Overall Super Bowl Commercial Reactions Were Mixed This Year…And Even Bad
Call it the crazy state of the world, or how desensitized we all are with content availability across TikTok and the internet. Dopamine hits whether it’s gambling, drugs etc. CONTENT. It almost feels like consumers have seen it all and have become somewhat numb to Super Bowl ads unless it’s viral like the QR code one that’s so different it turns heads.
Trending Internet Takes on Super Bowl Commercials On Instagram:
Everyone has their own opinion and believe me I’m making this list while my 2 month old is napping and running on 2 hours of sleep. So yes your list might be different and yes this might be different than AdAge or Adweek but hey that ok right? As far as ranking, there are two criteria I use:
A) Whether the ad made sense, was unique, and is scalable for future use or aligns with a longer-term vision.
B) How the reaction was received online because there are millions more impressions received online of people talking, posting about your ads than people during the Super Bowl.
Alright with that rant over, here is are in my humble opinion the 5 best and “worst”.
(Worst is in quotations because anyone who has ever created a commercial knows how hard it is. Two- a lot of the result is from clients messing up the idea so it would be easy for me to shit on ads and act all noble but the truth is I could never make any of these ads so kudos to all the creators out there doing the lords work)
5 Best Super Bowl Commercials
This is probably not #1 on most people’s lists but here is why it was my favorite. There were 21 commercials about AI, and while some of the AI tools are great, I think most of us long for the simpler times of sitting on the porch with a loved one instead of doom scrolling on the couch when it’s -20 degrees outside. I also think they summarized the importance of family and love, which is hard to deliver but they did so well in a way that’s authentic to the brand. I went to the bodega on Monday and got some Salt and Vinegar Lays chips to celebrate them on a job well done.
Lay’s Last Harvest
This was the best use of celebrities out of any commercial featuring one. They connected the idea of “Livin’ on a prayer” that most priced strapped consumers with 1.2 trillion in credit card debt are feeling right now. It tied the end nicely with Bon Jovi and featured items like cars that State Farm Insures. Well done State Farm.
State Farm Livin’ On A Prayer
P&G brand Always “Like a Girl” Super Bowl ad went viral over 10 years ago and for good reason. It hit on a message every person could relate to and the challenge young women face. This ad celebrated unity, confidence, and togetherness. Three values i’d argue are missing now more than ever in society because of how isolating technology makes us feel. But this ad nailed it, and sports brings people of all genders, race, religions together. Let’s hope the world cup this year can help us as a society as much as this commercial gave us, albeit for 30 seconds.
Dove “The Game Is Ours”
This company crushes Super Bowl Ads. Their QR code ad a few years back was so simple yet genius. This year they made an engaging ad that encouraged people to sing along to just deliver their logo at the end. Not pitching some product or attribute, just giving a positive association with their brand
Coinbase Karaoke Backstreet Boys Ad
It was the first time in the public eye one massive AI company placing a dig at the other. Yes Elon Musk and Sam Altman have fought but it was between c-suite executives, not asking consumers to decide. Yet Claude doubled down on not having ads, a dig right at ChatGPT and Open AI announcing ads are coming soon. That’s it, clear, well done, and humorous. The fundamentals you need for a great super bowl commercial.
Claude’s Response To Ads On ChatGPT
Honorable Mentions:
Kellogg’s Raisin Bran, “Will Shat” (Shout out to Vayner who emailed me the details on this before it was released)
5 “Worst” Super Bowl Commercials
This commercial I think did a lot of damage to the Ring brand. Ring prides itself on safety and security and this had an underlining creepy factor to it which was unintentional. It introduced a feature that most people didn’t know and that feature is “Hey whether you agree to or not we can see stuff from your camera” now most people probably assume this already happens but the Big Brother 1984 vibes this gave off alongside heightened sensitivity to AI.
This looks like a scene from Terminator searching for humans
Robots dancing to “Super Freak” I wasn’t sure what this commercial was trying to do. Maybe show Svedka as a hip and futuristic brand but idk it didn’t seem too memorable.
Svedka Shake Your Bots Off
Now before you roll your eyes this ad wasn’t bad in general. But for the high standard the Liquid Death brand has created this ad seemed a bit generic for them. They have a huge opportunity to enter the energy drink market but people without heads seemed standard. Maybe i’m losing my head too idk.
Liquid Death No Heads Ad
Our favorite ham Jon Hamm was in this ad and then end with Scarlett Johansson randomly on a jet ski. However I don’t really know what the point of this ad was supposed to be about. Ritz has had great commercials and had a lot of star power but wasn’t sure what the whole beach vibe was going for to be honest.
“When your client shows you their creative idea they made in PowerPoint (Ritz Ad)
Ok before you kill me yes Emma Stone is unbelievably talented and yes her acting in this was incredible. From an industry / creative director perspective this had all the A+ style and creative idea. Fairly certain it was a spoof of The Lighthouse movie from 2020. However I don’t really understand what the new benefit was for Squarespace. Had to re-watch it a few times to get it and it seemed more like a URL finder than anything else memorable related to growing and scaling a business.
“Unavailable by Squarespace”
Did You Know? In 2026, A-list celebrities typically earned between $1 million and $5 million for Super Bowl commercials, with some top talent reaching up to $10M.
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