Last night I sat down to watch some ads and a Bad Bunny concert, occasionally interrupted by a football game. The Super Bowl is a marketer’s, errr, Super Bowl. The brands really bring their A game.
As a Canadian I had to jump throughquite a few hoops to catch all the American ads, and boy oh boy, the brands did not disappoint.
Here’s a recap of the ones who really took advantage of their $8M ad buy. From the brilliant to the “WTH just happened?” (my personal favourite genre).
Claude
Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude. I already raved about the series of 4 ads that were released earlier in the week. But honestly, they deserve another shoutout. The positioning? Smart. The tone? Deadpan perfection. The message? AI doesn’t have to sell you stuff.
If you didn’t see the others, you can find them here, here and here.
Levi’s Behind Every Original
Levi’s took a bold, playful swing with its return to the Super Bowl stage after two decades. Just a celebration of what makes Levi’s iconic: great denim and bums that look fantastic in them. Doechii (and Woody from Toy Story) brought just the right amount of star power to keep things cool and current.
Good Will Dunkin’
What if Good Will Hunting was a sitcom? Dunkin’ leaned into nostalgia, with cameos from EVERY SINGLE 90s sitcom + Ben Affleck. Impossible not to smile watching it!
State Farm Stop Livin’ on a Prayer
State Farm took a high‑note risk and hit it. This ad had everything: Bon Jovi, musical theatre levels of cheese, and Jake from State Farm giving it his all. It was weird. It was fun. It worked.
Budweiser Free Bird
It’s like someone typed “American Super Bowl Ad” into ChatGPT and just went with the first idea. But honestly? I was into it. There’s a time and place for subtlety… this was not it.
T‑Mobile
T-Mobile brought the Backstreet Boys to a very pink party and targeted their Gen X/Millennial sweet spot like a marketer with a laser pointer. It was flashy, nostalgic, and an absolute bop.
Coinbase Karaoke
A one minute Karaoke break in the middle of the game with Microsoft paint style visuals? Why not! The ad definitely stood out and made me pay attention (ok, and sing, because I can’t resist Backstreet’s Back). For those keeping track, it’s the second Backstreet Boys appearance at this year’s Super Bowl commercial break.
Will Shat for Raisin Bran
Will Shatner, or Will Shat, is the Raisin Bran’s BRAN Ambassador. Get it? The toilet humour was peak dad joke and absolutely intentional. With lines like “Will Shat on the car!” it echoed the iconic “Ship my pants” energy from Kmart’s glory days.
It was unhinged. And frankly? I’m not mad at it.
Hellmann’s Meal Diamond
Hellmann’s Super Bowl ads are always a crowd pleaser (see last year‘s and the year before that). And this one with Andy Samberg is So good. So good. So good!
Manscaped Hair Ballad
The singing pubs ads had the men at our Super Bowl watch party howling with laughter and recognition. The sign of an entertaining and memorable ad.
This year’s ads were bold, weird, self-aware, and (most importantly) highly watchable. Whether it was AI sass or a poop joke, brands showed up ready to entertain. And that’s what makes the Super Bowl… well, the Super Bowl for marketers.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go watch the Raisin Bran ad again.
Which ones were your faves?
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