It's going to be Great

Happy Friday,

How was your week? 

This week, Léa Elbilia is taking over, after a big week speaking on behalf of Google about the Ads That Defined Super Bowl LX. You’ll see, you’ like her as much as I do. Go for it Léa!

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Happy Friday,

I’ve spent the last week thinking over how to talk about the Super Bowl without sounding like I’m reading from a teleprompter or, worse, someone who actually knows what a "down" is. 

The truth is, I’m here for the snacks , Bad Bunny (CANADÁ!) and, of course, the ads. But this year felt… different? Like the brands finally realized that shouting at us doesn’t work, so they tried to become our best friends instead. 

Here is everything I loved from Super Bowl LX

The MrBeast of It All

We have to start with Salesforce. They didn’t just hire a celebrity; they handed the keys to the kingdom to MrBeast. It wasn’t an ad so much as it was a high-stakes scavenger hunt with a million-dollar prize. It felt frantic, slightly chaotic, and deeply digital.  You can’t deny the genius of making people actually watch an ad to win money. It’s a bribe, sure, but a very effective one.  

I’m going to go ahead and call it: 2026 is the year we’re going to see more and more creators in these spots and beyond. Because they don’t just have reach, they own their audience in a way traditional stars don't; they are the new Hollywood, whether the old Hollywood likes it or not. 

Backstreet back, Alright  

Then there was T-Mobile, who decided to reach into the 1999 vault and pull out the Backstreet Boys and I am deeply powerless against all 90’s pop. They did a version of "I Want It That Way" about…I don't know, data plans? 5G coverage? It doesn’t matter.

What matters is that it was fun. It was just the guys I grew up with singing about cell phones in a way that made me feel both seen and old. According to the data we see on YouTube, this kind of high-production nostalgia is exactly what sticks. 

Gen Z is Tired of Being "Marketed To"

I read this great piece in Ad Age (thanks Julie for sharing!) about how Gen Z marketers are rating these spots. Apparently, the "kids" are over the polished, AI-generated perfection. They want humor that feels human. They responded best to the Uber Eats "Century of Cravings" and Dove’s "Real Beauty" pivots.

There’s a lesson there: we can tell when a brand is wearing a Gen Z costume. It’s like when I try to use "6’/7" in a sentence or when every brand was having a neon-green Brat summer. It's embarrassing. The ads that won were the ones that embraced intergenerational connection and actual, genuine silliness

What I’m Sipping: A very cold, very crisp Martini. Three olives. No, make it four. It’s been a long week.

What I’m Branding:  Let’s bring back ads that are just… fun? Just a good joke and a product I might actually buy.

Julie will be back next week.  I’m off to re-watch that Backstreet Boys ad and wonder when exactly I became the target demographic for nostalgia 

Léa