Super Bowl 2026
As the resident Content Lady, I spent my Monday morning doing exactly what you’d expect: ignoring the actually impressive athleticism on screen to judge $8 million-dollar-per-30-second ads.
In my personal opinion, the Super Bowl has officially graduated from a "look at what the Americans are doing" novelty to a legitimate commercial opportunity (or at least, learning) for us down under. As US sport quietly embeds itself into Australian culture, local marketers are being forced to rethink how we buy scale, relevance, and attention.
We’ve crossed a threshold. It’s no longer about "disrupting" the game; it’s about collaboration and integration. The best spots this year didn't feel like a loud-mouthed intruder; they were designed to mirror the game’s natural language, aiming for contextual relevance over sheer volume. We are moving away from the traditional “interruption” model, where the ad is a brick wall that stops the entertainment.
For us in the Australian market, where we’re often working with "Super Bowl adjacent" budgets, the lesson is clear: we don't need a stadium-sized spend if we can master the art of the integrated overlay.
So what were the most interesting ads to me? Well first and foremost, let’s address the AI elephant in the room. The 2026 "AI Bowl" was real. Nearly a quarter of the ads featured AI, and while some felt like a desperate grab at a buzzword, others actually used it to solve a human problem. What I enjoyed most about these ads, was that they felt more like a “digital overlay”, adopting the tone, tech and specific anxieties of the moment, to feel like part of the event’s ecosystem. Here is how they pulled it off:
1. Google Gemini: "New Home"
Google has finally moved past "look what our tech can do" to "look what your life could look like”, moving away from showing a shiny robot, and instead mirroring the problem-solving language of a life transition. Seeing a mother and son use Gemini to visualise their new home (bit cringe at times) turning empty, depressing rooms into a personalised sanctuary - was the ultimate product demo disguised as an emotional “tear-jerker”. It’s a masterclass in integration: the AI wasn't the star; the human transition was. By doing this, they tapped into the “second screen” behaviour of Super Bowl viewers who are often browsing, dreaming or planning whilst watching.
The Aussie Takeaway: It wasn't about the tech; it was about the result. It felt like a "home hack" you’d find on TikTok or Instagram, fitting perfectly into the way we already consume lifestyle content. Aussies love a "renovating" narrative. How can we use AI to help local customers visualise the end result rather than just explaining the service?
2. Pepsi: "The Choice"
Directed by Taika Waititi, this was a masterclass in "brand hijacking." Pepsi didn't just run an ad; they went for the jugular of their biggest rival by featuring the iconic Coca-Cola polar bear. Seeing the bear go through a "crisis of identity" after picking Pepsi in a blind taste test—set to Queen’s I Want to Break Free—was hilarious. It culminated in a meta-moment where the bears were caught on a "Kiss Cam" drinking Pepsi, a cheeky nod to the Coldplay viral moment from last year. It felt less like a corporate broadcast and more like a high-budget meme.
The Aussie Takeaway: Don’t be afraid to poke the bear (literally). In a market as concentrated as Australia, sometimes the best way to get attention is to playfully lean into the rivalry. If you’re the challenger brand, use the leader’s own iconography to tell a better story.
3. Amazon: Alexa+ (feat. Chris Hemsworth)
Finally, an AI ad with a pulse. Chris Hemsworth spiraling into a paranoid frenzy because he thinks Alexa is trying to "eliminate" him was clever. By using Hemsworth, a face synonymous with blockbuster action - they adopted the visual language of the very movies people watch when the game isn't on. It felt like a movie trailer for our own lives, making the product feel like a central character rather than a paid placement. It leaned into our collective "robot uprising" anxiety with exactly the right amount of self-aware humor. Using a high-profile Aussie export to sell "Advanced AI" made it feel less like a Silicon Valley lecture and more like a shared joke.
The Aussie Takeaway: Lean into the skepticism. Australians have a strong bullshit detector, so if you are using new tech, acknowledge the awkwardness or the fear. It builds trust way faster than a shiny corporate video.
4. Xfinity: "Jurassic Park… Works"
This was the ultimate "what if" for movie nerds. Xfinity reunited Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum in a reimagined 1993 timeline where the park didn't collapse - simply because they had reliable 2026 connectivity. Watching a de-aged Jeff Goldblum stream movies by the pool while a T-Rex wanders harmlessly in the background was top-tier fan service. It worked because it didn't feel like a tech commercial; it felt like a lost scene from a blockbuster. By solving a 30-year-old fictional problem with modern tech, they made the product's reliability the hero of the story without ever "selling" at us.
The Aussie Takeaway: Use shared cultural history. You don't always need to create a new world; you can just fix an old one. For local brands, tapping into "Aussie classics" or collective memories can be a shortcut to emotional relevance that feels earned, not bought.
5. Anthropic: "Claude vs. The Ad-Bot"
This was the strategic "mic drop" of the night. Anthropic used their first Super Bowl spot to take a dry, witty swipe at OpenAI. They personified a competitor’s chatbot as a pushy salesman trying to sell shoes during a workout. Their tagline, "Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude," was punchy, clear, and perfectly timed.
The Aussie Takeaway: You don't have to be the biggest to be the smartest. Use your content to highlight a competitor’s annoyance. If they’re going broad and noisy, you go quiet and helpful.
The 2026 Super Bowl showed us that integration is the new disruption. For those of us in Australian content departments, the goal shouldn't be to build a bigger billboard - it should be to build a better conversation.
