Super Bowl on Inside That Ad

Google Gemini 'New Home': The Most Effective Super Bowl Ad of 2026

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management ranked “New Home” as the most effective Super Bowl ad of 2026. That is a specific claim from a specific institution with a specific methodology, and it is worth taking seriously — not because rankings settle arguments, but because the criteria for effectiveness in their framework (emotional resonance, brand clarity, purchase intent) illuminate why the ad worked when so much AI advertising doesn’t.

The Story

A mother and son are moving into a new house. The rooms are empty. The future is hypothetical. They use Google Gemini — through text prompts, photo uploads, and the AI’s connected features — to imagine what those empty rooms could become: the furniture that could fill them, the colour that could warm the walls, the life that could happen inside these spaces.

Instacart 'Bananas': Spike Jonze Returns to the Super Bowl

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Spike Jonze hasn’t directed a Super Bowl ad in more than twenty years. His return to the format — for Instacart’s “Bananas,” starring Ben Stiller and Benson Boone — is the kind of casting decision that either seems obvious in retrospect or never seems obvious at all, depending on whether the creative idea was good enough to justify it. “Bananas” is good enough to justify it.

The Concept

Ben Stiller and Benson Boone are a retro European disco-pop duo. The act is called something appropriately absurd. They perform a theatrical rivalry — played out on a 60-foot glitter-lit stage, shot on vintage tube cameras in an aesthetic that is more 1970s Italian television than Super Bowl commercial — over their competing banana preferences and the Instacart feature that resolves them: Preference Picker.

Levi's 'Backstory': Backsides, Doechii, and a 20-Year Return

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Levi’s hasn’t run a Super Bowl ad in twenty years. The return, “Backstory,” is directed by Kim Gehrig and features James Brown’s “Get Up Offa That Thing” as the soundtrack to a film that shows its entire cast exclusively from behind. For the full runtime, the audience sees Levi’s jeans and the backs of the people wearing them — until the very end.

The campaign is called “Behind Every Original,” and the pun is doing real work.

Pepsi 'The Choice': Taika Waititi Sends the Polar Bear to a Rival

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Comparative advertising is one of the oldest tools in the category playbook and one of the most dangerous. Done poorly, it elevates the competitor by naming them. Done well, it takes an icon belonging to the rival and makes it yours. Pepsi’s Super Bowl LX spot, directed by Taika Waititi, does the second thing — and does it with the Coca-Cola polar bear.

The Concept

“The Choice” opens on an unmistakable image: the Coca-Cola polar bear, the icon of the rival brand’s Christmas advertising since 1993. In a blind taste test, the bear chooses Pepsi Zero Sugar. The reveal triggers an existential crisis. The bear wanders, displaced, through a journey of self-discovery that ends with it choosing its own identity — and Pepsi.

Squarespace 'Unavailable': Yorgos Lanthimos and the Domain Crisis

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Squarespace has made a habit of its Super Bowl spots by pairing the brand’s product — website creation — with a director who has no business being in an ad for website creation. The results have been consistently better than they have any right to be. “Unavailable,” directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone, is the latest entry in this tradition and possibly the most formally committed.

The Concept

Emma Stone tries to register emmastone.com. It’s taken. She tries variations — each one more desperate, more surreal, more detached from her actual identity as the name slips further away. Shot on black-and-white analogue film, the spot follows Stone’s gradual dissociation from her own name as the domain system’s neutral rejections (“Unavailable”) pile up into something that looks very much like an existential crisis.

VW 'Drivers Wanted' Returns: Johannes Leonardo's Super Bowl Bet

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

“Drivers Wanted” ran from 1995 to 2002 and was one of the defining brand platforms of its era — a campaign that made Volkswagen feel young, irreverent, and European in a way that American car advertising had not previously figured out. Reviving it is a high-wire act. The nostalgia trap is obvious: do it wrong and the resurrection reads as a brand out of ideas, reaching backward for borrowed credibility. Do it right and the platform’s equity transfers into the present moment.

Stella Artois 'David and Dave': Beckham, Damon, and the Lager Pivot

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck founded Artists Equity, a production company, with the explicit intention of making content where the talent participates in the economics of the project. The fact that Damon then appears in a Stella Artois Super Bowl ad produced through his own company is either a conflict of interest or a perfectly aligned incentive structure, depending on your point of view. Either way, “David and Dave” — the resulting spot — works.

Nike 'So Win': Doechii and the Super Bowl Ad About Doubters

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:30:00 +0000

Nike has run Super Bowl advertising before. What it has not always done is find the specific thing it wants to say. “So Win,” the brand’s Super Bowl LIX spot from Wieden+Kennedy Portland, directed by Kim Gehrig through Somesuch, is specific in a way that Nike advertising has not always been in recent years — specific about who it is talking to, what it is saying, and why now.

The Voiceover

Doechii’s voice is the entire architecture of the spot. The rapper and Grammy winner narrates a catalogue of things women in sport are told — that they are too aggressive, too emotional, too loud, not good enough, not the right kind of athlete — and then responds to each one with the same two words: So win.

Budweiser 'First Delivery': The Clydesdale Foal's Super Bowl Debut

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Budweiser has been running Clydesdale advertising since 1933 — the year Prohibition ended and the brand’s founders sent a team of the horses to deliver a case of beer to President Roosevelt. The 2025 Super Bowl spot, “First Delivery,” is the 47th time the Clydesdales have appeared in the Big Game. The familiarity of the setting and the familiarity of the animals are the point: this is a brand that knows what it is and is not apologizing for it.

Dove 'The Game Is Ours': A Super Bowl Ad About Girls in Sport

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 09:30:00 +0000

The stat Dove leads with is real and it is damaging: by age 14, girls drop out of sport at twice the rate of boys. The reasons are well-documented — body image pressure, social comparison, a culture that critiques how female athletes look as readily as how they perform. “The Game Is Ours,” Dove’s Super Bowl LX entry created by Ogilvy and directed by Savanah Leaf, takes that fact and tries to turn it into a film worth running during the biggest advertising slot of the year.

Budweiser Puppy Love: The Super Bowl Ad That Made America Weep

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Budweiser has spent decades building one of the most emotionally resonant advertising franchises in Super Bowl history around a breed of horse that most Americans will never ride and a product they may or may not drink. The Budweiser Clydesdales, introduced in 1933 to celebrate the end of Prohibition, have appeared in Super Bowl spots that have made grown adults cry in stadiums full of strangers. “Puppy Love,” which aired during Super Bowl XLVIII in February 2014, may be the high point of that entire tradition.

Snickers You're Not You When You're Hungry: Betty White and the Perfect Tagline

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 01:00:00 +0000

There is a certain kind of advertising idea that seems obvious in retrospect, so inevitable and perfectly constructed that you can’t understand why nobody thought of it before. “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” is that kind of idea. And when it launched during Super Bowl XLIV in February 2010 — starring 88-year-old Betty White getting tackled in the mud during a football game — it became one of the most celebrated advertisements of the decade.

Google Parisian Love: The Search Engine Ad That Made America Cry

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 18:15:00 +0000

It is a love story told entirely through a series of Google searches. There is no actor. No dialogue. No music until the very end. Just a search bar, a series of queries, and the sound of keys clicking. In 60 seconds, Google’s “Parisian Love” — created by the company’s own in-house creative team and aired during Super Bowl XLIV in February 2010 — made millions of people feel something profound about a software product they used every single day without ever thinking about it.

Volkswagen The Force: How a Kid in a Darth Vader Suit Sold a Million Cars

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 08:15:00 +0000

Every now and then an advertisement emerges that feels less like something crafted in a meeting room and more like something that had always existed, waiting to be discovered. Volkswagen’s “The Force” is that kind of commercial. Released in the week before Super Bowl XLV in 2011 and created by Deutsch LA, it became the most watched commercial in Super Bowl history at the time — not because it aired during the game, but because it went viral before the game even happened.

Apple 1984: The Commercial That Only Aired Once and Changed Everything

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 19:15:00 +0000

January 22, 1984. Super Bowl XVIII. The Los Angeles Raiders were leading the Washington Redskins in the third quarter when a 60-second commercial aired that would be analyzed, debated, and referenced for the next four decades. It was called “1984.” It aired nationally exactly once. And it changed what advertising could be.

Apple’s “1984” commercial, conceived by Steve Hayden and Brent Thomas at Chiat/Day and directed by Ridley Scott — fresh off Blade Runner — is universally regarded as the greatest Super Bowl advertisement ever made and one of the most important commercial films in history. It didn’t show a product. It barely mentioned a product name. What it showed was a vision of the future, a declaration of war, and an artistic achievement that most feature films can’t match.

Always #LikeAGirl: Turning an Insult Into a Battle Cry

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Ask a ten-year-old girl to run like a girl, and she’ll sprint with everything she has. Ask a teenager to do the same thing, and she’ll probably slow down, flail her arms, and laugh awkwardly. That observation — simple, devastating, and entirely true — became the foundation for one of the most powerful advertising campaigns of the decade.

Always, the feminine hygiene brand owned by Procter & Gamble, launched “#LikeAGirl” in June 2014. Created by Leo Burnett Chicago, the campaign reframed a phrase that had been used as an insult for generations and turned it into a declaration of female strength. The film won the Emmy for Outstanding Commercial in 2015, took Grand Prix at Cannes Lions, and sparked a global cultural conversation that extended far beyond anything a hygiene product brand might reasonably expect to own.

2026 Super Bowl Ads

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 14:49:00 +0000

ITA Super Bowl banner

Here are my top five Super Bowl ads for 2026. I have to admit that some of them were pretty funny but the majority fell flat on their faces. This year’s game, which took place on Sunday, February 8, 2026, had no shortage of celebrity cameos, cinematic throwbacks, and big-budget spectacle. However, as always, the true test of a Super Bowl ad is whether it’s memorable beyond the night of the game.

ITA's Top 5 Super Bowl Ads 2023

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 14:13:06 +0000

I know it’s been a while since I posted here. I primarily focus on creating Mac automation YouTube videos these days. So I wanted to share with the world out there the best Super Bowl commercials in my opinion that aired during this year’s (2023) big game. These ads are in no particular order and I must give to Ads of the World where I source all the ads from. Anyway, let’s get started. Here is ITA’s list of top 5 ads from the 2023 Super Bowl

Better Late Than Never: ITA's 2022 Super Bowl Commercial List

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 13:14:51 +0000

I know I skipped the 2021 Super Bowl list, and I’m a few weeks late with this one, but I think it’s essential to keep some sort of tradition going with Inside That Ad even though I don’t post much on it anymore. So, without any further ado. Here are the ad spots ITA thought were the best for the 2022 Super Bowl:

One more thing, they are in no particular order. I did not want to have to rank the ad spots in any way.

Better Late than Never: ITA's Super Bowl Commercial List

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 17:16:48 +0000

I know this is two months late but I felt it was important to show here on Inside That Ad. Enjoy!

Bud Light/Bud Light Seltzer #PostyStore

Budweiser Typical Americans

Michelob Ultra Jimmy Works it Out

Michelob Pure Gold 6 for 6 pack

Amazon Alexa

Amazon Prime Video Hunters

Audi Let it Go

Avocados From Mexico The Avocados From Mexico Shopping Network

Michael Bloomberg

Cheetos Can’t Touch This

Coke Energy Show Up

Microsoft Shines a Light on Disability with For the Win Super Bowl Commercial

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 22:38:18 +0000

Hello World,

I was extremely disappointed with the final result of the Super Bowl game this past Sunday. As you probably have already figured out I was rooting for the Los Angeles Rams, who came up short this year. The game was so boring that one of the commentators actually called it the Snooze Bowl. On the other hand, the commercials did not disappoint. Microsoft’s ad titled: “For the Win” I believe really pulled at America’s heartstrings this year.

2019 Inside That Ad's Super Bowl Central

Sun, 03 Feb 2019 09:15:08 +0000

The Super Bowl Sunday isn’t just a day for watching football and eating snacks. Viewers also love to sit in front of their televisions and watch flashy commercials that companies spend millions of dollars to make. Well, before today’s big game I thought I would share with you some of the commercials that will be airing during today’s game. I have to be honest with you, the fact that some of these ads have already appeared on the wonderful, wild Internet is somewhat of a let down for me. Why do you ask? Because you lose some of the excitement of seeing a wonderful ad for the first time, live during the big game. Let me ask you the same question is sharing these ads with the world before the game a good or bad thing? Let me know in the comments section below. By the way, don’t forget to check out the Coke’s SuperBowl commercial that I shared with you last Wednesday.

Pepsi Trolling Coke Before the Super Bowl

Wed, 30 Jan 2019 11:00:29 +0000

Hello World,

I read an interesting article this week regarding the Super Bowl. You know that not only is it football’s big day but it’s also a big day for advertising and marketing in general. One thing the city of Atlanta where the Super Bowl is taking place is known for is being the main headquarters of the Coca-Cola company (Coke). But Coke is not the main sponsor of the NFL, that honor goes to Pepsi. Pepsi is, of course, one of Coke’s main competitors. But I think Coke still got the last laugh over Pepsi in this year’s upcoming Super Bowl.

Inside That Ad's Top 10 Super Bowl LII Commercials

Sun, 11 Feb 2018 22:32:36 +0000

I never shared my top commercials from the 2018 Super Bowl. I had to do it after the game because I was actually crying when the Patriots lost. Therefore, without further ado here my top 10 favorite commercials from Super Bowl LII. Oh yeah, and make sure you read this article through, all the way to the end to get to the #1 commercial! Please enjoy the ads that we thought were creme dela creme.

ITA's 2013 Favorite Superbowl Ads

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 21:35:46 +0000

The ads below are the ads that Inside That ad thought were the funniest during this year’s Super Bowl. We hope you enjoy our picks. Please let us know what you thought of this year’s Super Bowl ads and let us know if there are any you think we should feature on ITA.

Centuary 21 - Wedding***Title: **“Wedding” Client: Centuary 21 Agency: Red Tettemer and Partners, Philadelphia

**E-Trade - Save It****Title: *“Save It” Client: E-Trade Agency: Grey, New York