This was a game nobody saw coming: a dominating 40-22 win by the Philadelphia Eagles over the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs when betting lines placed the Chiefs as 1.5-point favorites. They say defense wins games and the league’s best certainly shut down the Chiefs who didn’t cross midfield until the third quarter.
The advertisements this year were also a surprise, at least to me if not others.
What Happened
Most of the ads that were released for review prior to the game centered on star power and humor. It appeared that since advertisers plan months in advance (or at least they should be) when creating their big game ad, they were playing it safe and down the middle with a presidential election that had appeared to be a toss-up. I was expecting an advertising roster reminiscent of last year’s celebrity-driven, sometimes confusing ads which seemed designed to entertain the masses and not offend anyone. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by some of the best advertising since 2021 (the last post presidential election year).
Why It Matters
The Super Bowl is the one time every year that people want to watch the ads, providing advertisers with a prime opportunity to burnish their image.
- One survey reported that 65% of Americans planned to watch the game this year.
- The Super Bowl is the time to define, build or reinforce your brand.
- The best brands choose to highlight who they are, what they stand for and celebrate the people who make them possible—their employees and customers.
- Organizations should illustrate how they align to a higher purpose of advocating on behalf of their stakeholders—employees and customers—to bring their expertise and assets to bear to add value to society.
- They do this by telling a compelling story to build an emotional connection.
In 2025, nearly one-in-five ads (11 of 57 in-game ads) advocated for their stakeholders, including consumer products, pharmaceutical companies, a mortgage lender and a nonprofit. Even the NFL is on message this year.
The Details
Unlike most Super Bowl ad reviews, this one doesn’t focus on identifying the funniest or most popular ad. My lens for reviewing ads is through APCO’s work Five Acts of Corporate Advocacy, which examines how the best companies fulfill their role as a societal shareholder. Here are the ads that championed their stakeholders and delivered messages important to society, none of which overtly sell a product.
- Lay’s “The Little Farmer” is a story of determination and perseverance as a young girl is left behind by the rest of her farm family but determined to follow in their footsteps and create the perfect potato. The ad does an excellent job celebrating the family farm spirit without cliches and celebrates the fact that “real potatoes grown on family farms across America” go into their products, overlaying images of those farmers.
- This year’s Budweiser entry “First Delivery” has Clydesdales and, really, who can resist them? This iteration follows one considered “too little” but like the little farmer in the Lay’s ad, she sees an opportunity to prove people wrong and with determination makes the delivery.
- Dove “These Legs” continues the company’s commitment to girls and women, delivering the important message of the importance of positive self-image against the backdrop of an energetic three-year old girl running and enjoying her pursuit as “Born to Run” plays in the background. We’re informed that “1 in 2 girls who quit sports are criticized for their body type” and encouraged to “change the way we talk to our girls.” It is a worthy successor to last year’s “Hard Knock Life” advertisement.
- In “Dream Job”, Google meets the moment for many seasoned Americans who may be looking for their next opportunity, emphasizing that parenthood is both an important responsibility and preparation for our “paid work”, and a role that brings immense satisfaction and joy.
- Rocket’s “Own the Dream” puts their customers first in this spot that given the imagery and song choice “Take Me Home, Country Roads” initially had me thinking this was a West Virginia tourism ad. The joy of home ownership and achieving the American Dream is evident on the second half of the ad through the imagery and emotion on display, leading to the statement “Everyone deserves their shot at the American Dream” and the reveal of Rocket as the sponsor.
- In the Jeep “Owner’s Manual” ad, we find Harrison Ford narrating a spot heavy on American ideals around freedom, heroes, humility, inspiration, how differences can be our strength and choosing one’s path. As a former Wrangler owner, I appreciate the subtle nod to the “Jeep wave,” which I guess is still a thing. Ford is an unlikely spokesperson in this environment and for this brand as he admits at the end, saying “This Jeep makes me happy, even though my name is Ford.”
- Pfizer “Knock Out” follows a young cancer survivor inspired to fight on amidst the support of his community and family, ending with a montage of photos presumably from his real-life battle. The brief shot of a Pfizer scientist and the acknowledgment that “Pfizer is fighting for 8 cancer breakthroughs by 2030.” reinforce the message and commitment to stakeholders.
- The Novartis ad “Your Attention, Please” takes a different route in stating its intent to combat breast cancer before stating “Over 6 million women watching today’s game may be diagnosed with breast cancer” and cutting to Wanda Sykes delivering a message about early detection.
- In the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism ad “No Reason to Hate” we uncomfortably see and hear Snoop Dogg, who was everywhere in 2024, and Tom Brady, the greatest QB ever, stand face-to-face and spout hurtful language in an ad that acknowledges “The reasons for hate are as stupid as they sound.” The ending where Snoops says, “Man, I hate that things are so bad that we have to do a commercial about it” is a sentiment I believe a lot of people will agree with.
- The NFL seeks to address inclusion and advocacy in “Flag 50” (“Let’s make girls flag football a varsity sport in all 50 states”) and “Somebody”- (“Every kid can be somebody. If they have somebody to show them the way.” “The NFL family supports more than 50,000 youth organizations worldwide.”).
I am stunned that five of the ads I have highlighted score in the USA Today Ad Meter Top 10: Budweiser comes in at 1, Lay’s at 2, NFL at 5 and 6, and Pfizer at 10 (and five more in the top 17 with Jeep at 12, Google 14, Dove 15, Novartis 16 and FCAS 17). (Note: I write this review before the results are released.)
I am hopeful that the reaction of the public to these stakeholder-centric ads will encourage more brands to take this route in future games.
Thank you, advertisers, for recognizing the opportunity the Super Bowl provides you and meeting the moment. As always, I welcome my readers’ perspectives.
