New York — As Super Bowl Sunday approaches, the off-field battle for advertisers to win over 120 million viewers will be just as intense as the rivalry between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks.
Dozens of advertisers are pulling out all the stops on Super Bowl 60 on Sunday. They hope their audience will remember their brand names as they populate their ads with celebrities ranging from Kendall Jenner (Fanatics Sportsbook) to George Clooney (Grubhub), tried-and-true ad icons like Budweiser Clydesdales, and nostalgia for iconic movie properties like “Jurassic Park” (Comcast Xfinity).
Each year’s Super Bowl ads offer a snapshot of the American mood — as well as which industries are buzzing with money that particular year: from the “Dot-Com Bowl” of 2000 to the “Crypto Bowl” of 2022.
This year’s trends include AI and technology companies showcasing new technology, health and telehealth companies advertising weight-loss medications and medical tests, and well-known brands tugging at hearts.
Charles Taylor, a marketing professor at Villanova University, said that because of the big headlines in the news recently — from increased immigration enforcement in Minnesota to conflicts abroad — he expects advertisers to stick to a light, silly tone.
“Given the Super Bowl’s status as a pop culture event with a fun, festive atmosphere, the vast majority of brands will avoid any dark or divisive tone, and instead allow consumers to escape from thought in these trying times,” he said.
Standard prices
Advertisers flock to the Super Bowl every year because so many people watch the big game. In 2025, a record 127.7 million American viewers watched the match across television and live streaming platforms.
Demand is higher than ever, as live sporting events are one of the few places left in a fractured media landscape where advertisers can reach large audiences.
“Artificial Intelligence Pot”
AI startups and major corporations are taking advantage of the biggest advertising night to make a name for themselves.
AI developer Anthropic is broadcasting two TV ads, one during the game and one before the game, indicating that Claude, its chatbot, has no ads.
The in-game ad showed a man exercising and asking a chatbot for help with getting abs, but it fed an ad instead. Although Anthropic did not name the company, OpenAI said it will place ads on free and cheap versions of its chatbot ChatGPT.
In a sign that Anthropic had struck a nerve, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a social media post that he laughed at the “funny” ads but criticized them as dishonest and cast a shadow over his rival’s smaller customer base. OpenAI will broadcast its own announcement during the game which it will keep under wraps.
Other AI ads include Amazon showing Chris Hemsworth humorously imagining the ways its new Alexa+ chatbot could harm him. Oakley Meta is promoting its AI-powered glasses in two action-packed spots that show Spike Lee, Marshawn Lynch and others using the glasses to shoot video and answer questions. The Google Super Bowl ad shows a mother and son imagining their new home with the help of Google Photos and Google AI tools.
Celebrities galore
Featuring celebrities is a tried-and-true way advertisers can gain goodwill from viewers. This year, Fanatics Sportsbook enlists Kendall Jenner to talk about the “Kardashian Kurse,” where bad things happen to the basketball players she dates.
George Clooney appears in a Grubhub add-on to promote a deal the delivery app is offering to “Eat the Fees” on orders of $50 or more.
Sabrina Carpenter tries to build the perfect man out of Pringles, but he keeps falling apart in a Pringles commercial.
Many ads feature more than one celebrity or athlete. Michelob Ultra shows actor Kurt Russell coaching actor Louis Pullman, while Olympic skier Chloe Kim and hockey player TJ O’Shea watch on the ski slope.
Xfinity reunites Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum in a satirical reimagining of the “Jurassic Park” movie that features Xfinity technology restoring power to the island so nothing can go wrong.
Uber Eats is hiring Matthew McConaughey for the second year in a row to convince celebrities – this year Bradley Cooper and Parker Posey – that football is a conspiracy to make people hungry so they order food.
Health and telehealth
Health and telehealth providers are everywhere during Super Bowl 60. Two pharmaceutical companies are advertising the tests: Novartis is promoting a blood test to detect prostate cancer with the slogan “Relax Your Tight End,” which includes relaxing football tight ends. The Boehringer Ingelheim ad stars Octavia Spencer and Sofia Vergara, who encourage people to get screened for kidney disease.
Liquid IV, which makes electrolyte drink mixes, recently ran an ad about staying hydrated.
Telehealth company Ro uses Serena Williams in its ad for weight loss drug GLP-1. Novo Nordisk will run a 90-second ad with Kenan Thompson and other stars showcasing the Wegovy weight loss pill.
to whisper & Hers — another company that offers GLP-1 weight-loss drugs — has an ad saying the company gives people better access to health care that typically only the rich have access to.
“You could call this the GLP-1 Super Bowl,” said Tim Calkins, a clinical professor of marketing at Northwestern University. “It’s not often you see a lot of pharmaceutical companies at the Super Bowl, but this year we’ll see quite a few companies show up.”
Pulling on the heart strings
This year, many advertisers chose to grab their attention with ads depicting families and animals.
Budweiser’s intimate ad shows a Clydesdale pony growing up with a bald eagle to the tune of “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The ad celebrates Budweiser’s 150th anniversary.
Lay’s follows a potato farming duo as father and daughter retire and the daughter takes over, covered in a cover of Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know.”
An Amazon Ring ad shows off technology that can help find lost dogs. Toyota shows a grandson and grandfather uniting in different decades in a Toyota RAV4. Dove shows girls celebrating body positivity.
Honest advertising is “a response to politically divided times and a lot of negative events that are in the news,” Villanova’s Taylor said. “More ads this year focus more overtly on humanity and being humane to others than I’ve seen at the Super Bowl.”
He said the Ring ad was a good example.
“Instead of focusing on the camera and its features, it draws attention to the app users who come together as a community to help find missing dogs,” he said.
Surprises
While the majority of Super Bowl advertisers launch their ads early to try to capitalize on buzz, some delay until the day of the game to reveal their ads.
Pepsi-owned soft drink company Poppi has teased that pop star Charli XCX and actress Rachel Sennott will star in their ad.
Ben Affleck is back in a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial. A teaser showed him with ’90s sitcom legends Jennifer Aniston, Friends’ Matt LeBlanc and Seinfeld’s Jason Alexander.
There are fewer car advertisers this year, but Cadillac hints that it will feature its new Formula 1 car in an ad.
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