Super Bowl LX is officially in the books, and the marketing machine did exactly what it always does. For weeks, our feeds were flooded with everything from fully baked cinematic flexes to cryptic 15-second teasers engineered to spark just enough intrigue.
Now that the confetti’s been swept up and the Seahawks won, we can finally judge what actually held up when it mattered most: 30 seconds on the biggest stage in advertising. Super Bowl LX made one thing unmistakably clear: AI has officially entered the Big Game chat. Claude, ChatGPT, and other tech platforms weren’t hiding in the margins this year; they were front and center, positioning artificial intelligence not as a sci-fi spectacle but as a practical, everyday tool.
At the same time, the celebrity quotient was dialed way up, with A-listers like Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew McConaughey, Bradley Cooper, Serena Williams, Kendall Jenner, and Bad Bunny anchoring campaigns across categories. Nostalgia continued to do heavy lifting too, particularly ’90s sitcom energy and throwback pop culture cues, while health and “better-for-you” messaging surged across food, beverage, and pharma.
I’ve usually despised Budweiser spots for their saccharine Americana sentiments, but this year, they actually tapped into what is happening politically and culturally in a relevant way. Instead of the usual cringe nostalgia, they went for something that feels earned. That Pegasus shot with wings was spot-on.
On the other hand, Bud Light put together a heavy-hitter celeb cast with Post Malone and Peyton Manning, but actually made them part of the story rather than just expensive wallpaper. I always ask why these famous people hang out together anyway, but a wedding party is a good canvas for the randomness of encounters. It is low-key the only place those pairing vibes work. That said, the “I give it a week” line was totally unnecessary and a bit of a mid.
I sophomorically loved the “Tap That App” line from the Kevin Hart Verizon spot. It is sticky, it is simple and it actually works for the brand.
And of course, the MrBeast Salesforce teaser had my Gen Z sons looking up from their phones. It is wild to see a B2B giant like Salesforce pivot to creator culture as a major flex. If they actually make someone a millionaire on live TV it is going to be a total core memory for the viewers.
Matt Kuttan is a Global Creative Director, Multicultural Expert, and insanely loyal to his Chicago sports teams.
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