2026 Super Bowl Ads: Four Marketing Themes Brands Should Learn From

From AI and nostalgia to humor and emotional storytelling, here’s how top brands approached the biggest ad stage of the year.

The 2026 Super Bowl ads highlighted four clear marketing priorities:

• AI positioned as helpful, human, and accessible
• Nostalgia used to bridge generations, not live in the past
• Humor and self-awareness outperform polished perfection
• Emotional storytelling centered on togetherness and identity

The Super Bowl remains one of the few moments where brands aren’t just competing for attention; they’re participating in culture in real time. Super Bowl VX offered a clear look at how major consumer and tech brands approached storytelling this year, revealing shared creative choices, tonal shifts, and audience priorities. 

Here’s a closer look at the themes that defined this year’s Super Bowl commercials and performances, and what marketers can take away as they plan campaigns in 2026. 

AI took a more human, everyday role 

AI-heavy advertising returned to the Super Bowl spotlight, with ads from Claude, Meta, Microsoft CoPilot, and Google Gemini. What stood out wasn’t bold futurism or technical explanations, but how seamlessly AI was positioned as a part of everyday life. 

Rather than focusing on technical capabilities, these brands emphasized accessibility, creativity, and empowerment, positioning AI as a helpful partner rather than a confusing futuristic concept. The takeaway for marketers? Audiences are responding to AI when it’s framed as useful, intuitive, and human-centered, not intimidating or overly complex. 

Nostalgia continues to be a powerful emotional shortcut 

Nostalgia was everywhere this year. Brands like Levi’s, T-Mobile, Allstate, Budweiser, Dunkin’, and Pepsi leaned into familiar imagery, throwback references, and legacy brand moments, but rarely felt stuck in the past. 

Instead, nostalgia served as a bridge between generations, pairing recognizable brand history with modern humor or updated visuals. For marketers, this reinforces the value of revisiting brand heritage thoughtfully, especially when audiences are craving familiarity and reassurance. 

Celebrities, humor, and the power of not taking yourself too seriously 

Celebrities were everywhere, but the tone was notably light-hearted. Brands like Instacart, Bud Light, Raisin Bran, Pringles, Liquid Death, Poppi, and Manscaped leaned fully into humor, often pushing the boundaries of the ridiculous. 

Rather than polished endorsements, these ads used celebrities as part of the joke. The lesson here is clear: relatability and entertainment outperform perfection. Humor remains one of the fastest ways to break through, especially when brands are willing to poke fun at themselves. 

Togetherness and emotional storytelling anchored the night 

Themes of unity and shared experience extended beyond advertising into the night’s performances. Green Day’s electric opening set, Coco Jones’ powerful delivery of Lift Every Voice and Sing, Brandi Carlile’s moving rendition of America the Beautiful, and Bad Bunny’s emotional halftime show, which highlighted Latin culture and Puerto Rican life, reinforced the idea that American culture is diverse, expressive, and collective. 

That emotional tone carried into ads from Dove, Toyota, Lay’s, and the NFL, many of which focused on belonging, perseverance, and human connection. These moments resonated not because they were grand statements, but because they felt personal and inclusive. 

What marketers can take from this year’s Super Bowl? 

Super Bowl VX showed that brands are prioritizing clarity, emotion, and cultural awareness in how they communicate. The strongest campaigns didn’t overexplain or overproduce; they met audiences where they are. 

For marketers, this serves as a useful guide for 2026 planning: lead with humanity, don’t shy away from humor, use nostalgia with intention, and remember that even the biggest stages reward authenticity. 

Curious how consumer brands can show up with creativity, clarity, and a human touch? See how we’re partnering with companies to tell stories that connect on our Consumer Tech page. 

We’ve helped many brands, such as TouchTunes, Rula, Wisdom Panel, StreamLabs, and Scribd, turn cultural moments into creative, human-centered brand storytelling. Check out some of our case studies from Elvie and Everlast to see our work in action.