Touchdown! 🏈
Is there a sporting event that captures the world’s attention quite like the Super Bowl? This year’s showdown certainly lived up to the hype. The final saw The Seattle Seahawks and The New England Patriots battle it out to win the prestigious Vince Lombardi Trophy at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. But let’s be honest, the action on the field is only half the story.
The Super Bowl has become advertising’s biggest stage. For years, household brands and companies pull out all the stops to capture viewers’ attention during those precious commercial breaks. The cost? Astonishing. According to an article in USA Today Sports, “a 30-second commercial during Super Bowl 60 costs about $8 million, but some companies have paid over $10 million for their spot.” Yikes! Much like in previous years, we see big time players like Amazon, Pringles, UberEats and plenty others fight it out for the best commercial. But, which ones took the crown this year? Let’s dive in.
Pringleleo | Pringles
The Pringles x Sabrina Carpenter collaboration is not something we thought we needed but it sure is iconic. After declaring she’s “so tired of boys,” Carpenter builds her perfect boyfriend ‘Pringleleo,‘ entirely out of Pringles crips because why not? What follows is a whirlwind romance montage of fancy dinners, drives through LA, flying kites etc. But dating a man made of crisps comes with its challenges… Pringleleo loses an arm and his head pops off, all before getting aggressively tackled to the floor by Sabrina Carpenter’s superfan, reducing him to a pile of crumbs on the ground. The humorous ad is also a playful nod to upcoming Valentine’s Day and was directed by Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia, the same creative duo behind Carpenter’s “Manchild” music video, which perfectly explains its iconic visual style.
HUNGRY FOR THE TRUTH | Uber Eats
“Hungry for the Truth” stars actor royalty Matthew McConaughey and Bradley Cooper in this Uber Eats commercial. Built around a theory that American football was actually invented to sell food, Matthew McConaughey plays a passionate “food conspiracy theorist” while Bradley Cooper, plays a sceptical sports fan. Throughout the 60 second commercial, McConaughey tries to convince Cooper that football is really all about food by pointing out all kinds of funny coincidences like a quarterback’s run being called a “scramble”, the goal post looking like a fork, player’s names “CJ Ham” and the The Pro Football Hall of Fame building looking like a juicer. I mean, he’s not wrong…
The commercial ends with Bradley Cooper wanting to “squash” their “beef” while Matthew McConaughey eagerly points out that both ‘beef’ and ‘squash’ are still food…only deeper adding to his food vs football conspiracy theory. Adding to his frustration, Cooper mutters, “Son of a…” before the voiceover jumps in with a cheerful “Burger!” instead of another b-word…
Beef 101 with 50 Cent | DoorDash
DoorDash has teamed up with the ‘King of Trolls” 50 Cent for their latest Super Bowl campaign. Beef 101 with 50 Cent is hilariously funny, clever and an excellent bit of marketing. Playing off his notorious reputation for public feuds, 50 Cent teases viewers with his trademark swagger and jokes about delivering “beef” (both literally and figuratively). He opens a DoorDash bag to reveal a series of different tongue-in-cheek items that nod to his famous rivalries. From cheese puffs (hinting at Diddy’s nickname “Puffy/Puff Daddy”) to a children’s book referencing Floyd Mayweather, each prop doubles up as a playful Easter egg for those familiar with his feud history:
- Alarm clock – a reference to Ja Rule’s song “Always on Time.”
- Hair combs – another jab at Diddy (real name Sean Combs): “Oh, they sell combs — what a coincidence.”
- “Aged 4 years or 50 months” – Diddy’s prison sentence.
“Best DoorDash commercial yet. They know how to capture an audience.” and “I think I actually popped a blood vessel laughing so hard.” are just some of the positive comments the commercial has received on YouTube. And I couldn’t agree more. This is perhaps one of the funniest adverts I’ve ever seen. 50 Cent proves that when it comes to “delivering beef,” he’s still very much the king. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Backstory | Levi’s® Behind Every Original
Set to the groove of James Brown’s “Get Up Offa That Thing,” Levi’s 30 second Super Bowl commercial features some famous behinds; can you spot them all? From Toy Story’s Woody to Bruce Springsteen and beyond (Doechii, Rosé and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) Levi’s flaunt their iconic stitching, silhouette and Red Tab without the need for dialogue. It relies entirely on movement, music and silhouette to tell its story. The result = a celebration of individuality and cultural legacy, stitched together through one common thread: a pair of Levi’s jeans. Brava!
Sweet Sandwich Time | Hellmann’s
Perhaps an unlikely entry, but there was no way we couldn’t include this one. Set inside a classic American deli, we see actor and comedian Andy Samberg, dressed head-to-toe in a denim, sequinned “Meal Diamond” jumpsuit, complete with a big wig. What follows is Samberg singing a sandwich-themed rendition of Neil Diamond’s classic song Sweet Caroline (“Ham…touching ham…touching cheese…sweet sandwich time!”) to the room, pulling in unsuspecting deli patrons, including actress Elle Fanning into the musical madness.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Fanning said: “With Super Bowl commercials, everyone’s trying to have one that’s going to make a splash and impact and be memorable, and so I feel like this year, I hope we’ll do just the same.” Is it a bit late to be jumping on the Sweet Caroline bandwagon? Maybe, but is it memorable? Absolutely! The message is clear; Hellman’s mayonnaise makes your sandwiches taste “so good, so good, so good!”
Alexa + x Chris Hemsworth | Amazon
Amazon’s 2026 Super Bowl ad is stirring up a bit of controversy…and honestly, we can see why. Set alongside his real life wife Elsa Pataky, Australian actor Chris Hemsworth trades his Thor-level toughness for… well, full on paranoia. And maybe rightly so, because enter Alexa+, Amazon’s shiny new AI assistant. The 60 second commercial plays on our common anxieties around AI by imagining what might happen if it suddenly got a little too powerful.
“She’s not living here. That is full on AI. One minute we’re buddy-buddies and then the next minute she’s tryin to kill us.” Chris’ imagination runs wild as he imagines the different ways Alexa+ might plot to kill him: whether by garage door beheading, pool cover drowning or a bear delivery… Terrifying, right? But instead of this all coming true, Alexa+ surprises Chris by booking him a massage and his favourite cinnamon scrub. The ad has generated some mixed reviews on YouTube: “Are we being gas lighted by AI?” and “They’re joking about killing you, and they don’t even want to hide it.” So, the real question is; would you trust Alexa+ with your next cinnamon scrub? 👀
And that’s a wrap
From 50 Cent’s Beef 101 to Samberg’s Sweet Sandwich Time, this year’s Super Bowl commercials certainly delivered some weird and wonderful moments. But which one had you laughing, cringing or hitting replay? Or were these celebrity-packed commercials a little too over-the-top for your liking?
