Author: Chris Copacino
A few hours after the last piece of confetti fell to the ground in New Orleans, I was putting my daughter to bed. We were talking about what we had seen in the Super Bowl, including the ads. She asked me what I thought was the best Super Bowl spot. Without hesitation, I answered “Nike.” She accepted that answer, and then said “I liked the one with Seal the best.” Smart kid.
She then said something so simple yet profound, and I have been thinking about it since. She said, “You know dad, I think there are three things that make a good Super Bowl ad. You need to tell a good story, you need to execute a good plan and you need to make it bold, simple and easy to understand.” I was simultaneously proud (eyes welling), amazed at her precocious wisdom, and totally aligned with that criteria as an ad person.
So with that beautifully articulated rubric (I’m biased) for great Super Bowl advertising, let’s take one last look at what we saw in this year’s ad effort.
Tell a good story.
The word “storytelling” gets thrown out almost to a nauseous level in our business. But on the biggest stage, with that many eyeballs, and the high stakes involved ($8 Million for 30 seconds of air time + BIG production dollars), the art of telling a strong story is crucially important.
Nike told a great story. The arch was clear: In a world where female athletes are often unfairly criticized or sometimes can’t win for just trying, just say “f*ck it” and go win. The written and visual story was artfully crafted. It landed and perfectly paid off the Nike brand idea of “Just do it.”
Google did this well too. Connecting the job of being a dad (cue eyes welling) with preparing for a new job in the dad’s life leveraging the power of Google’s AI platform Gemini in its Pixel phone. The ad told a nice, tight story. It worked. And it brought humanity to a “superhuman” technology which is hard to do. “And the tearjerker of the year goes to . . .” Well done.
Execute a good plan.
It’s so important to know where the center of gravity sits for an ad and how it gets brought to life. Especially on this stage, have a plan, and then execute it to the nth degree. If it’s supposed to be funny, make it undeniably so. Poignant? Go for the heartstring jugular. Educational? Teach away. Inspiring? Make people really feel something. Unfortunately, it’s easier to identify spots where this didn’t happen, because great Super Bowl ads masterfully execute their plans.
The MSC Cruise spot was a good example of a bad plan, executed worse. Orlando Bloom and Drew Barrymore don’t really have a reason to be together (celebrity to just celebrity). The idea of personifying the European “holiday” vs. the American “vacay” isn’t really core to each of the stars intrinsically. It was, I believe, supposed to be funny. It wasn’t. And the original “plan” of bringing European luxury to the American market was lost in the underwhelming execution.
Jeep unfortunately fell into this category too. It tried to walk a line. It attempted to make a statement without really making a statement. It tried to be poignant, wryly funny, and pleasantly endearing. It went 0-for-60 seconds. It just felt like the spot had an identity crisis from the get go and it wasn’t ultimately executed well at all.
On the brighter side, Mountain Dew had a plan and killed it. Was it weird? Hell yes. But for a brand that in recent years has leaned into “weird”, it felt like they had permission to go there. It was a big swing and hugely surprising–Seal as a seal, singing about a new Mountain Dew flavor. It stuck to its plan, executed it well, and was one of the more memorable spots of the day.
Make it bold, simple and easy to understand.
The Super Bowl is often watched in crowded, noisy environments. Even though viewers are heightened to the ads, the most successful spots dramatically change the volume in the room and make people lean in. Afterall, the first charge of advertising is to get attention.
This was my issue with the Dunkin Donuts DunKings spot. There was A LOT going on. Too much dialogue, a lot of cuts, packed with quick cameos. All that aggregated to feel like the spot rushed by leaving story comprehension in the rearview. The social cutdowns are fun. The seven minute full length is good entertainment. But in shorter form it didn’t land, falling under the weight of its own complexity.
The Tubi spots fell victim to this too. The flesh hat bit was too subtle, too weird, and too esoteric to understand without being clearly explained, which it wasn’t. This made the ultimate pay off fall as flat as a flesh brimmed cowboy hat. Americans want to “get it” quickly and in that environment, at face value, and going broad just plays better. This spot did not play well and it felt like a whiff.
Let’s end on a positive note. I loved the Bud Light Shane Gillis and Post Malone ad. Was it bro-ey? A lot. But unabashedly. The celebrity use was authentic and it was a simple to understand, bold (boldly stupid) brand statement: Bud Light is an easy choice for good times and bringing people together. It felt audacious, and was an effective “sit back and see where these hijinx go.” It was quite enjoyable and perfect to be enjoyed as part of the big game–like the product itself!
A decently simple formula: Storytell masterfully, execute an intentional plan with excellence, and be bold, simple and easy to understand. Yet, the big game ad crop this year often missed the mark and failed to follow these principles. We’ll see what 2026 brings but at $10 Million+ for 30 seconds of air time and production costs, the stakes are too high to not get it right.
See more of my thoughts on the Super Bowl from a segment on the FOX13 morning show: