It’s been referred to as the AI Tremendous Bowl, due to Anthropic and OpenAI launching what (hopefully) would possibly turn out to be AI’s very personal Cola Wars.
It’s been referred to as the MAHA Bowl, due to manufacturers like Novo Nordisk selling Wegovy capsules, whereas Ro and hims & hers are pitching telehealth providers, Novartis got NFL tight ends to relax for prostate most cancers checks, and pharma firm Boehringer Ingelheim hypes kidney well being.
However we all know it was the Tremendous Bowl as a result of blended in amongst the traits had been Sabrina Carpenter’s FrankenPringles man, each T-Cell and Coinbase hit play on the Backstreet Boys, Oakley Meta made linked glasses look fairly good, and Manscaped in some way turned shaved physique hair into emotionally-resonant characters.
One other distinct signal this was as Tremendous Bowl-y an advert recreation as some other Tremendous Bowl? Movie star administrators. Taika Waititi took on Pepsi, Spike Jonze went full Italian selection present with Ben Stiller for Instacart, and Joseph Kosinski took all of the innovation from his experiences on the helm of final 12 months’s blockbuster F1 to get Kurt Russell to show a man tips on how to ski. Oh, and in some way the award-winning director with the least industrial movies had two spots within the recreation—Yorgos Lathimos directed each Squarespace and Grubhub.
Apple continued its full reinvention of the halftime present, turning Bad Bunny’s electric performance into a global event.
We additionally noticed a decent variety of hit songs get classically industrial reinterpretations. The aforementioned Backstreet Boys had been joined by Andy Samberg turning into Meal Diamond for Hellmann’s, Danny McBride and Keegan-Michael Key butchering Bon Jovi for State Farm, and each the NFL and Rocket crafting emotional intestine punch moments by reinterpreting two songs from the Mr. Rogers catalog.
Promoting!
It was a feast for the senses—a cornucopia of economic extravaganza. All with sufficient decisions that everybody watching the sport has their very own favorites Together with me!
Listed below are my picks for the very best advertisements from the 2026 Tremendous Bowl. However first, the worst!
Svedka Vodka “Shake Your Bots Off”
It’s apparently the primary Tremendous Bowl advert recognized to be produced primarily with AI. I by no means would’ve guessed…
This advert so dangerous I’m undecided it’s truthful to make enjoyable of it, even when it’s in some way purposely terrible. That is the type of dangerous that must be taught in faculties. It appears to be like prefer it was made by Promoting 101 college students in a rush. The AI angle is a gimmick for gimmick’s sake, clearly, and doesn’t add something to the advert in any respect besides the robots’ nightmare gasoline faces.
What’s so disappointing is that vodka has traditionally been a fairly excellent place for promoting. For anybody curious concerning the type of creativity is feasible within the vodka class, simply watch Belvedere Vodka’s 2022 spot “Daniel Craig,” directed by Waititi. Or Absolut’s “Vodka Movie” from 2008, made by Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, and Zach Galifianakis. Wonderful.
Svedka, conversely, serves up the promoting equal to essentially the most vapid, superficial folks you’ve ever seen in a membership. A robotic apocalypse as imagined by the Butabi brothers.
OK, now let’s get to the great things. Listed below are my Prime 5 advertisements from this 12 months…
Budweiser “American Icons”
As I mentioned in my pregame brand power rankings, Bud was right here for the crown.
Created by BBDO New York, this takes Budweiser’s penchant for animal buddies to a brand new, non-partisan patriotic stage. What may probably be cuter than a horse and a yellow lab turning into finest buddies? Properly, when it’s Bud’s a hundred and fiftieth anniversary and America’s 250th, the reply, in fact, is EAGLET.
These are divisive occasions, with many states feeling much less and fewer united with each information cycle. However right here, only for a second, Bud has served up one thing that we will all agree on.
When that bald eagle unfold its large grown wings for the primary time from behind that leaping horse, crimson states, blue states, MAGA, Democratic Socialists, coastal elites, flyover rednecks, and everybody in between had been capable of say, “Oh HELLS yeah.”
And in 2026, that’s one thing to boost a glass to.
Jeep “Billy Bass Goes to the River”
What initially seems to be a fairly run-of-the-mill automotive advert takes a decidedly epic flip that transforms this spot right into a traditional.
For those who take heed to the Tremendous Bowl episode of Quick Firm’s “Brand New World” podcast (do it!), you’ll know I spoke to the parents who made it, Mark Gross and Chad Broude, who’re co-founders and co-chief inventive officers of Chicago-based impartial advert company Highdive. They’ve tons of of Tremendous Bowl advertisements between them, and this newest piece of labor exhibits the good thing about that have.
Highdive has turn out to be synonymous with nice Tremendous Bowl work for the reason that 2020 Tremendous Bowl and their incredible Jeep industrial starring Invoice Murray, reliving the traditional 1993 comedy “Groundhog Day.”
The extent of problem right here is excessive—no nostalgic soundtrack, no movie star, no gimmick. Only a straight shot of fine ol’ original copywriting, excellent casting and comedic timing straight into the veins.
Rocket x Redfin “America Wants Neighbors Like You”
With the sum of money required only for Tremendous Bowl air time—a reported $8 million, plus a required extra matching advert purchase throughout different NBC sports activities— manufacturers want to make sure they get your consideration.
This 12 months, Rocket and Redfin did that by combining three issues that might create a big Venn diagram of curiosity: Woman Gaga singing Mr. Rogers’s “Received’t You Be My Neighbor?”; a heartwarming industrial airing through the recreation; and, most crucially, giving viewers the possibility to win a million-dollar home.
However every little thing revolves across the spot, which was a well-crafted, heartwarming vibe shift from all of the comedy and celebrities.
I spoke to CMO Jonathan Mildenhall about this triple threat approach.
“The one solution to win on the Tremendous Bowl is to win a disproportionate share of dialog pregame, in addition to throughout recreation, and, more and more, the progressive manufacturers are speaking about postgame dialog,” Mildenhall says. “For us the pregame was Woman Gaga behind the scenes, then through the recreation there may be the spot, and we’re asserting the Nice American dwelling seek for folks to take part in over the times after the sport.”
Hellmann’s “Meal Diamond”
The Boston Pink Sox, and each karaoke bar on the planet, make the most of Neil Diamond’s “Candy Caroline” successfully to carry a crowd collectively, put an arm round each other… and scream “SO GOOD! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!” in unison.
Right here we get that 1969 hit remixed for mayo due to Andy Samberg as Meal Diamond. In fact this appears to be like and sounds ridiculous. Nevertheless it truly continues a method Hellmann’s began in 2024.
“Mayo Cat” starred Kate McKinnon and was capable of put one phrase into the mouth of each cat: “Mayyo.” Its ambition to embed itself in our brains in such an insidious approach that we hear it each time a cat meows was commendable. Clearly, that ambition stays.
Now if you’re making lunch, it’s possible you’ll end up buzzing a well-known tune and whisper-crooning to your self, “Haaaam, touching ham…..” till it hits a crescendo, “Candy Sandwich Time!” Bah-bah-baaaaah.
Bud Gentle “Keg”
Bud Gentle was in a darkish place not that way back. It was unfairly punished for its one-off partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, which became an unlikely lightning rod for anti-trans weirdos and “followers” of Child Rock.
Fortunately, with Shane Gillis, the model has been constructing again its beer promoting pedigree by making commercials which might be humorous as hell. His spectacular run contains “Confessions,” “Wrong Commercial,” and final 12 months’s large recreation advert “BMOC.”
Now Gillis, Submit Malone, and Peyton Manning return, this time at a marriage. When the keg will get knocked over and rolls down a hill, all the marriage ceremony celebration does its finest Princess Bride “As you wish” impression. Dumb, enjoyable, and precisely what you need from a Bud Gentle advert.
