The Super Bowl remains the biggest night in advertising, even if advertisers continue to work from a celeb-heavy, risk-averse playbook that is starting to show its age.
Despite the familiar tactics, and a mixed bag of efforts from emerging players in the artificial intelligence and health and wellness spaces, the big game is still a major showcase for creative strategies and an opportunity to set the tone for advertising in the year ahead.
With that in mind, Marketing Dive asked readers to share their insights about the night’s best, worst and most surprising ads. Below is a selection of that anonymous reader feedback, along with comments from industry experts, around five of the ads that made the most noise.
The following has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Dunkin’, “Good Will Dunkin’”
“A pleasant surprise was to see Dunkin lean into nostalgia by bringing back some of our most beloved characters and creating a moment that felt instantly joyful. Digging deeper on social media, I realized they went all in on a ’90s theme as an homage to their first iced coffee, right down to launching 90s-inspired merch (most of which is already sold out, damn!). For a brand that’s trying to modernize itself, it was refreshing to see that they believed nostalgia could help them get there. This level of commitment made the campaign even more impressive.” — Sakshi Choudhary, global executive creative director, Ogilvy Chicago
“Love Dunkin, and I am from that part of the county, but they tried too hard.”
Anonymous reader
“For the money they spent on this star studded commercial to cheapen the 1997 masterpiece that is ‘Good Will Hunting’ just felt sad to me. The parody was hard to follow. Jason Alexander had hair. And who under the age of forty-five knew the Ted Danson reference? Tough night for Boston and the larger New England area.” — Scott Sutton, CEO, Later
“Good Will Hunting, comedy style. It was nostalgic, funny, clever - and memorable. Hilarious and a great representation of Dunkin's values.”
Anonymous reader
“Have to say Ben Affleck showing up as a version of Matt Damon to spoof the movie that made them famous with a vaguely ‘Friends’ parody featuring every single ‘90s sitcom star in an ad for Dunkin' was pretty surprising. Used to work with Dunkin' in their pre-Affleck days when they had next to no money for big advertising swings like these, so to see the money they’re spending these days is even more surprising.” — Steven Fogel, executive creative director, Highdive
Anthropic, “Can I get a six pack quickly?”
“I didn’t see what all of the Anthropic hype was about.”
Anonymous reader
“While every other AI company showed up trying to be liked, Anthropic showed up with an argument. They used the most expensive advertising platform in culture to question whether advertising belongs inside AI at all and they did it with genuinely funny creative that didn’t feel like a tech company trying to be funny. It felt like a funny ad that happened to have a point of view. In a Super Bowl where the AI category was drowning in celebrity, warmth, and reassurance, Anthropic was the only one that drew a line.” — Craig Elimeliah, chief creative officer, Code and Theory
“Newcomer tapping into their values, beliefs and ethical use of AI, which resonated with me and I imagine many who are being bombarded with AI-driven info sources/choices.”
Anonymous reader
“The ad successfully positioned Claude against the AI powerhouse ChatGPT using humor and ‘what the heck is happening’ moments to point out that ChatGPT's new advertising plans could influence the information a user is receiving. Subtle yet ‘in your face.’ Brilliant.” — Julie Murphy, vice president of marketing, Commercial Credit Group
“Claude AI — in a good way — showed what you can actually do instead of being ambiguous.”
Anonymous reader
Budweiser, “American Icons”
“By far, my favorite. It felt genuine, not forced. The use of the trademark Clydesdale and the bald eagle instantly sparked a sense of patriotism, but in a quiet, respectful way rather than an over-the-top one. The storyline was heartwarming: the friendship, loyalty, and simple acts of care portrayed pulled people in emotionally. It didn’t feel like a beer ad; it felt like a small, uplifting moment everyone could relate to.” — Gwen Maass, senior vice president of media at Rise, a Quad Agency
“Budweiser, because all Americans could identify with it.”
Anonymous reader
“The ad evoked human emotion, highlighting growth and perseverance standing the test of time. The Americana thread allows viewers to feel proud of their heritage and history, symbolized by the bald eagle, brand’s Clydesdales, and usage of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘Free Bird.’” — Shannon Stern, public relations consultant
“Cute but not a Bud ad.”
Anonymous reader
Pepsi Zero Sugar, “The Choice”
“It not only was a dig a Coke (which both brands have done in the past) but it also had a dig at the Coldplay kiss cam viral moment, but they used a different approach.”
Anonymous reader
“It's great to see Pepsi going back to the Pepsi Challenge days. It's sharp elbows everywhere else in culture so why not leverage one of Coke’s biggest brand assets against them.” — Mark Himmelsbach, CEO, RYA
“Literally for the audacity to come after Coca-Cola the way they did, and for the Coldplay concert meme. That sent me.”
Anonymous reader
Manscaped, “Hair Ballad”
“It went for the weird. Again, no celeb, just a good song, a super simple idea executed well, and a solid dose of fun and dumb. There’s just something about hair clumps with googly eyes and awkward tri's that gets me.” — Steven Fogel, executive creative director, Highdive
“It was so memorable even though it was SO weird!”
Anonymous reader
“The big winner last night and it didn't take several celebrities or a famous song for it to steal the show. The ad was a clever product demonstration from start to finish covering (or uncovering, rather) all the uses in a way that you just couldn't turn away from — a marketer's dream. Gross? Perhaps to some. Memorable? Absolutely to all.” — Mike Caguin, chief creative officer at Betty, a Quad Agency
“There's just something about a pile of hair that gives me the ick…”
Anonymous reader
