Marketing

Walking around New Orleans in the days before Super Bowl 59, it was impossible to avoid the way that the sporting event has transformed the city. Brands took over restaurants and parking lots, plastered and projected ads onto the sides of buildings, hosted karaoke on sidewalks, and passed out oh-so-many free products. I’ve been covering…

THE AD: In the male-dominated Super Bowl, Nike’s “So Win” shifts the spotlight to women athletes who are changing the game in their respective sports. With a voiceover by rapper Doechii, the film addresses the fact that female athletes-and women generally-are always told what they can’t or shouldn’t do. In true Nike style, the brand…

THE AD: A party runs out of Pringles. Actor Adam Brody calls for help by blowing into an empty chip can like a conch shell. Upon hearing the sound of distress, the famously bushy mustaches of actor Nick Offerman, NBA player James Harden, and Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid detach from their respective faces…

THE AD: Budweiser’s “First Delivery” is a 90-second spot starring a baby Clydesdale horse. The real foal from the brand’s Warm Springs Ranch in Boonville, MO, yearns to join the iconic “hitch” (team of horses) on a Budweiser beer delivery. Sadly, he’s not old enough just yet. But his determination and courage see him make…

THE AD: Hellmann’s enlisted Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan to revive their roles as Harry Burns and Sally Albright in the 1989 rom-com When Harry Met Sally. But Sydney Sweeney delivers the famous line at the end, bringing Gen Z in on the pop culture reference that’s well before their time. MY HOT TAKE: Hellmann’s…

THE AD: In Ram’s 60-second Super Bowl ad, Glenn Powell does his own spin on Goldilocks and the Three Bears, trying out the Ram Charger 1500, the new Ram 2500 Rebel Heavy Duty, and the Ram 1500 RHO to find the truck that’s “just right” for him. During the ad, directed by David Leitch (John…

Did Disney+’s Super Bowl ad make viewers happy by taking away their Joy? In Disney+’s 30-second Big Game ad, “What If,” which premiered ahead of the second quarter, the streamer erases its history, removing Joy from Inside Out, R2-D2 from Star Wars, and Ayo Edebiri and Jeremy Allen White from a scene in The Bear….

Hellmann’s is drumming up nostalgia around (and introducing younger generations to) the 1989 rom-com classic When Harry Met Sally, starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. The mayo brand put a twist on the iconic scene that takes place in New York’s Katz’s Deli, where Ryan’s character Sally fakes an orgasm while eating a sandwich. But…

Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS) returned to the Super Bowl this year to continue spreading its message of ending hate. Two 15-second spots feature close-up shots of Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady in a stark room, where they yell at each other about common reasons why people hate one another. The ad ends…

THE AD: Like Tubi’s infamous 2023 Super Bowl spot, Duracell’s 2025 ad does not immediately appear to be a commercial. Instead, the creative shows Fox NFL analysts Tom Brady and Kevin Burkhardt standing in the commentators’ booth, with Brady about to offer his thoughts on the first-half performance of the two teams. Then Brady appears…