I watched all of the Super Bowl commercials, so you don’t have to, here’s what I found. We are talking about a bit over 60 ads that were aired during the sporting event. Amongst these, four main themes could be identified: AI, time, health, and money (in all forms). Let’s break them down! You can also find them all on PR Week’s page.
It’s an AI’s world
Living in 2026 doesn’t mean dreaming about a future where machines and robots seem a far away reality. That future is now. And that translates in the advertising world as well. The Super Bowl has seen around 10 brands that have focused their minute of fame on the screen around AI.
We are talking, of course, about brands such as Google that has positioned its Gemini as an enhancer of the human activities. We see a family moving houses and they use this function that the billion-dollar company has to help its little one envision his life in their new home. This is humanising AI, as opposed to Amazon, that has chosen to play along with the idea that our home assistants, Alexa in this case, are lingering in the corners, waiting to sabotage us.
On the other hand, there is Anthropic Claude that is mocking AI and more specifically the fact that now lots of chatbots are allowing advertising which can affect the end experience of the user. In a deep convo with a woman, talking about his difficult relationship with his mother, a man is confused when instead of valuable advice he starts hearing an add to a mature dating site.
After all, what is AI’s meaning in our lives? Even though with different takes, the Super Bowl’s answer comes across clear: AI is here to help us (most of the times), through ads provided by Oakley Meta, Ring, and Genspark that depict a day-to-day life made easier by integrating artificial intelligence.
Time: how do you spend it?
Another common theme has been bringing up time. In a world that is moving faster every day, with attention spans that last less, one of the recent day luxuries has been being able to afford leisure activities. It’s something that Genspark brings up with its AI centric commercial: more automation equals more free time to do whatever you like.
Hims&Hers also briefly covers it. Wealthy people can afford to buy themselves time. Either through the form of gaining access to various earlier than the general public or through surgeries that allow them to look more youthful. This approach solidifies the recent tendency of time to become a status symbol: less and less people can have access to it.
Is health the new currency?
Directly tied to time, is health. Another trend that has emerged recently is seeing wellness as the ultimate luxury. But has health become a form of currency? Do we trade social positions through our wellbeing? Again Hims&Hers has something to say about this. While they bring up time being the thing that all wealthy people have effortlessly, they say that this is a result of health. Their ad speaks to aspirational people and lets them know that through their company they can access the kind of healthcare that the super rich get: treatments, interventions, cures. This is placing health as another pillar of current day social hierarchy.
Weight loss has been another topic heavily debated. Following the Ozempic trend, that has seen the entirety of Hollywood go down in size, two Super Bowl ads are talking about reaching your goals on the scale. These are Healthier on Ro, with Serena Williams as testimonial and Wegovy, that has assembled a stellar cast for the call, with DJ Khalid leading the pack.
Money is on everyone’s lips
With just about as many mentions as AI, money closes the circle of recurring themes in the Super Bowl ads. Is this a recession indicator or a signal that the economy is about to boom?
TurboTax takes upon itself to ease the citizen’s problems with taxes and a dramatic Adam Broady is deeply unsatisfied with that decision – he likes the drama. Grubhub is setting a period piece scene with George Clooney assuring the people at the table with him that the service fees are going to be eaten by Grubhub.
Salesforce inserts itself directly into the Super Bowl audience with an activation powered by Mr. Beast. He is rewarding the person able to solve the puzzle hidden in the spot with 1 million dollars. In times like these, it’s a great way to give back to the community and engage it.
Some mortgage and insurance companies have also bought some time during the most important sporting event in America. We are talking about Redfin x Rocket Mortgage and State Farm which are urging their costumers to not look away when it comes to spending a little extra in interest rates, but getting more benefits and buying their dreams.
We cannot forget about Fanatics, that has glamourised gambling by associating with Kendall Jenner on glamourising betting and exploiting the famous Kardashian curse.
All in all, the brands that have dominated the 60th edition of the Super Bowl which everyone is talking about are Uber Eats, Amazon, e.l.f and T-Mobile. The advertising agency that has won this Super Bowl is BBDO with 6 of their ads being aired.
Featured photo: BBDO Worldwide.
