The best commercials of Super Bowl 2026
- Arjan Shahani
- Feb 8
- 12 min read
What were the best commercials shown during the 2026 Super Bowl? Our marketing agency shares its ranking (including the worst).
We just watched the 60th Super Bowl, where Bad Bunny celebrated all the nations of the Americas with a message of unity, and the Seahawks defeated the Patriots 29-13… but beyond the gridiron, there was a battle to capture your attention in the advertising space, with brands investing record amounts to launch their new commercials and campaigns. And as I recently mentioned in an episode of our podcast , Cierre de Semana , at least for me, it's a much more interesting phenomenon than the emerging talent of the Patriots' quarterback, Drake Maye (who was clearly overwhelmed by the role), or the explosiveness of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, the Seahawks' wide receiver.
That's why I took on the task of studying more than 40 commercials released during and before the Super Bowl, and today I want to share my rating of some of the most outstanding commercials .
If you want the downloadable file with all the ratings for more than 40 spots, with links to them, I'll share it with you below:
Methodology for rating advertising spots
Beyond simply offering an opinion or echoing what others are saying, I've developed a framework to evaluate what I consider most relevant in an advertisement. My goal is to measure all advertisements by the same standard and calibrate them based on various relevant variables, eliminating assessments that go beyond the marketing intent.
Each spot is rated based on 10 categories, which include:
Hook and attention (15%): how well they capture attention from the beginning and retain it throughout the commercial
Creative idea and originality (15%) : freshness and intelligence behind creativity, something that has not been seen on hundreds of occasions.
Quality and production (10%): cinematography, sound, editing, production itself.
Brand integration (15%): the brand is logically integrated into the commercial and generates connection and recall.
Clarity of message (10%): what it seeks to say is understood without requiring too much effort from the audience and/or decoding.
Emotional Impact and/or Humor (10%): correct use of these resources to land the piece in a way that breaks functional boundaries and reaches an emotional plane.
Shareability (10%): Are people likely to share it, talk about it, or use it as a reference in different spaces, make it a meme, etc.?
Audience compatibility (5%): Is this message appropriate for the brand's and Super Bowl's audience?
Rewatch (5%): Is it a piece that you enjoy watching again, or even that improves upon viewing it a second time?
Current cultural relevance (5%): Does it connect with the current moment without feeling forced?
The overall score is a value from 0 to 10, taking into account the weighting of each category. Subsequently, I assign an alphabetical ranking where:
A+ = 9.5 - 10 Instant Classic
A = 9.0 - 9.4 Elite
B = 8.0 - 8.9 Strong
C = 7.0 - 7.9 Mixed
D = 6.0 - 6.9 Weak
E < 6.0 Bad
These are the best commercials from Super Bowl 2026
Uber Eats – Football sells food (Rating B - 8.6)
McConaughey does it again
Leading up to the Super Bowl, Uber Eats had already released a series of teasers to begin building the creative storytelling that culminated during Sunday's game. In these clips, the renowned actor stars in a series of situations where he exposes his conspiracy theory about the origins of American football. Using humor and absurdity in a very clever way, in a time and context where we are inundated with conspiracy theories, Uber Eats reveals that American football was invented to promote food sales.
In addition to generating brand recall through impeccable delivery by actors of the caliber of McConaughey and Bradley Cooper, this campaign remains true to the essence and raison d'être of Uber Eats, its brand personality, and the connection between the brand and the asset it's associating with (in this case, American football). The rating is awarded to the entire campaign, which successfully builds anticipation and delivers its centerpiece in an commendable manner.
Rating: B (8.6)
Hook and attention:9
Creative idea and originality: 9
Quality and production: 9
Brand integration: 9
Message clarity: 9
Emotional Impact and/or Humor: 8
Shareability:7
Audience compatibility: 9
Rewatch: 7
Current cultural relevance: 9
Xfinity – Jurassic Park Works (Grade B - 8.65)
The "what if…?" scenario we all wanted to see
Reviving a cinematic classic, high-speed internet provider Xfinity uses nostalgia with a creative twist that would have changed history and wouldn't have spared us from years of fearing velociraptors. The music, the recreation of iconic scenes, and the message allow us to revisit one of the most astonishing moments on the big screen. For the generation that saw Jurassic Park as children, it's a delight.
Furthermore, Xfinity cleverly and seamlessly integrates its product into the story, portraying it as the hero and preventing disaster by keeping the dinosaurs from escaping the maximum-security areas. The technology used to make the actors, especially Sam Neill, look younger leaves something to be desired, but it's forgivable because they made us laugh and reminisce about their performances. Definitely one of the best commercials of Super Bowl 2026.
Rating: B (8.65)
Hook and attention:9
Creative idea and originality: 8
Quality and production: 8
Brand integration: 10
Message clarity: 10
Emotional Impact and/or Humor: 9
Shareability:6
Audience compatibility: 10
Rewatch: 8
Current cultural relevance: 8
Kellogg's Raisin Bran – Will Shat (Rating B - 8.75)
Eschatologically funny
I admit it, I have a certain bias in my assessment of this commercial because I've historically enjoyed William Shatner's comedic role-playing in recent years (several of them for Priceline). Even with my personal bias, I applaud the humor behind the piece and the way the creatives managed to take the actor's last name and use it to their advantage, presenting one of the product's functional benefits in a very funny way. They handled what could have been an extremely vulgar portrayal with impeccable fluidity (wink, wink). It's definitely not easy to use defecation as a positive and funny concept, but Raisin Bran pulls it off. The wordplay with Duty/doodie, Shitzu, and the different ways the actor's last name is used in contexts related to going to the bathroom deserve applause.
Rating: B (8.75)
Hook and attention: 8
Creative idea and originality: 9
Quality and production: 8
Brand integration: 10
Clarity of message: 9
Emotional Impact and/or Humor: 10
Shareability: 9
Audience compatibility: 7
Rewatch: 8
Current cultural relevance: 7
Pepsi – The Choice (Rating A - 9.15)
A bold move refreshing a classic rivalry and a recent viral moment
For those of us who remember the original "Pepsi Challenge," this piece takes us back to one of the most iconic moments and memorable rivalries of all time... but this time, Pepsi goes even further and "borrows" a character that has been presented as an ally of Coca-Cola for years: the polar bear.
At the beginning of the commercial, we see this character blindfolded, tasting cans of both sodas and clearly preferring the can of Pepsi Zero Sugar. When the blindfold is removed, the bear appears confused and astonished that he chose Pepsi over his usual drink. So much so, that he ends up in front of a psychologist who tries to comfort him by saying, "You're not the only one," implying that, however unlikely it may seem, many are realizing that Pepsi is the better option. We hear the background music of Queen's "I Want to Break Free," an obvious reference to the bear facing the dilemma of breaking free from his loyalty to Coca-Cola. The bear remains confused and wanders the streets, passing by a restaurant where he sees people drinking Pepsi, and then runs into his partner, who is also holding a Pepsi.
Cut to a nod to the moment Andy Byron's infidelity with his HR director was exposed at a Coldplay concert: We see the two bears at a concert and on a circular screen (a feature of Coldplay's 2025 tour) with Pepsi in hand. Exposed to the masses, unlike Byron and Cabot who try to hide, the bears embrace their newfound loyalty to Pepsi and celebrate it. The spot ends by displaying the tagline "You deserve Taste. You deserve Pepsi." Incredible.
Pepsi's audacity must be acknowledged, and within that audacity, we can identify a 100% alignment with its brand values, which it has maintained for many years. In countless campaigns and commercials, Pepsi has adopted the competitive stance of the "challenger mindset," with a rebellious attitude and by pushing boundaries far more than Coca-Cola, which tends to be much more institutional, family-oriented, and "safe."
With humor, the ad challenges and questions consumer loyalties at their very core. Its musical choice is spot-on and iconic. Using a song like Queen's is a very effective way to communicate a message quickly by leveraging the song's inherent qualities and messages, and it also helps to create a memorable experience. The use of the viral moment featuring Byron and Cabot brings it into the present with a relevant reference that, if you catch it, is funny, but if you don't, it doesn't detract from the overall impact. The message attacking Coca-Cola is clear and forceful: even your favorite consumers prefer Pepsi. For all these reasons, I consider "The Choice" to be one of the best commercials of the 2026 Super Bowl.
Rating: A (9.15)
Hook and attention: 10
Creative idea and originality: 9
Quality and production: 8
Brand integration: 10
Message clarity: 10
Emotional Impact and/or Humor: 8
Shareability: 8
Audience compatibility: 10
Rewatch: 9
Current cultural relevance: 9
Coca-Cola – You can buy the Talent (Rating A+ - 9.5)
Returning the blow, like a champion.
This wasn't a Super Bowl commercial per se , but rather a digital response to the attack Pepsi launched, which I just described. And if the initial attack was brilliant, the response was majestic.
Just 10 hours after Pepsi reportedly launched "The Choice" with a pre-release on digital channels, Coca-Cola "apparently" delivered this classy slap in the face in return... and it didn't cost them the millions of dollars it did Pepsi.
And I say apparently launched because there's no official record of the piece having been created by Coca-Cola; rather, it seems to be the result of the creative and playful work of Ahmed Saad, a digital content creator. And of course, it doesn't steal the spotlight from Pepsi because it doesn't have Pepsi's reach, but if it did, and if it HAD been Coca-Cola's official response, it would be worthy of several Cannes Lions in my opinion, and that's why I rate it the way I do and why I'm sharing it with you here…
Because I also believe it has much greater viral potential than the Pepsi campaign and was done in minutes at a minimal fraction of the cost.
The opening frame is the same as Pepsi's. We see the blindfolded polar bear about to make his choice… but he gravitates toward Coca-Cola, and we hear the commercial's director angrily shout, “Cut! What are you doing? Let's do it again!” The camera zooms in on the bear's eyes, and we hear his inner monologue: “This is the moment of truth. Your integrity or a huge wad of cash?”… Then we see a series of scenes in which the bear is taking shameful and arduous jobs, and even with all that effort, we see his mate begging because they don't have enough money (a plea for us to empathize with their lack of scruples).
We return to the studio where the commercial is being filmed, and it's clear the bear decided to compromise his principles just to get paid. The director instructs him: "Choose the Pepsi can, remove the blindfold, and act amazed." The bear does as instructed, and the director ends by saying, "Cut. Pay the bear." The screen fades to black, we see the Coca-Cola logo, and below it, the tagline: "You can buy the actor, but you can't buy the taste." WOW.
We'll probably never know if any Coca-Cola executive "encouraged" Ahmed Saad's creativity to generate this content, but regardless, the piece and the response are incredible. The speed with which Saad came up with this opens our eyes to a new era of marketing where we can act and create masterpieces in a matter of hours if we have the creativity and the generative tools used correctly. It's not hard to imagine that this piece could have been created in The Coca-Cola Co.'s offices in just a few hours if they had wanted to. TODAY, this is possible.
With the use of AI to generate videos, we've entered an era where Brand Wars are being fought with new weapons, without exclusivity contracts or time constraints for the actors, in arenas that extend far beyond the battlefields of traditional channels. The use of influencer accounts, content creators, and so on is a phenomenon that every marketing enthusiast should be studying.
Furthermore, Saad's response to Pepsi is a blend of classy humor and marketing savvy. If Pepsi "stole" the polar bear, instead of reacting with anger or furious outbursts, Saad highlights that Pepsi simply bought off someone willing to compromise their principles. Pepsi emerges as the villain, and the bear as a victim of its circumstances. While Pepsi – The Choice was memorable, Saad's response was an immediate knockout, further cementing his status as a brilliant creative. If I were Coca-Cola's CMO, I'd already be calling him to invite him to join my team, and that's why, even though it was just a digital response, I consider it one of the best commercials of the 2026 Super Bowl.
Rating: A+ (9.5)
Hook and attention: 10
Creative idea and originality: 10
Quality and production: 8
Brand integration: 10
Message clarity: 10
Emotional Impact and/or Humor: 9
Shareability:9
Audience compatibility: 10
Rewatch: 9
Current cultural relevance: 9
Is one of your favorites not in the top 5? You can see how I rated it in the following downloadable file (Instacart, Hellman's, Levi's, Amazon Alexa, Pringles, Novartis and much more):
And what about the worst-rated commercials? Check out the worst commercials of Super Bowl 2026
I've already shown you what I consider to be the best commercials of Super Bowl 2026. But I also know you're here for what's next. These are the ones that didn't make the cut...
LALA Mexico – Cola Wars (Rating E - 5.5)
Quick strike, poor execution, and creativity
NOTE: This isn't a Super Bowl ad; it's just a digital execution, but I still thought it was worth mentioning. LALA's creative team piggybacked on the Pepsi-Coca-Cola rivalry, which was very well received by their Instagram followers, aiming to capitalize on the attention generated by the two soft drink giants. With a slightly more critical eye than the LALA employees who left comments on their feed, I find the execution to be off-brand and opportunistic, not in a good way. LALA usually distinguishes itself with higher-quality work, and on this occasion, I think they succumbed to the temptation of a quick and cheap solution with a poorly applied use of AI. The execution falls short of its intended purpose (the basic illustration, the lack of lighting and shadows, the lack of perspective and depth, and many other details are what generated that "AI cringe" feeling you felt while watching it).
Applause for the proactivity, but a big thumbs down for forcing it with a production quality that a high school kid could have put together playing with an AI agent in its freemium version. It feels like a crasher who showed up to a formal party in Crocs and completely drunk. We even felt a little embarrassed for them. The good thing is that the piece probably cost them an intern's salary...
Rating: E (5.5)
Hook and attention: 9
Creative idea and originality: 2
Quality and production: 2
Brand integration: 9
Clarity of message: 6
Emotional Impact and/or Humor: 7
Shareability: 2
Audience compatibility: 8
Rewatch: 0
Current cultural relevance: 8
Rippling – The Mastermind (Rating E - 5.15)
You ask too much of your audience
Does anyone know what Rippling is? We're off to a bad start there because, in order to introduce a little-known product, the piece leaves you with the same lack of knowledge you started with, and even a little confused.
We see Tim Robinson in a boardroom of some kind of corporation whose purpose is unclear. Robinson is apparently plotting a sinister plan that no one understands, involving unleashing a monster on the city to do who knows what, who knows when, and who knows why. The discussion turns to a thwarted plan… because apparently the monster hasn't yet gone through its onboarding process at the company? And the message is that you should have better HR software for your business so that processes flow more quickly and don't get bogged down in corporate bureaucracy. All of this happens in 30 seconds that no one understands. It's worth mentioning that I arrived at this interpretation after having to watch the spot three times to decode the message. In its debut as a Super Bowl advertiser, I think Rippling is signing its farewell.
Rating: E (5.15)
Hook and attention:9
Creative idea and originality: 3
Quality and production: 7
Brand integration: 5
Message clarity: 3
Emotional Impact and/or Humor: 4
Shareability:4
Audience compatibility: 5
Rewatch: 4
Current cultural relevance: 7
RO – Healthier on Ro (Rating E - 4.9)
They paid for an athlete... and that's it.
This is a classic example of "we need to talk about what the product does" rather than why that should matter to the audience. It's a display of functional attributes where Serena Williams (who isn't necessarily a good actress) appears to be reading the product specifications directly from a teleprompter. There's absolutely no creativity in terms of storytelling or production. The graphics look like the work of a video editor who randomly selected "random" from a transition menu.
Rating: E (4.9)
Hook and attention: 5
Creative idea and originality: 0
Quality and production: 6
Brand integration: 9
Clarity of message: 8
Emotional Impact and/or Humor: 0
Shareability: 4
Audience compatibility: 9
Rewatch: 3
Current cultural relevance: 8
NERDS - Juicy Gummy Clusters (Rating E - 4.75)
Decent production, emotionally hollow
The ad features TV host Andy Cohen fraternizing with a candy-themed character as they prepare to walk the red carpet, alluding to the candy's market debut. Cohen's performance is cringeworthy, the attempt at humor falls flat, and the result is a forgettable spot. The candy's bright colors do help grab attention, but there's not much else to it. Considering the platform and investment that Super Bowl airtime represents, this feels like a missed opportunity.
Rating: E (4.75)
Hook and attention: 3
Creative idea and originality: 4
Quality and production: 9
Brand integration: 9
Clarity of message: 8
Emotional Impact and/or Humor: 0
Shareability: 0
Audience compatibility: 9
Rewatch: 2
Current cultural relevance: 2
Do you agree with my ranking of the best Super Bowl 2026 commercials?
This event always gives us plenty to talk about, both on and off the field. What are your thoughts on the best Super Bowl 2026 commercials? I'd love to hear your opinion!
