The Super Bowl has the largest viewership of any televised event in the United States, with over 127 million people tuning in for the 2025 Super Bowl. However, not every viewer crowding around a coffee table of chips and boneless wings is watching for the big game. Advertising spots are precious for companies trying to reach the widest audience possible, leading to advertising campaigns going above and beyond to make their ad worth the price tag on the ad spot. Since Super Bowl ads have become a form of entertainment that can stand alone from the game, the Life & Culture critics reviewed their favorite and least favorite ads from the 2026 Super Bowl. 

Score: Redfin and Rocket Mortgage: America Needs Neighbors Like You

Brian Murray, Staff Writer 

The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched television events of every year, and every company wants to leave a strong impression on the enormous audience. While these attempts to market products using arbitrary, sentimental storylines usually feel strained, the ad from Redfin and Rocket Mortgage was uniquely effective. It depicted two young girls who live on the same street, but never interact until one girl’s dog goes missing. When the other girl discovers and returns it home, the two share an emotional embrace. The commercial ended with a message stating “America needs neighbors like you,” along with footage of people greeting and helping each other in tasks like picking up groceries and carrying strollers. The ad was fittingly accompanied by a stripped down cover of “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” recalling the gentle compassion of Fred Rogers. Keen-eared viewers would notice the song was performed by Lady Gaga, who also made a surprise appearance during Bad Bunny’s halftime show. The omission of any mention of her name feels like an intentional act of recognition that at the end of the day, everyone is your “neighbor.” In these tumultuous and divisive times, simple acts of kindness go a long way; it is nice to know that millions of Americans were reminded of this Sunday night.

Score: Pringles Presents: Love at First Bite featuring Sabrina Carpenter

Abbi Puckett, Staff Writer 

Sabrina Carpenter made a comical cameo in an advertisement for Pringles chips. The advertisement features Carpenter building herself a man out of the chips. This was a perfect nod to her album “Man’s Best Friend,” released in August, which showcased songs involving finding the right man but she has not seemed to find any luck quite yet. The video progresses after she builds her salty man to two of them enjoying each other’s company. The ending is awkward but hysterical when she is on a red carpet and her fans run right through the chip man and they begin eating his crumbs. It was unique and on-brand for both Carpenter and Pringles through her musical content and the way people may stack the chips to make objects. Their small slogan, “sometimes love consumes you, sometimes you consume love,” perfectly described the ending and how people would like to grab a can of Pringles.

Score: “Good Will Dunkin”

Liam McDermott, Senior Writer

Every year, audiences expect a creative ad from Dunkin’ that highlights Boston and its culture and this year was no different. Dunkin’ went for a more nostalgic vibe this year, basing their commercial on the hit ’90s film “Good Will Hunting” which takes place in Boston. They also brought out stars from multiple ’90s television shows including “Friends,” “Seinfeld,” “Cheers” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” to create a crossover scene inside a Dunkin’. The ad also included New England Patriots hall of fame quarterback Tom Brady. The advertisement took place inside of what a ’90s-style Dunkin’ location giving viewers a nostalgic throwback. 

Fumble: Processed Food Kills, Eat Real Food

Brian Murray, Staff Writer 

Unfortunately, not every commercial can be a hit. Among the wacky product ads and cheery — if Orwellian — tech promos, the “Processed Food Kills” PSA stuck out like a sore thumb, something of which I am sure spokesman Mike Tyson has had many. The black-and-white video features Tyson speaking about his history with obesity, how it ended his sister’s life and made himself wish for the same. It ends with a call to “Eat real food” because “Processed Food Kills.” The ad was paid for by Make America Healthy Again Center, Inc., a group closely associated with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The organization’s ties to the Trump administration are worth mentioning, due to the frequent conservative denunciation of overly political Super Bowl fare. My critique does not stem from petty partisanship, but rather an annoyance with the presentation of the ad. The color palette and Tyson’s invocation of his past suicidal ideations are not the only bleak elements of the ad — he refers to his old self as “fat and nasty” and states that the U.S. has the “most obese, fudgy people.” Having a wealthy, famous person deliver this message kneecaps the rallying cry at the end of the video; not everyone can afford to eat as healthy as they should (an issue which the Trump administration has all but abandoned since the campaign, for the record). Furthermore, airing this ad while many Americans are indulging themselves in unhealthy food was certainly the whole point, but the only thing the disparaging, mean-spirited tone is likely to make them change is the channel. 

Fumble: Manscaped Presents: Hair Ballad

Abbi Puckett, Staff Writer

Many of the advertisements for the 2026 Super Bowl lacked excitement this year and many included thoughtlessness with talking inanimate objects. One of the first examples of this came early in the night from Manscaped, a men’s body grooming brand that predominantly sells electric razors. The ad involved talking piles of hair after it was shaved off of men. A tagline they used in captions said, “You won’t miss your hair. But it might miss you.” It was uncomfortable to watch talking balls of hair on a screen with an odd correlation of how the hair feels once it leaves a man’s body. The brand seemed to be attempting to create something memorable that would stick with viewers and get people talking about their brand, which is what they got, but it is unclear as to whether something this grotesque was the way to do it.

Fumble: Everybody Coinbase 

Liam McDermott, Senior Writer

This advertisement made no sense whatsoever. The ad was not creative at all and was basically imitating stolen from a karaoke video you could find online. The commercial started out with a simulation of a karaoke machine to the song “Everybody” by the Backstreet Boys. The group was also already featured in an advertisement with T–Mobile where it performed a song inside a T–Mobile store while talking about all the perks customers will get when they switch to the phone carrier. Throughout the entire ad, audiences were confused, wondering which company had sponsored the ad. With Coinbase being a cryptocurrency company, it made no sense as to why they would be advertising using karaoke. The advertisement even turned down the vocals and instrumentals to the song, creating a weird minute of silence for everyone watching the game. For a company that specializes in something that has already faced plenty of criticism, this was a bad option for Coinbase.