, if those days ever existed at all. Viewing the whole thing as a media placement or TV spot unto itself is missing the point and missing out on the majority of the upside.
What do you do when you have the whole world's attention? You wind up and take the biggest swing you can to make a dent in culture to ignite conversation. The value isn't in the audience receiving the message in those 30 seconds. The value is in the conversation you can ignite using that moment to ripple across culture. If you did it right, the spot is just one moment in a series that together are greater than the sum of their parts. How do you know you've ‘won’ the Super Bowl as an advertiser? If the earned impressions you've generated before the spot even airs already 10X the viewership of the broadcast itself.
Some brands are already standing out and cashing in big with this kind of conversation-centric approach to the Attention Bowl this year. Not least of which, the new brand campaign by a little taco joint you may have heard of (and that Biite is proud to call a client) is already paying dividends. Just ask Doja or LeBron, who were great sports about getting benched for the Big Game, one of the thousands of fans who came out for a chance to become the real stars of the show, or the Wall Street analysts that cheered when they went beast mode and carried the Yum! Brands quarterly earnings to a fourth quarter victory.
Ryan Lehr
Co-CCO at Deustch
Humour was the overall trend, where quirky and goofy stole the show. From flying facial features in Pringles and Coffee-mate. Sealife took the spotlight in multiple ads, with a singing Seal-seal and our very own talking beluga whale for Nerdwallet, hilariously voiced by none other than Kieran Culkin. But that wasn’t the only unexpected performance from an Oscar nominated actor from Succession, as Dunkin’s Dunkings sequel featured an almost unrecognisable Jeremy Strong wading in a vat of coffee grounds. And hopefully ‘coffee vat-wading’ doesn’t become a trend on social.
Ann Rubin
EVP, marketing, communications and events, 4As
Lots of humour. Lots and lots of celebrities. With some feels and aliens thrown in. Given so many spots were released pre-game there weren’t a lot of surprises but still the best part of the game, at least for Chiefs fans.
Below are my faves – I’m not drawn to the slapstick so flying eyebrows and moustaches don’t make it to my personal list. There was a lot of love in the world for the Seal seal but I found it creepy. I was looking forward to round 2 of Dunkin’ (my #1 last year) but didn’t do it for me this year.
My criteria – just make me feel something, tell a great story, high level of creativity and amazing production values and tie tightly to the brand so I remember who it's from. I mean really, for $8M + production – I should remember the brand. In no particular order – aside from Hellmans taking my top spot:
1. Hellmann's - just so good – fun, throwback, on point for the product.
2. Dove - simple and meaningful and so on brand.
3. Google - nice use of Gemini and so nicely produced.
4. Nerds gummy clusters – I will never buy them, but I love the link to last year, the animation, the colors, the tie to NOLA, the music. Yes I am biased because I love Shaboozy.
5. Novartis – Breast Cancer awareness – yup – lots of personal experience here and screening saves lives – simple as that.
6. Pfizer – powerful – the kid was so great, the story, the reunion with mom, you know how they all felt in that moment.
7. Ram – love the story telling, the kids, the bears, really unique.
8. Stella Artois – the celebs were perfect, the copy was great.
9. Uber Eats – All around great acting and writing – but Martha Stewart’s Caesar salad line and the way they all laugh – so good!
Lucia Orlandi
Executive creative director at TBWA\ Media Arts Lab LA
This year’s Super Bowl was filled with the usual - celebrities, absurd humour, and more celebrities. While there were a couple of ads that combined humour and big names in a memorable way, a favourite being the final instalment of Uber’s football conspiracy spot, there were two moments that absolutely broke through for me.
Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show, a performance filled with multi layered symbolism that the internet jumped to break down the moment it finished.
Nike’s “You can’t win. So win.” Impactful, poetic, and completely stand out. Their first Superbowl ad in 27 years. The spot featured A’ja Wilson, Jordan Chiles, Caitlin Clark, Sabrina Ionescu, Juju Watkins, Sha’Carri Richardson & Sophia Wilson, and voiced by recent Grammy winner Doechii - it upstaged every athlete on the field. Celebrating female and minority athletes, with a message that resonates beyond sport during this moment stuck with me for the rest of the game. And that last shot, Jordan Chiles in an incredibly powerful pose that resembles the swoosh. The attention to detail was iconic.
