Lay’s: Last Harvest
One of this year’s most remarkable commercials felt, dramaturgically speaking, almost out of place at the Super Bowl. The chip brand Lay’s presented a short indie-style film about an aging farmer facing his final harvest. His daughter is taking over the farm, making it a story of generational transition. Even if it may not seem so at first glance, this was a very bold spot. Snack brands at the Super Bowl typically opt for humorous, celebrity-driven presentations. Here, however, we see an authentic story centred on emotion and a narrative of “real ingredients for real people.” Especially in a year dominated by highly hyped tech showcases, Lay’s offered a moment for genuine reflection and introspection. From the perspective of the evening’s overall structure, it was something of an anomaly—one that, nevertheless, received very positive reviews.
Video: LAY'S® | Last Harvest | Super Bowl LX Commercial | Extended Cut
Ring: Be a Hero in Your Neighborhood
For the tech company Ring, which focuses on AI-powered security solutions and operates under Amazon, the Super Bowl was not just a marketing showcase but also a reputational test. In its commercial, we follow a classic story of a lost dog being rescued, with the whole community joining in using Ring cameras. The dog is, of course, eventually found. What matters, however, is how the company reframed its positioning: it replaced themes of crime and fear with community, connection, and solidarity. The Search Party feature is presented as a voluntary, helpful tool, which is an important distinction. At the same time, the ad reopened the debate around privacy in an era of advanced surveillance infrastructure. In that sense, it represented a necessary shift in communication, further reinforced by the end of Ring’s controversial partnership with Flock Safety. Whether this repositioning will prove successful remains to be seen.
Video: Search Party from Ring | Be A Hero In Your Neighborhood
Pepsi: The Choice
This year’s Super Bowl also brought a surprising revival of a rivalry almost as old as marketing itself—the so-called cola wars between Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. This time, it was Pepsi that couldn’t resist taking a jab, incorporating polar bears into its ad—a motif long associated with its biggest competitor. The spot itself is fairly simple: it features a blind taste test in which a polar bear chooses Pepsi Zero. From a marketing perspective, however, it’s a highly aggressive move—one that can be read as a mix of nostalgia, provocation, and strong brand confidence. Pepsi delivers it in a distinctly 21st-century, meme-driven language, where playful cultural irony replaces traditional hard-hitting comparative advertising. The ad has high shareability and viral potential, with plenty of room to generate memes and GIFs. The question now is how Coca-Cola will respond now that the gauntlet has been thrown down.
Video: The Choice | Pepsi | Super Bowl
Google: New Home
It was more or less expected and highly predictable that this year’s Super Bowl would be dominated by ads focused on AI technologies. What was eagerly anticipated, however, was how tech giants would tackle this challenge and which narrative frameworks they would choose. Google opted to present Gemini as deeply human-centred, deliberately avoiding the futuristic aesthetic that some audiences have grown weary of. In its ad, the focus is on a typical American family moving into a new home and using Gemini to visualise what their new space could look like. The technology is presented as a helpful assistant rather than a source of flashy “wow” moments. The result is a fairly understated presentation, strongly centred on practicality and everyday life. The true protagonists of the story remain the family rather than the technology. This is particularly important at a time when discussions around AI regulation and its impact on the labour market are intensifying. While other companies showcased the full extent of AI’s capabilities with great spectacle, Google focused on how it can help. And it was precisely this approach that earned the trust of part of the audience.
Video: New Home | Google Gemini SB Commercial 2026
Budweiser: American Icons
Beer has long been an integral part of the Super Bowl, just as Budweiser is inseparably linked to its annual commercial breaks. The brand made that clear in its latest spot, which brings together two of its most iconic symbols—the Clydesdale horse and the American eagle. It’s patriotism in its purest form, emotionally powerful even with minimal dialogue and elevated by strong audiovisual, cinematic storytelling. Budweiser leans into nostalgia and clearly defined values, signalling that it won’t be swept up in the frenzy of technological hype and remains committed to classic brand storytelling. Once again, this highlights a broader point: over-the-top showcases of what AI can do aren’t necessarily what audiences appreciate most. Offer strong emotions, a clear narrative, and a positive message, and you have something far more powerful than techno-futuristic hype. Budweiser clearly understands this.
Video: Budweiser | Super Bowl LX Commercial 'American Icons'
Instacart: Bananas
So far, we haven’t come across any familiar faces, but what would the Super Bowl be without celebrities? Fortunately, a new spot from Instacart sets things right, giving the spotlight to not one but two figures from American show business. A hyper-stylised musical number featuring comedy legend Ben Stiller and singer Benson Boone, centred entirely on choosing fresh bananas, is exactly why we love the Super Bowl so much. But make no mistake: beneath the bizarre surface, this is top-tier e-commerce marketing in action. It clearly demonstrates that even a purely logistical benefit can be communicated in a human and relatable way. Instacart’s app includes a feature that allows users to specify preferences for produce—such as the desired level of ripeness—something most brands would present in a strictly utilitarian manner. Instacart, however, proves it can be done differently, maximising memorability compared to competitors. The result is a pure feel-good entertainment moment, perfectly suited for a second life in the digital space—something Super Bowl audiences consistently appreciate.
Video: For Papa! | Instacart Big Game Commercial with Ben Stiller and Benson Boone directed by Spike Jonze
Squarespace: Unavailable
An almost arthouse experience was delivered this time by Squarespace, the website-building platform. In the spot, actress Emma Stone deals with a banal situation—unsuccessfully trying to register the domain emmastone.com. The complications trigger a full spectrum of emotions, from anger and frustration to despair and anxiety. The visual style reflects this, making it clear to the viewer that the whole concept is a form of exaggerated parody. The ad was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, whose distinctive auteur style is immediately recognisable. This is not straightforward entertainment like in the previous example, but rather a piece of sophisticated, absurd humour wrapped in an arthouse aesthetic. It’s clearly not a mainstream ad, but one aimed at a more discerning audience. Even so, these kinds of spots have their place. Lanthimos and Stone demonstrate that celebrities can be used in a non-commercial, unconventional way, and that style can sometimes matter more than the product itself. So, while it may not resonate with mass audiences, it is undoubtedly the kind of ad that will be talked about in certain circles for a long time.
Video: Unavailable (Extended) | Big Game Commercial 2026 | Squarespace
Dove: The Game Is Ours
The Super Bowl has historically been a distinctly male-dominated environment. From time to time, however, an advertiser steps in to challenge that dominance. This year, it was the cosmetics brand, Dove. In its spot, Dove captures nearly a hundred moments of triumph by young female athletes across a range of disciplines, and therefore body types. The focus is on raw emotion and authentic physical effort, with no exaggerated artistic stylisation or reliance on the status of sports celebrities. The result is an elegant challenge to male dominance in sports, without resorting to overt confrontation. Body confidence and realism are themes Dove has long championed, and here the brand remains true to its identity. It uses the spectacle of American football not as a product showcase but as a platform to express strong, values-driven messaging.
Video: The Game is Ours
Novartis: Relax Your Tight End
Serious medical topics have historically been uncommon at the Super Bowl. This year, however, they made an appearance thanks to the pharmaceutical company Novartis, which cleverly linked the world of American football with prostate cancer prevention in its spot. They achieved this through a bold play on words around “releasing the tight end”—both an NFL player position and a double entendre referencing a sensitive health issue. The commercial, featuring a number of well-known football players, strikes a balance between serious messaging and subtle humour, and does so very effectively. Novartis addresses a delicate topic in clear, accessible language, rather than launching yet another sterile educational campaign. This approach significantly increases the memorability of the message and may even encourage some viewers to actually schedule a preventive check-up. It’s a prime example of values-driven advertising that avoids both melodrama and moralising—something particularly valuable in this sector.
Video: Relax your tight end.
Blue Square Alliance: Sticky Note
Finally, we cannot overlook a spot that seemed almost accidentally inserted into the Super Bowl’s commercial ecosystem. Viewers were presented with nothing more than a plain blue square—no celebrities, no visual effects. The presentation by the nonprofit Blue Square Alliance feels more like a PSA than a traditional ad: it calls on the audience to take a stand against antisemitism and hatred, and of course, it does not promote any product. The Alliance relies entirely on moral appeal, creating a striking contrast within an evening otherwise dominated by technology, nostalgia, and entertainment. The creators were likely aware of the potential for audience polarisation. Some viewers were indeed critical of the formal simplicity, but many others praised the Blue Square Alliance for its courage and the social and political importance of its message. After all, where better to make such an appeal than on the national stage that the Super Bowl undoubtedly provides?
Video: Sticky Note: SB LX Commercial
Super Bowl LX reaffirmed that technological innovation and star-studded casts alone are not enough. Whether it was Lay’s farmer story, Budweiser’s patriotic certainty, or Google’s down-to-earth approach to AI, the most effective moments were those that offered viewers something beyond a simple demonstration of capabilities or competitive advantages. Emotion, a clearly understandable narrative, and a strong value proposition proved more powerful than flashy visual spectacle. For marketers, this serves as a reminder of the simplest truth: technologies evolve, formats change, but human attention still responds primarily to stories it can relate to. And it is precisely those stories that we tend to remember the longest from any Super Bowl commercial break.