Predictions for Super Bowl LX ads

For this week’s AdMiration feature, we’re taking a break from our regular celebration of individual ads to kick off our coverage of Super Bowl LX advertising.

Here are our eight predictions for what we’ll see from brands at this year’s big game.

Celebrities are typically a given within Super Bowl ads, so it’s guaranteed that they will once again be everywhere. In fact, 68% of last year’s Super Bowl ads had celebrities in them! For brands, big names still offer fast attention and familiarity in a crowded ad break, so many brands will lean on this shortcut. 

But history suggests the best-performing ad won’t necessarily include a star. Last year, for example, Budweiser’s “First Delivery” was one of the top-rated ads without relying on celebrity power at all. Instead, it focused on strong storytelling, emotional resonance and unmistakable brand cues. 

This year’s standout could likely follow a similar path, proving that while celebrities can help, they aren’t a requirement for success.

Last year, Super Bowl ads were much more distinctive than general ads (Distinctiveness: 4.0 for Super Bowl ads vs. 3.7 for general ads). Creativity will be on full display as usual this year, with ads that are designed to entertain and attract attention from the biggest audience of the year, but not all that creativity will be harnessed for the brand. 

Some brands will win attention without clearly linking it back to the brand or product, focusing too much on the entertainment aspect. Brands that have invested consistently in distinctive brand assets over time (like Budweiser) will have an easier ride in being more distinctive, engaging and even off the wall while still clearly being for the brand — which if achieved is a massive win in this playing field. 

But for others, the risk of creating something memorable but poorly attributed remains high. And if people like the ad but can’t remember who it was for, it begs the question: what was the point of advertising at the Super Bowl?

Nostalgia isn’t going anywhere. 

We saw it in several ads from last year’s big game (Think: Hellmann’s “When Sally Met Hellmann’s” and Booking.com’s “Get your stay ridiculously right” ads) and it will continue to come through this year.

Why? Think about it: There is so much content out there today across so many different channels and streaming platforms. It’s not like several years ago where people simply tuned in to watch the same TV shows every week or went to theaters to see the latest movie. In a busy, always-on world, familiar characters, music, references and stories offer comfort and instant connection. These references from the past are more well known by everyone, so it's more likely that more people will get the reference to When Harry Met Sally than Heated Rivalry for instance. That’s especially powerful in a moment like the Super Bowl, where brands are speaking to a huge and diverse audience. 

The strongest nostalgia-led ads won’t simply replay the past, though. They’ll have a modern take: remixing or reframing it for today’s audience and balancing familiarity with relevance rather than relying on throwback value alone.

AI is likely to show up in one of two ways:

1. Some brands may use it openly, risking backlash if audiences feel it’s noticeable or inauthentic. 

2. Others will reference it indirectly, often through humor, poking fun at how present AI has become in everyday life. 

Coca-Cola, for instance, took a risk and used AI in their 2025 “Holidays Are Coming” ad. While there was some backlash, as expected, consumers overall loved it. This was largely due to the fact that they leaned on distinctive brand assets they’ve been using for decades (red trucks, Santa, and of course the “Holidays Are Coming” song) which evoked feelings of nostalgia and immediately cued the brand, and ad that could still only be for Coca-Cola.  

So while it would be risky to lean heavily on AI alone in a Super Bowl ad, it will certainly have a presence in this year’s lineup of ads in some capacity.

For decades, Super Bowl advertising has operated on the assumption that the audience is mostly male. But the data now tells a very different story. 

Super Bowl 58 was watched by 58.8 million women, representing nearly half of the total audience, and female viewership is growing faster than any other segment. 

Brands that are paying attention will certainly apply this to their creative, intentionally designing their Super Bowl ads with women in mind — whether through their storytelling, casting or humor.

Every year, at least one ad aims to dominate the conversation beyond the game itself. And this year will be no different. 

Whether it’s a controversial message, unexpected partnership or a cultural moment created for social chatter, there will be a stunt ad designed to spark debate and headlines. Think: Coinbase’s 2022 bouncing QR code spot that broke Super Bowl ad norms, took over social conversations and crashed their app.

The question, as always, is whether the attention will meaningfully benefit the brand or simply generate short-term buzz.

With Super Bowl media costs now approaching $8 million for a single spot, brands will continue to think beyond the game itself. 

Expect more integrated campaigns where the Super Bowl ad is just one moment in a longer story that’s also supported by teaser content, social activations, live experiences, or platforms the brand has been building for months. 

Think: Häagen-Daz’s “Not So Fast, Not So Furious” Super Bowl LIX campaign, which extended into several activations in addition to the ad itself, from teasers, to a slow drive from Los Angeles to New Orleans, to a custom Häagen-Daz Cadillac ice cream truck and more.

The smartest brands will maximize their investment by turning one ad into a week-long, month-long or even year-long campaign rather than treating it as a one-off moment.

As last year showed, the strongest Super Bowl ads don’t just entertain. They make people feel something. 

A strong emotional connection is how you ensure your ad is the viewers’ favorite of the night — or even better, a favorite for years to come, leaving viewers with powerful, positive feelings towards the brand — especially when done in a way that lets the brand shine. We saw this come through clearly in our analysis of last year’s ads, where love and laughter won the night.

Doritos’ “Abduction” from last year’s Super Bowl is a great example of this. The ad generated lots of laughs from viewers as they watched the man fight to hold on to his precious bag of Doritos — shown as being so delicious that even aliens wanted a taste! This narrative kept their product at the heart of the story so viewers simply couldn’t play back the story without mentioning Doritos. 

So while audiences won’t forget the way your ad made them feel, emotion alone isn’t enough if they can’t link it back to the brand. The winning ads this year will strike that balance: making an emotional impact paired with clear branding.

Do you agree with our predictions? What do you think we’ll see from brands this year? Let us know by interacting with our coverage on LinkedIn.

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