At this point in the Super Bowl ad post-mortem, a pattern has emerged: AI — both the companies selling it and the brands leaning on it — did not resonate as strongly as more familiar creative territory. Viewers gravitated toward the tried and tested, from nostalgia plays to celebrities in deliberately oddball scenarios, while many AI-centered spots struggled to make an emotional connection.
That leaves a sizable cohort of marketers on the wrong side of the night’s cultural verdict. Nearly a quarter of the commercials — 15 of the 66 ads, or 23%– either promoted AI directly or relied on it in their creation, underscoring how heavily the industry is betting on a theme audiences have yet to fully embrace.
This is a member-exclusive article from Digiday. Continue reading it on digiday.com and subscribe to continue reading content like this.