2026 ad tracker: The complete list of Super Bowl LX advertisers

🏈 Which brands won the Super Bowl this year?

Super Bowl LX didn’t just deliver big game action. It delivered one of the most eclectic and expensive advertising lineups in the event’s history. In 2026, the price of a 30-second commercial has climbed to around $8 million, with some premium placements reportedly exceeding $10 million — up from roughly $7 million just a couple of years ago.

This year’s spots also reflect shifting creative and strategic priorities. While familiar categories like food, beverage and automotive still dominate, technology platforms, healthcare and wellness brands as well as challengers have a stronger presence than in many past games.

We’ve compiled a complete list of the Super Bowl LX ads — from big legacy brands to first-time advertisers — as well as some key observations about what today’s marketers can learn from how brands showed up on advertising’s biggest night.

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2026 complete list of Super Bowl LX brands

Here’s the complete list of all the national and streaming advertisers we’ve gathered from this year’s big game:

AI.com

Campaign / Title: “Introducing AI.com”
About the ad: Shows their logo coming together and a call to claim your domain on their website.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: First time advertiser at the Big Game.

Amazon Alexa

Campaign / Title: “Alexaaaa+”
About the ad: Chris Hemsworth is initially unsure about Amazon’s new Alexa+ being in his home and is paranoid it’s trying to kill him — until she offers to book him a spa package.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Amazon has specifically advertised its Alexa product at the Super Bowl for several years, starting with a 2016 spot featuring Alec Baldwin.

Apple Music

Campaign / Title: “Bad Bunny Takes the World’s Biggest Stage”
About the ad: Apple Music is fronting the Bad Bunny Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, promoting it with trailers and “Road to Halftime” content that highlights Bad Bunny’s performance and invites global audiences to tune in and dance.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Apple Music has been the official sponsor of the NFL Super Bowl Halftime Show since 2023 and instead of running a traditional paid commercial, they promote their Halftime Show partnership.

Anthropic (Claude)

Campaign / Title: “A Time and a Place”
About the ad: This spot from Anthropic shows a hilarious in-person interaction between AI and a young man looking to get into shape, with the promise that Clause will never include ads.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the brand’s debut spot at the Super Bowl.

Base44

Campaign / Title: “It’s App to You.”
About the ad: Illustrates how anyone, from a team member creating a budgeting app to coworkers spontaneously building social apps, can bring their ideas to life using Base44.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: The brand is making its first-ever Super Bowl appearance during Super Bowl LX.

Blue Square Alliance Against Hate

Campaign / Title: “Sticky Note”
About the ad: Depicts a Jewish student in a school hallway discovering a hateful note on his backpack, and a fellow student covering it with a blue square — a symbol promoted by the Alliance to show solidarity and reject antisemitism and hate more broadly.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the third consecutive year the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate (formerly the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism) has aired a message during the Super Bowl.

Boehringer Ingelheim

Campaign / Title: “Mission: SOS”
About the ad: Stars Octavia Spencer and Sofía Vergara in a funny but informative spot promoting screenings for diabetes and kidney health.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: First big game ad for the brand.

Bosch

Campaign / Title: “The More You Bosch”
About the ad: This spot stars culinary legend Guy Fieri and hilariously shows how products from Bosch can transform their users into a “Bosch.”
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the second time Bosch is advertising in the Super Bowl after making their debut last year.

Bud Light

Campaign / Title: “Keg”
About the ad: Peyton Manning, Post Malone and Shane Gillis reunite at a wedding where a Bud Light keg rolls downhill, sparking a chaotic, comedic chase.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Regular Super Bowl advertiser and official NFL sponsor with a long legacy of humorous and big-budget spots.

Budweiser

Campaign / Title: “American Icons”
About the ad: A patriotic commercial featuring a Budweiser Clydesdale colt and his new friend, celebrating heritage.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: One of the most iconic big game advertisers; famous for Clydesdale-themed and patriotic spots.

Cadillac F1

Campaign / Title: “The Mission Begins”
About the ad: Features audio from John F. Kennedy’s iconic “We Choose to go to the Moon” speech as their racecar comes together to debut their livery on another planet.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: First Super Bowl ad together as Cadillac F1.

Coinbase

Campaign / Title: “Everybody Coinbase”
About the ad: A simple karaoke-style spot with the lyrics to Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody.”
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This the brand’s second highly unique spot at the Super Bowl.

Dove

Campaign / Title: “The Game Is Ours”
About the ad: An empowering spot that celebrates body confidence for young girls in sports with over 90 young athletes spotlighted.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Recurring advertiser focusing on social impact.

DraftKings

[Watch here]

Campaign / Title: “Live-ish at Super Bowl LX”
About the ad: Shows SNL stars Colin Jost and Michael Che filming an ad for DraftKings “live” at the game.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: The betting app has been in the Super Bowl lineup at least five times.

Dunkin

Campaign / Title: “Good Will Dunkin”
About the ad: A 90s sitcom spoof off of Good Will Hunting taking place inside A Dunkin store and starring Ben Affleck, Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Tom Brady and more.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: The coffee brand has advertised at the Super Bowl for four consecutive years.

e.l.f. Cosmetics

Campaign / Title: “Melisa”
About the ad: Melissa McCarthy stars in a telenovela-inspired Super Bowl spot where she plays a character learning Spanish in a dramatic soap-style storyline to prepare for Bad Bunny’s halftime show — all while featuring e.l.f.’s Glow Reviver Lip Oil.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: While e.l.f. has marketed heavily around pop culture, 2026 marks its first major Super Bowl commercial on national broadcast.

eos

Campaign / Title: “Is It Pistachio?”
About the ad: SNL star Mikey Day stars in this spot that plays on the viral “Is it Cake?” game show trend to show how good their products smell.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the body care brand's second Super Bowl campaign after making its debut in last year's lineup.

Fanatics Sportsbook

Campaign / Title: “Bet on Kendall”
About the ad: Stars Kendall Jenner in a bookkeeping-themed spot playing off big game hype and sportsbook culture.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: First time advertiser as a sportsbook.

FanDuel

Campaign / Title: “Speech”
About the ad: While “Speech” was released just before kickoff, it is actually the end of a three-part series that celebrates the “last call for football.”
Brand history with the Super Bowl: FanDuel has advertised for three consecutive years with this spot.

Genspark

Campaign / Title: “Take Monday Off!”
About the ad: The brand tells people to take the day off and let Genspark do the work in this spot featuring Matthew Broderick.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the first time the brand is advertising at the Super Bowl.

Google Gemini

Campaign / Title: “New Home”
About the ad: A feel-good ad that follows a mother using Google Gemini to help prepare her young son for their move to a new home.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: While Google has advertised at the big game since 2010, this is their second year advertising for Gemini specifically.

Grubhub

Campaign / Title: “The Feest”
About the ad: George Clooney appears in a spot where Grubhub “eats the fees” — eliminating delivery/service fees.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: First time advertiser!

He Gets Us

Campaign / Title: “More”
About the ad: A cinematic PSA-style commercial focusing on everyday personal pressures and expectations to connect people, shot on film for an emotional feel.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Fourth consecutive year the campaign is airing at Super Bowl LX.

Hellmann’s

Campaign / Title: “Sweet Sandwich Time”
About the ad: Andy Samberg parodies Neil Diamond in an over-the-top ode to mayo.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Multiple past appearances leaning into quirky humor.

Hims & Hers

Campaign / Title: “Rich People Live Longer”
About the ad: Challenges healthcare inequality by contrasting elite healthcare perks with average access, using satire and symbolic characters.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Returning advertiser after controversial debut ad last year.

Homes.com

Campaign / Title: “Can't Live There”
About the ad: Stars familiar brand faces Jeff Goldblum and Heidi Gardner who promote both their Homes.com and Apartments.com sites and all the places you can find to live there (or can’t).
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the third time this overall brand has advertised at the Super Bowl.

Instacart

Campaign / Title: “Bananas”
About the ad: Focuses on its grocery delivery service (how they allow you to choose your bananas) with creative storytelling & celebrity appearances from Ben Stiller and Benson Boone.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Returning advertiser after debut last year.

Kinder Bueno

Campaign / Title: “Yes Bueno”
About the ad: Astronauts, aliens and more go back and forth on “No bueno” and “Yes, Kinder Bueno” reactions as a spaceship careens through space.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: First-ever advertising appearance at the Super Bowl.

Lay’s

Campaign / Title: “The Last Harvest” and “The Lay’s Challenge”
About the ads: Their first ad, “The Last Harvest” continues on from last year’s “The Little Farmer,” highlighting the farmers who bring Lay’s potato chips to life. The second ad, “The Lay’s Challenge,” which aired at the game, asks fans to scan a QR code for a bag of Lay’s chips.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Lay’s is a regular Super Bowl advertiser, but has chosen to run not one but two ads at this year’s big game!

Levi’s

Campaign / Title: “Backstory”
About the ad: Set to James Brown’s “Get Up Offa That Thing,” this ad follows the backsides of many people wearing Levi’s jeans, from Toy Story’s Woody to Bruce Springsteen to K-pop superstar Rosé to DJ Questlove to Doechii and more
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is Levi’s first Super Bowl spot in 20 years!

Life360

Campaign / Title: “Elevator”
About the ad: This family connection and safety app shows a husband who discovers his wife trapped between elevator doors, but is able to happily check their Life360 app while they wait for paramedics.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the app’s first Super Bowl ad that will be streaming only on Peacock.

Liquid Death

Campaign / Title: “Exploding Heads”
About the ad: This PSA-style spot about their new line of energy drinks features the doctor who helped create the brand’s formula with a ridiculous concept that people’s heads can explode from drinking other energy drinks.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the second and consecutive time the brand has advertised at the Big Game.

Liquid I.V.

Campaign / Title: “Take a Look”
About the ad: This spot shows a series of singing porcelain bowls with the message to check your pee to make sure you’re hydrated.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is Liquid I.V.’s first-ever Super Bowl appearance!

MAHA

Campaign / Title: “Real Food”
About the ad: Black and white spot starring Mike Tyson that urges people to eat real food.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is their first Super Bowl ad.

Manscaped

Campaign / Title: “Hair Ballad”
About the ad: A playful, satirical music-themed spot about grooming and self-care featuring the left behind hair clumps.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: First launch at this year’s Super Bowl.

Meta (Oakley Meta)

Campaign / Title: “Athletic Intelligence Is Here”
About the ad: Demonstrates AI wearable tech with athletes and creators using smart glasses in real moments.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: First time advertiser with this particular product, but has advertised in the Super Bowl before.

Michelob ULTRA

Campaign / Title: “The ULTRA Instructor”
About the ad: Features a ski training narrative where a young skier gets coached by Kurt Russell, blending humor with lifestyle themes.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Regular participant with beer ads that tie into lifestyle and sports.

Microsoft

Campaign / Title: “Simplify Data with Copilot”
About the ad: Shows how NFL members can use Copilot to organize and chart player stats.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the tech giant’s sixth year advertising at the Super Bowl.

NERDS

Campaign / Title: “Taste Buds”
About the ad: Reality TV star Andy Cohen stars in this year's spot as Nerds Gummy Clusters’ new BFF.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the brand’s third year advertising at the Super Bowl.

NFL

Campaign / Title: “You Are Special” and “Champion”
About the ad: A continuation of the NFL’s “Inspire Change” platform, featuring NFL players and community partners with a sing-along to Mr. Rogers’ “You Are Special,” in the ad of the same title highlighting youth empowerment and community support. Their second spot “Champion” shows the importance of youth coaches, with a young boy giving an inspirational speech to his toys like his coach.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: The NFL itself has frequently used Super Bowl air time to promote league initiatives rather than products — including social campaigns like Inspire Change.

Novartis

Campaign / Title: “Relax Your Tight End”
About the ad: A PSA-style spot about prostate cancer screenings starring iconic NFL tight ends and coach Bruce Arians.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Second consecutive Super Bowl ad this year.

Novo Nordisk

Campaign / Title: “A New Way to Wegovy”
About the ad: Star-studded ad that shares how Wegovy is now available in pill form and how people shouldn’t feel embarrassed about taking it.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Second consecutive Super Bowl ad this year.

Oikos

Campaign / Title: “The Big Hill”
About the ad: Comedian and actress Kathryn Hahn and NFL star Derrick Henry struggle up a San Francisco cable car, illustrating strength (thanks to protein) in humorous action.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Seventh consecutive appearance.

OpenAI

Campaign / Title: “You Can Just Build Things”
About the ad: Tells a story of curiosity from kids learning and building things to the start of coding, promoting the brand’s coding assistant, Codex.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the second time OpenAI has advertised during the big game.

Pepsi Zero Sugar

Campaign / Title: “The Choice”
About the ad: A polar bear blind taste test between Pepsi Zero Sugar and Coke Zero Sugar in a playful narrative directed by Taika Waititi.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Frequent advertiser, often leaning into high-concept and celebrity-studded spots.

Pokémon

Campaign / Title: “What’s Your Favorite”
About the ad: Celebrates the series’ 30th year featuring some of their beloved characters alongside celebrities like Lady Gaga and Trevor Noah, who all share who their favourite Pokémon is.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the second time since 2016 that they have advertised at the Super Bowl.

Poppi

Campaign / Title: “Vibes”
About the ad: Takes place in a college classroom where popstar Charlie XCX and actor Rachel Sennott suddenly appear, as soon as a can of Poppi is opened, and start a party because…vibes.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the third consecutive time the brand has advertised during the Super Bowl.

Pringles

Campaign / Title: “Pringleleo”
About the ad: Pop star Sabrina Carpenter uses Pringles chips to create her ideal man.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Recurring advertiser known for surreal, visual humor.

Raisin Bran

Campaign / Title: “Will Shat”
About the ad: William Shatner stars as a “bran ambassador” in a fun sci-fi theme spot that spotlights the brand’s fiber benefits.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: First-ever Super Bowl commercial.

Ramp

Campaign / Title: “Multiply What’s Possible”
About the ad: Brian Baumgartner reboots his “Kevin” persona from the hit TV show “The Office” in a workplace comedy scenario.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: First big-game ad for this fintech/expense management platform.

Red Bull

Campaign / Title: “Dog Date”
About the ad: In the brand’s typical hand-drawn animation style, this spot shows two dogs flirting with each other in the park, getting extra time together with the help of Red Bull.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the brand’s second Super Bowl appearance.

Ring

Campaign / Title: “Be a Hero in Your Neighborhood”
About the ad: Highlights Ring’s community safety tech and reunions with lost pets.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: First Super Bowl appearance for the Amazon smart home brand.

Rippling

Campaign / Title: “The Mastermind”
About the ad: Stars Tim Robinson as a would-be corporate mastermind whose elaborate plans repeatedly fail because of fragmented, outdated software that keeps sabotaging simple business operations.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is Rippling’s first ever Super Bowl appearance!

Ritz

Campaign / Title: “Ritz Island”
About the ad: Jon Hamm, Bowen Yang (a salty pair) and Scarlet Johansson all star in this star-studded spot that takes place on a surreal island that’s one big party.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is Ritz’s second big game commercial.

Ro

Campaign / Title: “Healthier on Ro”
About the ad: Stars Serena Williams discussing her GLP-1 health journey — weight loss and wellness — to destigmatize medication.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: First Super Bowl appearance in 2026.

Rocket Mortgage & Redfin

Campaign / Title: “America Needs Neighbors Like You”
About the ad: Follows two families struggling to fit in after moving to a different neighborhood, who eventually come together in a heartwarming story to the soundtrack of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” performed by Lady Gaga.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: The brand has advertised at the Super Bowl at least five times, starting in 2020.

Salesforce

Campaign / Title: “The Vault”
About the ad: Featuring Mr. Beast, this spot encourages viewers to decipher a series of puzzles to win a $1 million cash prize.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Salesforce has run Super Bowl campaigns in 2025 and 2026.

Skechers

Campaign / Title: “Sofía Vergara Kicks Off Big Game in Skechers”
About the ad: Shows Modern Family star Sofía Vergara trying to put on regular sneakers in a fit of frustration in a PSA-style spot for Skechers Hands Free Slip-ins.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is Skechers’ 13th time advertising during the Super Bowl.

Skittles

Campaign / Title: “Deliver the Rainbow”
About the ad: Skittles skipped the traditional TV ad this year and traded it for a live, in-person ad featuring Elijah Wood as a mythical creature set to show up at a lucky fan's house.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is technically the sixth time Skittles has been in the Super Bowl.

Southwest

Campaign / Title: “Boarding Now”
About the ad: Set to the sound of The Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop,” this ad playfully pokes at the chaos of Southwest’s open seating policy to share that it has officially switched to assigned seating this year.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the airline's first time advertising at the Super Bowl on Peacock and other regional areas.

Squarespace

Campaign / Title: “Unavailable”
About the ad: A dark, cinematic ad shot in black and white ad that shows Emma Stone fighting with laptops in an attempt to acquire the domain emmastone.com.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: A seasoned Super Bowl advertiser that has aired commercials for 12 consecutive years.

State Farm

Campaign / Title: “Stop Livin’ on a Prayer”
About the ad: Stars comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Danny McBride (with cameo from Hailee Steinfeld and KATSEYE) riffing on insurance reliability vs. insecurity, blending humor with brand messaging to the sound of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer.”
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Long-time advertiser with memorable recurring characters and themes.

Svedka Vodka

Campaign / Title: “Shake Your Bots Off” (AI-generated)
About the ad: AI-generated commercial featuring the brand’s Fembot and new robot BroBot dancing, symbolizing a human message about connection.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: First-ever Super Bowl ad for the vodka brand.

Tecovas

Campaign / Title: “True West”
About the ad: Continuation of its 2025 campaign, with cinematic western scenes, that asks viewers “would it hurt to have a little bit more West in people?”
Brand history with the Super Bowl: First-ever Super Bowl ad.

Telemundo

Campaign / Title: “Owen Speaks Fútbol”
About the ad: Kicking off its World Cup campaign and starring Sofía Vergara and Owen Wilson, this spot gives viewers a surprise Spanish lesson.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: First national Super Bowl ad.

T-Mobile

Campaign / Title: “Tell Me Why”
About the ad: In a surprise live performance, T-Mobile brings in The Backstreet Boys to tell you why to switch to T-Mobile.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the 13th consecutive year the brand is advertising at the Super Bowl.

Toyota

Campaign / Title: “Superhero Belt” & “Where Dreams Began”
About the ads: “Superhero Belt” is a generational story showing bonds made between grandfather and grandson over Toyota RAV4s and life lessons through seatbelt-tying imagery. “Where Dreams Began” shows NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace, NFL star Puka Nacua and Paralympian Oksana Masters training alongside their younger selves.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Veteran advertiser with periodic big game commercials.

TurboTax

Campaign / Title: “The Expert”
About the ad: This spot features actor Adrien Brody in a humorous take on tax season stress and TurboTax expertise.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is TurboTax’s 13th year advertising!

Uber Eats

Campaign / Title: “Hungry for the Truth”
About the ad: Matthew McConaughey and Bradley Cooper butt heads in a quirky story about football and hunger; fans can build their own version via the Uber Eats app.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Multiple appearances in recent years.

Universal Orlando

Campaign / Title: “Lil’ Bro”
About the ad: Follows two brothers visiting Universal Orlando’s theme parks for the first time. The younger sibling, tired of being teased as the “little bro,” gains confidence and even ends up teasing the older brother after braving thrilling rides.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: The brand has advertised at the Super Bowl before, but this is the first they’ve appeared in some time.

Volkswagen

Campaign / Title: “The Great Invitation”
About the ad: Revives their “Drivers Wanted” campaign in a nostalgic spot set in the 90s about getting out there plated to the sound of “Jump Around”
Brand history with the Super Bowl: The brand has a history of Super Bowl advertising, most notably in the 2010s, with a significant return in 2024 and this year.

WeatherTech

Campaign / Title: “TaDa”
About the ad: An eye-catching and uplifting spot set to “You’ve Got the Love” that shows how to easily create a website with Wix.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: This is the brand’s 14th time advertising at the Big Game!

Wix Harmony

Campaign / Title: “The New Way to Create”
About the ad: An eye-catching and uplifting spot set to “You’ve Got the Love” that shows how to easily create a website with Wix.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: The brand breaks their seven-year hiatus with this ad since their last spot in 2019.

Xfinity

Campaign / Title: “Jurassic Park…Works”
About the ad: Reunites Jurassic Park stars to demonstrate reliable Xfinity connectivity.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Regular advertiser highlighting connectivity.

YouTubeTV

Campaign / Title: “Don't Settle for Meh”
About the ad: Stars Jason Kelce, Kylie Kelce, Gordon Ramsay and Christian McCaffrey in a humorous spot about not settling for less than YouTubeTV.
Brand history with the Super Bowl: Second time advertising at the Big Game.

Patterns across Super Bowl LX advertisers

Here’s a few observations from this year’s lineup of Super Bowl LX ads:

Categories investing the most in 2026

As usual, the food and beverage categories dominated this year’s Super Bowl ads. But we also saw many ads in the tech and healthcare space.

What this suggests about competitive pressure

Food and beverage, tech and healthcare are all crowded, fast-moving categories where awareness matters as much as the product itself. Brands aren’t just advertising for reach — they’re fighting to stay top-of-mind, build trust quickly and signal category leadership in front of a massive audience.

For everyday purchases like snacks and drinks, that’s about staying mentally available. For tech and digital services, it’s about breaking out of niche or B2B audiences into the mainstream. And for healthcare and wellness brands, it’s about normalizing new behaviors and building credibility at scale.

In all cases, the Super Bowl isn’t just a splashy moment — it’s a competitive shortcut to relevance.

Creative and messaging themes

This year, we saw a few repeat themes from previous years but also some new ones. The standout themes we saw were:

Celebrities (of course)
Continuations of stories from last year
Great music choices
A general weirdness with some odd characters and musical numbers
Lots of AI

We also saw some smaller bursts of themes worth noting throughout, like anthropomorphic characters, red carpet appearances and Mr. Rogers references.

Challenger vs legacy brand presence

Challenger brands (Think: Rippling, Hims & Hers, Ro, Poppi, Base44, Ramp) are showing up more frequently, especially across tech, wellness and better-for-you food and beverage. While the Super Bowl used to be dominated by legacy CPG and auto brands, newer companies are treating the game as a fast track to mass awareness.

For these challengers, the goal isn’t just scale, it’s legitimacy. A Super Bowl spot signals that they’ve moved beyond “startup” status and are ready to compete with the big names. Their creative often leans more direct and benefit-led, clearly explaining what they do and why they’re different, because many viewers are encountering the brand for the first time.

Established brands, on the other hand, tend to play a different game. With awareness already built, they focus more on emotional storytelling, entertainment and reinforcing distinctive brand assets.

In short: Challengers are appearing more to use the Super Bowl to introduce themselves, while incumbents use it to remind you why they’re already part of your life.

How marketers can use Super Bowl LX as inspiration

It’s easy to watch Super Bowl ads as entertainment. The smarter move is to treat them as signals about what’s breaking through, how brands are positioning themselves and where competitive pressure is rising — and then translate those observations into action for your own strategy.

What smaller brands can learn without Super Bowl budgets

You don’t need a $8M media buy to apply Super Bowl thinking.

At its core, the game rewards the same fundamentals any brand can use: Sharp positioning, clear messaging and creative that’s distinctive enough to stick. Smaller brands can borrow the strategy without matching the spend, focusing on one strong idea, leaning into what makes them different and showing up consistently across the channels they can afford.

In many ways, constraints can even sharpen the work. When every dollar counts, clarity beats spectacle. A simple, memorable message delivered well will outperform a flashy concept that doesn’t clearly say what the brand does.

Testing ideas before going big

One thing the best Super Bowl advertisers have in common: Their “big” creative rarely starts as a gamble.

Super Bowl-level production only works when the core idea is already strong. The brands that win tend to validate their messaging, positioning and creative direction early — well before committing to high-stakes, high-cost moments.

That’s where consumer research comes in. Connected insights platforms like Zappi help brands quickly test creative ideas, storylines and claims with real audiences, so teams know what’s likely to resonate (and what isn’t) before investing heavily in production or media. Instead of relying on instinct alone, marketers can make confident decisions backed by evidence.

Whether you’re spending $50,000 or $8 million, the principle is the same: Big ideas work best when they’re proven first.

“Since partnering with Zappi, our creative effectiveness has improved by 30% across all our advertising. This equates to PepsiCo gaining hundreds of millions in value!”
- Stephan Gans, SVP Chief Consumer Insights & Analytics Office, PepsiCo

Final thoughts

The biggest stage in advertising is no longer reserved for just legacy brands. From household names to fast-growing challengers, this year’s lineup reflects a broader mix of industries, new competitors and brands using the moment to build awareness, credibility and even cultural relevance.

We’ve pulled together the complete list of ads along with key observations from this year’s game — including which categories showed up most, how positioning differs between incumbents and challengers and what these creative choices signal about today’s competitive pressure.

Whether you’re planning your own big-budget campaign or simply looking for smarter ways to stand out, there’s plenty to learn from how brands showed up on advertising’s biggest night.